TargetTalk

One of the hazards I feel of a too elaborate shot plan is there is more time taken than necessary from the initial raise to commitment to fire. I'm probably not explaining this well.

If I raise and do too much "stuff" like raising above the bull, bouncing a breath or two down to the final sight picture, I think I have the tendecy to fix things during that and force the shot anyway. Am I clear yet? :)

I need to get from raise to shot more smoothly.

There is no one correct way of doing things.

All you can do is look at what other people are doing and "cherry-pick" the parts that suit you.

If you cannot get on with raising above the bull then don't do it. If you are not happy doing something then that will only take your concentration away from the essentials.

David Levene wrote:There is no one correct way of doing things.

All you can do is look at what other people are doing and "cherry-pick" the parts that suit you.

I had a similar discussion with a former USA Olympian in pistol shooting, and he had a similar answer to David's. His answer was something like "you can read all you want about how others do it, but what you have to do is try as many things as you can and find what works *for you*. In the end, that's the only thing that really matters."

I think he was exactly correct. We've all probably tried to do what other successful shooters are doing with the hope that it would make us better. What we probably should have been doing was methodically working through many different techniques (and giving each of them ample time to really test them) and then making a decision to go a certain way. However, the way that might work for you then might not work for you always. In fact, if you're in this game enough years, I can almost guarantee that something or multiple things will change as you go along.

Stan

Generally speaking, simpler is better.

Think about every single action/thought in your shot plan.

If you can't explain simply the *purpose* of that action, DON'T DO IT!

Every act should be directly linked to a fundamental thing you are trying to achieve on the way to shooting a ten.

Make a cause-effect map of every act and how it causes the shot to be perfect.

You are probably doing a whole kabuki dance of stuff that contributes nothing to the Moment of Truth*.

Steve


*MoT: the 200 milliseconds surrounding the release of the shot. Nothing else before or after matters

Like I said - "I need to get from raise to shot more smoothly"

Stop consulting the stars and get into the MoT quicker and without baggage from the preparations.



An exchange I had with our Champion went like this:

"I have said this before. "I am not smart enough to shoot bad". What exactly does that mean? I am able to block out everything external aside from keeping the trigger moving smooth without any interruption. I have done self hypnosis and relaxation to control the stray thoughts from entering the mind while in a string of fire. Do they still get in once in awhile. Of course. I have a key phrase to get back into the program and all I do is tell myself to keep the trigger moving. In a slow fire string if a stray thought gets in then I will abort the shot re-cock the trigger and start all over for that shot. The easiest way I found to do get to this point is by shooting when I fall asleep. It is much easier to clear the mind of all stray thoughts when falling asleep as there no external distractions. ONE OF ONE


The great posts recently that dived into the mind set for shooting leave me to think that there is no one correct technique to shoot, either physical or mental technique. You listen to many dialogues on how to, and make your own combined versions that work for you. One caveat I can see is thinking too much, trying to tell the subconscious what to "do" rather than what you "want". After a certain skill level, I believe the shooting must become more of a flow of moves rather than steps at a time. Jack H


Jack, YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT - BRIAN"

Jack,
The secret, if there is one, is to train the mind such that the subconscious learns it's stuff. The real difficult and counter intuitive bit is letting it free to do it's stuff. To free the subconscious fully takes lots and lots of practice and even then it's not uncommon for shooters to choke under pressure and shoot consciously (and badly).

Rob.

Hear, hear.

A champion has the COURAGE to go ahead and TRUST THE PROCESS when the stakes are high.

The temptation is very powerful to try to "manage" the process when the outcome is important.

As the country song says, "Don't Ask Me How I Know."

(I love that song- it's a real hoot!)

Steve Swartz

[quote="Steve Swartz"]Hear, hear.

A champion has the COURAGE to go ahead and TRUST THE PROCESS when the stakes are high.

The temptation is very powerful to try to "manage" the process when the outcome is important.

As the country song says, "Don't Ask Me How I Know."

(I love that song- it's a real hoot!)

Steve Swartz[/quote]

Double Hear, hear back at ya Steve for all your help.