Training vs practicing vs competing.

mikemyers wrote:Also, I have been told to do two things:
1 - Practice, as if I was competing, and
2 - Compete, as if I was practicing.

One is for "learning", and the other is for "doing".
I've read this in many places, and while it sounded silly to me, now I accept it.

kjanracing wrote:Grip and trigger are pretty much the two things I’m concentrating on now. My process in a match is scope the first couple shots. If they are there, I put the lens cover on my scope and forget about it. I concentrate focus on a “good” shot, meaning hold and good trigger operation. The score will be there if I do those things. I also won’t be mentally spanked if I make a bad shot and see it in the scope.
I really appreciate all the input.

CR10X wrote:A lot of people have, and I'm sure many others will, provide their suggestions.

If I may try to answer to your comment "...this stage more feels like I’m shooting for score, which I am, and I’m questioning if I’m really getting any training effect out of this drill."

My concise answer is yes there is a training effect, it's just that most shooters do not recognize what this training is addressing. 

Look at it this way, the shooter has already completed firing similar sized groups on a blank target, so the shooter should have mastered, or at least have, a good shoot process and physical capability to complete this exercise.

So why is it there, and more importantly, why is it very difficult for most, if not all shooters to complete these type exercises?  

My take is that this is a test of the shooters ability to follow their shot process in the face of "match" pressure or basically "perform on demand".  And it takes training (understanding what to train for and how to train) for this part of shooting.  .

I had an internet chat with Gunny Zins about a year ago and he confirmed that the exercises on a target with scoring rings was to put psychological pressure on the students to put the shots in the desired scoring area.  The rationale for the “ten shots in the ten ring” is to show the student that, A it can be done, and B to develop skills to shoot ten “tens” and what that looks like.  

The shooter is now faced with a "black" target to frame their wobble area and "scoring rings" to judge the outcome, if they get distracted enough to let this happen.  Shooters will start to dress up the shot, then get distracted with judging the shot good or bad based on the score, etc. etc.

The training process here is for the shooter to trust and believe in their shot process that produced an acceptable shot on the "blank" targets and reproduce that under pressure similar to shooting a match.  So, this is not about shooting 10, or 20 tens in a row.  This about believing and performing 10 or 20 correct and acceptable shot processes in a row with additional mental distractions / pressure.

So just remember, it does not matter if the center of your aiming area is "white" or "black", you perform the shot process the same way.

And by the way, quit spanking yourself, its not productive (although cheaper than getting someone else to do it for you I guess).   Again, that's a mental issue that also takes training to address.   So, I generally recommend to scope every shot your can, because you are confirming your call, not looking to see where it went.  If it doesn't match your call, its probably better find out now so you can visualize the correct shot process and call, and then initiate another actual shot.  Wouldn't you like to repeat what was actually good than what you thought was good but wasn't?  And if it wasn't actually good, you just visualized a good shot anyway before you shot again to refresh your memory.

CR

Arthur wrote:......The coaching I got was that I should be using match quality ammo during practice / training. Why? Mentally you need to believe that you can shoot the good scores......

CR10X wrote:kjanracing:

You had a great question and I tried to provide information related to that question.  Just like the advice for that specific worksheet section, do not let discussions on ammo, grouping or whatever distract you from the successful completion of your shot process (for each and every shot).  Any of this entering your mind during training or match shooting will detract from the attention to the specific training or your shot process.  Any little thought of quality of gun / ammo / etc. is a pry bar that will crack open the mental picture we are trying to create for successful shooting (this exercise).  

If a shooter is curious about the gun and grouping then they should do some quality testing (bench or ransom) and make a note of the results and react accordingly.  Then the shooter can remove one more mental distraction, forget about it and get back to quality training.  (And IMO, that's one of the reasons why people that change loads all the time seem to struggle with consistency.)  

One exercise I do is set up on the line with the .22 or .45 just like a match. No practice fire, just 3 minute prep and start for score.  Start shooting and see how many shots I can go before getting outside of my (goal) scoring ring.  Do this every once in a while and one can see how this creates that "perform on demand" feeling and help get used to dealing with it. (Set your own goal and keep track of this stat.  It's one stat that I think I'm most proud of with my training.) 

So don't worry about scoring shots or grouping or ammo, etc., when training or shooting or even when discussing the issue of mentally addressing match performance.  That's done and recorded another time (when the shooting is over, testing, etc.).  

Visualize and then count competed and successful shot processes. Find ways to train to reinforce the shot process and seeing each shot completely (slow and sustained).  

As you can see, distractions abound.   To rephrase what you said (and where I think you are at shooting wise):  

Review each successful shot process and train to do them more consistently.  Study the 10's, forget the others.  If you shot 1 ten and saw it, you know what you want to do.  It's not what one doesn't do correctly that needs to be studied, but what one has done correctly in order to do it more often.    

There are thousands of ways to do something incorrectly and it will take forever to figure them all out.
There are only a limited number of ways to something correctly.  That's a much smaller data set to analyze.

Yes, a lot of this is semantics, but the brain works with pictures, words and emotions.  Feed it good ones with the right seasoning. 

CR