Fist shot is always poor.

[amarinder]

Though the sighters are good. But whenever match firing announcement is made, I get nervous and loose motor control. Scored 375 today but the first shot always spoils it.

I know a lot of guys face it. But whats a good strategy??

[shaky hands]

Some people recommend to
1) screw up one of the sighters on purpose, 2) pretend you are still shooting sighters, 3) dry fire a couple of times before scoring shots, 4) work on your wrist locking -- most likely the problem is unlocking it under pressure (so far yours works under favorable conditions when stress is low, while you need to take it to the next level).

[Gerard]

Funny, I have the opposite problem. My first shot is usually a decent 10. Which makes me nervous, feeling like I need to maintain that... so my next shot is almost never a 10. I think in a way it's the same problem however. In each case we need to learn to forget about the first shot, to forget about every shot once it has been fired, and work on getting everything right for the next shot just as in practice. Follow your routine. Ignore the score.

[Misny]

This is where the mental game rears its head. When I am shooting well, my first shot is a ten. It used to put a monkey on my back, but I kept telling myself that is how I shoot and that is what I should expect. It took a while to convince myself of this through a lot of mental prep and visualization. I now look for a ten for my first shot and tell myself, "This is good...now the pressure is off...I can continue to shoot a shot just like that one by using the same fundamentals". Shooting is 95% mental. The rest is in your head! 8^)

[rmca]

The only difference from your last sighter shot to the first competition shot is in your head.
It's the way you approach it that changes, usually by thinking something along the lines of, now it's for score or this is for real now.

The way to correct this is to change your mental approach to the start of the match.
This varies according to one's personality. Only you have the answer to this.

On the other hand, as an immediate short term solution, dry fire the first three or four match shots. Until you settle down your nerves/anxiety.

It's all in your head! ;)

Hope this helps

[RobStubbs]

It's poor because you both let it be and expect it to be. I.e. it's all in your head and under your control. You need to shift all thoughts away from the match and purely focus on executing the technique right, i.e. have the same mental approach as you do in sighters, training etc.

[Gwhite]

This is where having a shot process worked out & practiced is really helpful. If you have a process that you know will deliver a good shot, and concentrate on executing that process, you should be OK. Don't think about the outcome, just do your best to execute your shot process, one shot at a time.

All of this assumes that you HAVE a shot process, that it works for you, and that you are consciously aware of the steps that make it work. Normally, if you trained enough, most of the process should execute on auto-pilot. When things go wrong, you need to be able to review it mentally to get back in "the groove". Dry firing at least once or twice before a scoring string is a good way to settle back into your process.

[william]

A perhaps Roverian solution to your problem:
Skip the first shot, and go directly to the second. You can come back to the first shot after you've sorted things out.

Or, a definitely Roverian solution:
Consume copious quantities of beer.

[redschietti]

Shoot single shot matches. Find a buddy or two, even via text and shoot against them. Shoot a few sighters then shoot a one shot match. Winner takes all. If a tie, shoot a second shot. Put gun down get off line and repeat. Put a wager on it. Get good at shooting a single shot, then go shoot 40 single shots in a match and you will be a winner.

[David Levene]

Shoot single shot matches. Find a buddy or two, even via text and shoot against them. Shoot a few sighters then shoot a one shot match. Winner takes all. If a tie, shoot a second shot. Put gun down get off line and repeat. Put a wager on it. Get good at shooting a single shot, then go shoot 40 single shots in a match and you will be a winner.

Good advice. This is training to shoot a match, whereas many people will only ever train to shoot a shot.

[SamEEE]

Put a dollar/pound on the table - winner takes all. Dollar billz, yo.
Essentially you've got to harden yourself somewhat to the match-pressure and the only convincing way to do that is to shoot more matches under the same stress, or mimic the stress.

You could also introduce some physiological stress; shuttle runs -> quality shot. I hate running, you probably do too. This is a terrible idea.

I also find timing my run into the sighters into the match usually makes for a good continuation into the match.

If you smoke a 10 for the first and last shot then it is only a 38/58 shot match!

This may also help, or not:
https://youtu.be/bmXumtgwtak?t=28s

[seamaster]

Why are you guys counting your shots? This is First shot ? This is last shot ? All those tricks on your mind to think this is not first shot, etc, etc.

Kim's secret, "Just shoot !!"

Quote:

The gold medal in the 10m air pistol also came with an Olympic quota for the Republic of Korea. That gave Kim good feels about Rio 2016. He said that he has "50% chances" of winning a gold at the next Olympics. He added: "I dream of winning a gold in Rio de Janeiro."


Kim's strategy to win sounds easy.


"Always training," says Kim. “Just good think[ing] and very hard training. [During competitions I think of] nothing."


"I only shoot."

Think of NOTHING means NOT counting your shots.

[shaky hands]

Are you sure, seamaster? I mean you would probably have to be pretty numb not to realize you are about to fire your first shot. Also, if you are not counting your shots, how do you know when to stop? I mean it is great if you have a coach, who could come quietly to you, put his soft hand on your shoulder and say, "son, it is time to go home." But what if you have no coach?

[Pat McCoy]

You have to know when it is your first shot, in order to switch target screen from sighters to scoring. You better know its your last shot, or you'll wind up with "excessive hits" and a penalty.

The answer is to just consider it "another" shot. The first shot should just be "another" ten in the sequence you've been shooting.

The last shot should be "another" shot (or in my own case I have a mantra "last shot, good shot". It is almost always one of my best shots (but did take awhile to train myself by never ending on a bad (less than individual shot goal) shot. Eventually that became automatic.