# The mental game and shooting



## Lisa (Mar 11, 2006)

When competing in a competition and things aren't going your way, how do you get "back on track?"

I ask this because all of you are aware that I am new to shooting air rifle competitions.  Today I participated in another match that didn't fair as well as I had hoped. 

We did make some adjustments to my equiptment that I have had little or no time to practice with in the past week or so.  I changed the grip on my gun last night and did not have any chance to practice with it.  My coach increased the FPS last week on my rifle and added an adjustable iris to it, and again, due to circumstances and time constraints I didn't have a lot of practice time.  

When I picked up my rifle today and started shooting, I have to admit that the new velocity that the air rifle was shooting at startled me a few times at first.  I was expecting the same softer sounding pop noise, instead the sound was louder and sharper was different and not something I was used to.   The grip felt weird in my hands and for the life of me I could not adjust the iris properly and I found that all of the above frustrated the heck out of me.

I don't want sit here and play the "well this happened and that happened game" blaming my equipment, etc. What is really comes down to is I wasn't prepared to handle the changes that were brought forth by the adjustments of my guns and because of my lack of knoweldge and experience it rattled my performance.

I know that practice, practice, practice and sending pellets down range will improve my performance for next time.  However, I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences as to how they adjust during a competition when things aren't going right and how they beat the mind games that you play with yourself during those moments of not so good scores.

How do you help yourself forget about that last shot and move forward?  How is it you can figure out what is wrong and fix it?


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## arnisandyz (Mar 11, 2006)

I never purposely make a change to my equipment right before a match if I can help it. It introduces variables that take your focus off your shooting. I like to give myself plenty of training time to either accept the new changes or if I can't get used to it, switch back to the proven system. However, I have had "bad days" during a match like a light primer strike or a jam/malfunction that pretty much puts my score out of the top 10. Instead of "trying to makeup time" if its a timed trial or "trying to be more accurate" if its an accuracy game I think of myself as relieved of having to perform (since i'm out of the running) and shoot alot looser (and better) and turn it into a training session rather than a competition.

You want to free yourself to shoot. There are alot mental things going on that you must deal with. Since you have a martial arts background, think of it as a ZEN type thing of living in the moment, not living in the past (thinking if the shot you just made hit where you want it to) or the future (the desire to get a good hit). Just be concerned with the present (feel all of the tactile inputs,  control your breathing, and feel the bullet into the hole). If your thinking about how good or bad you did or how good or bad you might do, or thinking about how your equipment is effecting your shot it becomes harder to just shoot.  So short answer, just shoot and enjoy the moment!

I highly recommend Brian Enos'  Practical Shooting book. It mainly focuses on Practical shooting, but he covers so many mental aspects of shooting it can apply to any type of shooting. Martial arts practitioners will appreciate his Zen in shooting methodology and many references to Bruce Lee's Tao.


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## Lisa (Mar 12, 2006)

arnisandyz said:
			
		

> I never purposely make a change to my equipment right before a match if I can help it. It introduces variables that take your focus off your shooting. I like to give myself plenty of training time to either accept the new changes or if I can't get used to it, switch back to the proven system.


 
That is good advice.  I guess I wouldn't have made so many changes either if I would be closer to the top of my game.  However, my attitude is that I have no where to go but up.  It was just too much, too close together with little or no practice time with it.  I am going to concentrate on getting used to the new things on my gun this next few weeks and try and tweak what works for me and what doesn't.  The smaller grip felt really weird and I was missing the full hand feeling I had with the other grip.  Being a preverbial newbie I became frustrated way to easily and didn't have the confidence or the experience to self correct.



			
				arnisandyz said:
			
		

> However, I have had "bad days" during a match like a light primer strike or a jam/malfunction that pretty much puts my score out of the top 10. Instead of "trying to makeup time" if its a timed trial or "trying to be more accurate" if its an accuracy game I think of myself as relieved of having to perform (since i'm out of the running) and shoot alot looser (and better) and turn it into a training session rather than a competition.



hee hee :rofl: well I am not even close to the "top ten"  but I see your point, when the pressure is off the "fun of it all" comes out easier.



			
				arnisandyz said:
			
		

> You want to free yourself to shoot. There are alot mental things going on that you must deal with. Since you have a martial arts background, think of it as a ZEN type thing of living in the moment, not living in the past (thinking if the shot you just made hit where you want it to) or the future (the desire to get a good hit). Just be concerned with the present (feel all of the tactile inputs,  control your breathing, and feel the bullet into the hole). If your thinking about how good or bad you did or how good or bad you might do, or thinking about how your equipment is effecting your shot it becomes harder to just shoot.  So short answer, just shoot and enjoy the moment!



Excellent words to follow, Thank you very much.  I think I will write them down somewhere and try to follow them next competition.




			
				arnisandyz said:
			
		

> I highly recommend Brian Enos'  Practical Shooting book. It mainly focuses on Practical shooting, but he covers so many mental aspects of shooting it can apply to any type of shooting. Martial arts practitioners will appreciate his Zen in shooting methodology and many references to Bruce Lee's Tao.



I will look to get a copy of it.

Thanks so much for your time and guidance. 

:asian: Lisa


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## Rich Parsons (Mar 12, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> When competing in a competition and things aren't going your way, how do you get "back on track?"



I try to relax and think of a happy place.  such as when you were shooting or riding a motorcycle. 




			
				Lisa said:
			
		

> I ask this because all of you are aware that I am new to shooting air rifle competitions. Today I participated in another match that didn't fair as well as I had hoped.



While you are shaking out your technique there willbe ups and downs. Expect this, and then when the good times come you can enjoy.




			
				Lisa said:
			
		

> We did make some adjustments to my equiptment that I have had little or no time to practice with in the past week or so. I changed the grip on my gun last night and did not have any chance to practice with it. My coach increased the FPS last week on my rifle and added an adjustable iris to it, and again, due to circumstances and time constraints I didn't have a lot of practice time.



As others have said Last minutes changes can take you off your game. So if these changes are in place then expect nothing of the competition. It is like having a new gun and new format or rules. 




			
				Lisa said:
			
		

> When I picked up my rifle today and started shooting, I have to admit that the new velocity that the air rifle was shooting at startled me a few times at first. I was expecting the same softer sounding pop noise, instead the sound was louder and sharper was different and not something I was used to. The grip felt weird in my hands and for the life of me I could not adjust the iris properly and I found that all of the above frustrated the heck out of me.



I am not an expert nor am I seasoned by any means. My instructors told me to be surprised by the shot everytime. This way if you change ammo or weapons there is not expectation or developed flinches. I know this is different in different types of weapons, but I think it might still work here. 




			
				Lisa said:
			
		

> I don't want sit here and play the "well this happened and that happened game" blaming my equipment, etc. What is really comes down to is I wasn't prepared to handle the changes that were brought forth by the adjustments of my guns and because of my lack of knoweldge and experience it rattled my performance.



The changes could make you second guess. They could effect the performance, and you might still be adjusting. It is good to say you were not ready for the changes and or not practiced wth the changes. I think it may have also rattled your confidence as well as performance. But by recognizing it, you can work on it.



			
				Lisa said:
			
		

> I know that practice, practice, practice and sending pellets down range will improve my performance for next time. However, I was wondering if anyone could share their experiences as to how they adjust during a competition when things aren't going right and how they beat the mind games that you play with yourself during those moments of not so good scores.



If I change, I do the above I mentioned, and call it time on the practice field under a little stress, and go back to trying to improve. If my score is shot, then ther is no reason to try to recover, but I then try to think about how can I improve myself with the existing equipment and conditions. Then the next time out or by the second round I am doing better. 




			
				Lisa said:
			
		

> How do you help yourself forget about that last shot and move forward?  How is it you can figure out what is wrong and fix it?



If you have the time to call your shot do it. Then think about why. But in Comps there is time as well, so think about the group of shots in between and think about what one thing might help, not two or three. Pick one and try to adjust there.


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## arnisandyz (Mar 13, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> Thanks so much for your time and guidance.



Glad  I could help but like everything, you need to take any advice and test it for yourself.

Something else that has really helped me in comptetion is learning to "drive the gun" as described in Brian Enos' book. He relates it to driving a car, you don't conciously think of stepping on the gas or working the gearshift because its part of your subconscious thought learned through experience. If you remember when you were first learning to drive it was hard enough learning how to control the car, let alone watch the road. Basically you know your equipment so well and work out all of the kinks in practice and alot of shooting experience that when match day comes your just out for a drive. It frees your from trying to control the gun to and allows you to focus on the shooting.  Just like how you don't think about driving down a road, instead, you senses are open and aware of what is going on...same with shooting.

At our range probably the biggest thing holding new shooters back is ego. They get thier tricked out ARs and tactical clothing and want (desire) to play the part. They don't take advise well and usually are more concerned about looking good (or not looking bad) in front of thier friends. 

As far as equipment changes, I would go simple. Its easy (except on the pocketbook) to add alot of enhancements to a rifle but will it really make you a better shooter? At the upper level every advantage counts, but new shooters have more to worry about. Right now I'm doing fine with a standard 1911 (others are shooting race guns) and a pump shotgun (most people have semiautos), I may never win a match, but I'm competitive and getting better...until I see my equipment holding me back I'll shoot what I got.

When I mentioned dropping out of the top 10 I didn't mean to sound like I'm a great shooter or anything...top 10 at our club is a little better than middle of the pack (since there is usually 20 or 25 shooters)! However, I do feel like I'm on the right track and I can now see how I can improve and work towards it.


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## Lisa (Mar 13, 2006)

Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> I try to relax and think of a happy place.  such as when you were shooting or riding a motorcycle.



You and that motorcycle again! 




			
				Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> While you are shaking out your technique there willbe ups and downs. Expect this, and then when the good times come you can enjoy.



You are absolutely right.  I have to realise that there will be dips and valleys in my learning process, accept them as they come and not become discouraged.




			
				Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> As others have said Last minutes changes can take you off your game. So if these changes are in place then expect nothing of the competition. It is like having a new gun and new format or rules.



I picked up my gun and practiced at home last night, making fine adjustments to the new equipment.  I think this was what I was missing from this weekend.  The ability to tweak what I had changed before a competition.




			
				Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> I am not an expert nor am I seasoned by any means. My instructors told me to be surprised by the shot everytime. This way if you change ammo or weapons there is not expectation or developed flinches. I know this is different in different types of weapons, but I think it might still work here.



Interesting look on it, I can see how that could help. After shooting a bit at home last evening my husband said he wanted my gun to be rechronographed because even he thought it was barking pretty loud when I shot.  Could be that it is too fast now.  I will check it on Thursday and see what happens.




			
				Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> The changes could make you second guess. They could effect the performance, and you might still be adjusting. It is good to say you were not ready for the changes and or not practiced wth the changes. I think it may have also rattled your confidence as well as performance. But by recognizing it, you can work on it.



ABSOLUTELY!  That is exactly what happened.  I second guessed everything I was doing and even before I stepped onto the line I was apprehensive because of the lack of practice and the new equipment on the rifle.  It rattled me more then I thought when, after the first few practice shots, I couldn't get comfortable.





			
				Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> If I change, I do the above I mentioned, and call it time on the practice field under a little stress, and go back to trying to improve. If my score is shot, then ther is no reason to try to recover, but I then try to think about how can I improve myself with the existing equipment and conditions. Then the next time out or by the second round I am doing better.



Good words to live by.  That is how I am taking this last match.  Practice.  I have learned a lot from it.  I have learned that I can get rattled and that when this happens I need to step off the line and talk to one of the coaches about what is happening and not step back on the line until I have it settled in my head what wen wrong and how to fix it.  I think it will go a long way to help me get back on track and put the "problems" I was having behind me.




			
				Rich Parsons said:
			
		

> If you have the time to call your shot do it. Then think about why. But in Comps there is time as well, so think about the group of shots in between and think about what one thing might help, not two or three. Pick one and try to adjust there.



Shooting kata.  Follow it precisely and try not to deviate from it.  Call the shot.  Work on grouping your shots as opposed to the total score.

Thanks Rich.  You have been a great help.


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## doc5504 (Apr 13, 2006)

this might sound funny to u but as a sniper my rounds have to be on target just try to sing a song and thing of the beat in ur head and its helped me lower my rate of breathing durring thoses precious shots try that if not just remeber just a nother day in paradice hehe


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## SFC JeffJ (Apr 13, 2006)

I'll have to check out that book by Enos.

When I was a sniper in the army, I actually looked to Kyodo (japanese archery) for help.  Did a lot of reading on it, even practiced it for a while with a local group.  I'm betting that was Enos inspiration for his style.  Will have to get his book.

Jeff


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## Lisa (Apr 13, 2006)

doc5504 said:
			
		

> this might sound funny to u but as a sniper my rounds have to be on target just try to sing a song and thing of the beat in ur head and its helped me lower my rate of breathing durring thoses precious shots try that if not just remeber just a nother day in paradice hehe



Cool idea.  I know a few months back when I was in Toronto for a match, I was shooting fairly well, for me, while singing along to a song.  Probably some truth to what you say.  I know I was kinda bopping along on the line singing and some of the other shooters were giving me strange looks, lol.  I wasn't being disruptive but you could tell I had a song in my head. 

Before I get on the line tonight, I will through some headphones on and see if it helps to calm me.  AC/DC is probably out though, huh?


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## SFC JeffJ (Apr 13, 2006)

Lisa said:
			
		

> Before I get on the line tonight, I will through some headphones on and see if it helps to calm me.  AC/DC is probably out though, huh?



And I have been picturing you as a Yanni fan.  Go figure.

Jeff


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## Lisa (Apr 13, 2006)

JeffJ said:
			
		

> And I have been picturing you as a Yanni fan.  Go figure.
> 
> Jeff



:rofl:

umm...noooooooooooo


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