EIC Buck fever woes

Last year, I shot EIC matches like they were just another NMC we shoot in the leagues.

This year.... It's like I develop instant Parkinson's holding my gun up, and the sweats!  Blow the match... And then physically fine, but psychologically beaten.

This year at Perry is the perfect example, Presidents and NTI, it was shake city, I was consciencly calm sub consciencly an absolute wreck!   Blew both of the matches.  Went to shoot the NTT... stone calm, like it was casual match, shooting with the boys.  It's happening at local and smaller matches as well.

Anyone else get this?  Distinguished folks?

Yes I did.  I would shoot an entire 2700 with an iron sight marvel and then my Ballgun for CF/45. I would have decent scores for the 2700 but then tank the EIC match or presidents 100.  It was a struggle at times to swing up and down like that but I had enough good matches to know that I could perform so I would work harder on the next one. I did earn my distinguished badge in both and P100 so stick with it and you should be able to do it too.

John

It's a thing for sure. Beating it is part and parcel of getting your badge.

-There are some breathing and sports psychology things like visualization that help.
-Match experience works in your favor, but it is constrained within eic, so sometimes it come so slow that it isn't helpful.
-Practice still works. Systematic, conscientious, deliberate, sustained practice.

I went through this with Rifle and experience it in pistol too. You need to convince yourself that you’re capable of shooting good scores. Check out Lanny Basham’s mental management program.
I made P100 my first (and only) trip to Perry, and I strongly feel a big reason was my mental program leading up to it.
I had a mantra on index cards… I put them on the mirror so I’d read it when I brushed my teeth in the morning, put one in my car so every time I drove I read it, had it on my desk at work, etc.

It was along the lines of “I am a P100 shooter, i shoot tens all the time, it is like me to shoot tens, I am a P100 shooter.”

It sounds hokey, but you need to convince your subconscious that you are as good a shooter as your “non important” matches prove.

I think about this a lot. I've been accused of overthinking it, but I'm not dumb enough to shoot well and I'm also not smart enough to shoot well. A friend recently emailed me after reading something from the CMP that I said that "I know how to put a match together," and asked me what that meant.

Start simple.

1. Write my firing point number on my hand. An excerpt from my journal this year: "SHOOT. ON. MY F*CKING. TARGET."
2. Shoot on my f*cking target. Get my shots off on time.
3. Disciplined, Organized, and Determined. D.O.D. Have my sh*t together. There's lots of noise at Perry, and other EICs. That's not my circus, not my monkeys. Have my gear in place. Have my magazines loaded. Know where my f*cking screwdriver and earmuffs are.
4. Shoot. My. Match. Execute to the best of my ability.
5. Walk off the line knowing that I did the best that I could given the conditions at the time.

I will preface my thoughts with the following, just cause something works for someone else, doesn't mean it will work for you. 

My biggest issue with EIC matches is that by the time they roll around, it is usually at the end of a long day/week of shooting. Fatigue sets in and performing at a higher level is a bit tricky. Hold is a bit compromised, chance of being dehydrated or hungry is higher. 

So to combat this, I intentionally will do some training under a fatigued condition when possible in attempt to mimic match conditions.

What you describe is the “Leg Match Monkey on your back” syndrome.  It can happen to anyone at any level.  I’ve seen guys with 28 points get it bad.  I’ve seen newbies who are “Almost Masters” get it.  What worked for me was to treat them as “just another match”.  Nothing special, just go and shoot. When I did that I legged out in rifle fairly quickly.  

In shooting there’s only one shot that you have control of and that is the one in the gun right now.  The last one is gone and the next one is still in the magazine.  Shooting is as much as a mental game as anything else.

Yep, I did it last weekend.  I thought I was confident and competent.  I had practiced all year for the leg match.  I fell flat on my face.  I shot  about 10-15% lower than my average practice session scores.  It all went out the window.  IT was embarrassing, disappointing and infuriating.

You are not alone brother, this happens to me all the time.  Shot an EIC on Monday, slow was a 90-1X then came timed where I gripped the gun so hard I started shaking badly and it got worse in rapids.  If I can stay calm and like Ashley said treat it like any other local match I will be fine, well, that and actually practicing instead of picking up the gun 3-4 times a year for a match  

Don't let it get you down, it happens to most more times than we like.

Randy

Scota4570 wrote:Yep, I did it last weekend.  I thought I was confident and competent.  I had practiced all year for the leg match.  I fell flat on my face.  I shot  about 10-15% lower than my average practice session scores.  It all went out the window.  IT was embarrassing, disappointing and infuriating.

Hello sir,

I shot next to you in that match. I scored you in that match.

You had a slow fire that was not up to your practice standards. You were disappointed. That happens to all of us.

At that point, after slow fire, you had two National Champions tell you, "don't give up, fight through it, you never know how things will shake out."

You shook us off. You conceded defeat after 33% of the match.

You missed getting a leg by three points.

I sincerely hope you learned something from that experience.

Solid advice!
Cross-fired one shot on a national champ's target during a NRA Dist. Revolver match....there goes that match and the leg points!!! With that mind set, completely relaxed mentally for TF and RF, won that match by one point and the final leg for DR.
Never give up!

john bickar wrote:


At that point, after slow fire, you had two National Champions tell you, "don't give up, fight through it, you never know how things will shake out."

You shook us off. You conceded defeat after 33% of the match.

As a case example of the "don't give up" mentality. Recently I shot a match with my first shot in 22 Slowfire was an on paper visible miss, less than ideal. Bushed it off as an "opps" and focused on shooting my game. I ended up shooting a PB agg score. This is not even the first time I have heard of this happening.

Don't do math after one target to see what you "need", focus on doing what you need to do to shoot the good shots.

"Concentrate 100% on THIS shot" is as true as it is hard to do

Nightshift82 wrote:Last year, I shot EIC matches like they were just another NMC we shoot in the leagues.

This year.... It's like I develop instant Parkinson's holding my gun up, and the sweats!  Blow the match... And then physically fine, but psychologically beaten.

This year at Perry is the perfect example, Presidents and NTI, it was shake city, I was consciencly calm sub consciencly an absolute wreck!   Blew both of the matches.  Went to shoot the NTT... stone calm, like it was casual match, shooting with the boys.  It's happening at local and smaller matches as well.

Anyone else get this?  Distinguished folks?

At the end of the day, all the toys go back in the box. After the bullet has left the barrel, that shot no longer matters and you focus on your next shot. After all the shots are on paper and scorecards are turned in, none of it matters. In fact, even if you win the big cheese of bullseye, the percentage of people on this earth that care in the slightest is infinitesimally small and that population will turn to 0 a lot sooner than you would hope. 

It's simply a mental game of managing expectations and if your expectation is "after today, how I performed in the match does not matter at all and no one will care," it becomes a lot easier to simply focus on the next shot. If your expectation is "I want to shoot X score, win Y match, shoot Z well, so I can earn A, or impress B," then every shot that isn't up to that standard will piss you off or wear you down mentally to the point where mid-way through the match you reach a point where you'd rather just flip the table and start a new match with a blank score card. 

I shot my best score ever at my last 2700 with two 7's and I've shot much worse scores without a single 7 on paper. You just have to not let it bother you. 
Sometimes when you swing for the fences, you end up missing.

Anyways, not trying to get all dark about it, but honestly that's really the best way to think about it. Really the best way to *not* think about it. That's why the first time fire always eats my lunch, because 20 seconds is way too much time to spend thinking about it

Nightshift82 wrote:Last year, I shot EIC matches like they were just another NMC we shoot in the leagues.

This year.... It's like I develop instant Parkinson's holding my gun up, and the sweats!  Blow the match... And then physically fine, but psychologically beaten.

This year at Perry is the perfect example, Presidents and NTI, it was shake city, I was consciencly calm sub consciencly an absolute wreck!   Blew both of the matches.  Went to shoot the NTT... stone calm, like it was casual match, shooting with the boys.  It's happening at local and smaller matches as well.

Anyone else get this?  Distinguished folks?

Dad called it "The Knee-High breeze".  It had a tendency to blow your Legs out from under you.

Nothing I say or do will change your performance.  That is all on you.  I read Lanny Basham and a bunch of the other mental books and still sit with 10 points to go since 1994 (took a break from bullseye from 1995-2017, though).  That is all on me.

This is repetitious as others above have said it in different forms. The pressure to shoot a certain score aggregate or to shoot well enough to earn an EIC leg is typically self imposed. Just remember that all shooters on the line beside you are feeling that same pressure to one degree or another. Before the start of a string, take three long, deep breaths and release slowly to calm yourself down and relax.
The key is not to think about the end score that you want, but rather shoot the entire match one shot(good or not so good) at a time. The next shot is going to be the best you have ever shot.....and then the next shot...and so on. The totals will take care of themselves at the end...the total don't matter, only the next shot does. Once it's left the barrel, it's done, don't dwell on it.. only the next shot counts.... 
Try to focus on all the positives in your shots and none of the negatives! I can't stress that enough....your sub-conscious mind can be programmed with whatever type of input you consciously provide. So, provide it with only positive inputs and in time you will see positive results. 
From personal experience, I know its easier to state the above than actually do it (it can be done), but if you persist, great things will happen for you on the firing line.

For EIC depending on who shows up, you just have to shoot reasonably well to earn points. In a way it's like NRA classification. You're either Non Distinguished or Distinguished, and until you get the badge, in general you are shooting against lesser skilled competitors. Sometimes a HM will decide it's time to check the box and whip everybody in the area until he's out. Nothing you can do about that. 

Recommend that you only shoot the service pistol in the 2700s. Marry the pistol.  

Shoot all of the non Perry matches you're allowed. Perry, for me and a lot of other people is a hard place to shoot. Get out of state and shoot in as many different places as you can. That will help with match pressure and help acclimate you making the investment to travel / shoot. Yes, some of the drives home will be very "unpleasant" if you shoot poorly. 

Most importantly. If you are willing to do the work, this is an achievable goal.

Best regards, 
Arthur