I posted this up in Rimfire Central recently, no responses to it. Maybe it does not need a response.
Figured I would share in here as well, because this is really important.
Mental Management is what this is all about, and there are books and stuff written about this stuff.
What I find amazing lately, is my daughter has become my science experiment of sorts, and she is trusting and actually does what I ask her to do. The results speak for themselves.
Here is the post:
What we think about when the sights are aligned and on the target is SO important!
Some Mental Management stuff here....
You can learn a LOT by being a coach, or an AS instructor.
I have learned (and am continuing to still learn) a TON from coaching my 10 year old daughter.
I think everyone will agree, that the standing position is the most difficult to master.
I am blessed to have an electronic (Olympic quality) training/dry fire system at my disposal in my garage.
So, we can see our hold on the targets, and the finer points of the shot process detailed on a computer screen.
It is also WIDELY Accepted in the competitive circles (in whatever discipline), that if you can shoot one X, you can shoot 100 X's!
Think about that....if you can execute one perfect shot, than you are absolutely capable of executing 100, even 200.
But why does my score not reflect 80 X ring shots?
LOL
Last week, I introduced some finer points of mental management to my daughter. Realistic goals!
Her best hold on the standing target is about 10 ring wide. Being that the 10 ring is inclusive of the X ring, and that all 10's are a perfect score.....we decided to adopt a realistic thought prior to shot execution.
That is:
"Nothing Less than a 10 is Acceptable"
For every practice shot, I would say to her as she was shouldering the rifle:
"Nothing less than a 10 is Acceptable".
She shot her highest scores!
When she would shoot an 8, she would get mad.....and I would get a bit "louder" with her and repeat "Nothing less than a 10 is acceptable".
She replied:
"But what about when you shoot an 8 Daddy"? LOL
I replied back the same thing, "Nothing less than a 10 is Acceptable".
When the shooter's capability, or hold as I like to call it, is 10 ring wide.....then nothing less than a 10 should be acceptable.
When I shoot an 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 or a miss....it is because I "ACCEPTED LESS THAN A 10", it is that simple.
I am finding I am learning a whole lot more about the mental aspect of shooting being her coach. It is so true, what we tell ourselves is SO important.
Try it for yourself...., take the Appleseed targets, and any positon.
For AS, maybe start with "Nothing less than a 5 is acceptable".
As you improve, and you surely will....then move it to "Nothing less than a V is acceptable".
What we are doing, is TRAINING our subconscious to only break the shot when the sights are in the best hold we have, in her case that is a 10.
One more point....
This really does work and will manifest itself in a higher score live fire.
Her Personal Best across the course was 713/800, Expert.
This past Saturday, she needed to score at least a 712/800 to earn her Expert Classification.
The way it works, is you need 240 shots at the next level to earn the higher classification card.
She had 2 800 point matches at the Expert level under her belt going into the match Saturday.
Were she to drop below the Expert level at this match, the clock would have started over....another 240.
She shot a 750! That is a 37 point improvement from her personal best and just 2 points shy of a Master score!
It really does work!
R/
Chris
Good self talk can be the difference between success and failure. FYI a personal best is always success, no matter where you finish in the pack.
Years ago, when we were codifying the ideas of KD for Appleseed, one of the things that we noted and documented was the fact that one of the best ways to learn wind was to coach someone on wind. It works for other things as well. We learn by seeing, hearing, and doing. All three are required for active or Total Participatory learning. And doing all three improves outcomes. That is why certain things are in the instructor manual (though I haven't read it in 6 or so years).
In terms of mental work, VAShooter used to say "Whether you think that you can or you think that you can't, you will." Work hard and believe in yourself and you will see better outcomes. But if you don't work hard, if you don't believe in yourself, you will have a very long road to success.
Quote from: USNAVYCHIEF(Ret) on September 04, 2019, 12:29:14 PM
What we THINK/TELL Ourselves is SO Important!
That's true in athletics, mental attitude and life in general!
Whether it's winning, setting and achieving a goal or the confidence to make a tough shot attitude is huge.