Competition vs. the Tactical World:  Stage Planning and Wrap Up

So as we head into the final stretch of our exploration on why competition is good (no great) for the tactical world, we have one more area to cover.  I’d like to talk about stage planning and visualization.

There are several ways of stage planning so for most of this article I want to focus on USPSA style of stage planning.  “Well, what is stage planning?”  Good question.  In USPSA, at a match, the rules allow competitors up to five minutes to look over a stage, walk through it and air gun (not air guitar) as they walk through.  Let’s break down those parts. Continue reading →

Shooter ready?  Stand by…”beep!”  And they’re off…Bam, bam, run, bam, bam.  Crash..burn..oh crap.

What happened?  4 misses, 2 no shoots..but a smoking time.  So what?  Yeah, you were fast, but what did you hit?  But I was fast…Heard that scenario many times at matches.  But what about this one?

“Today in NYC, three bystanders were shot by police as they attempted to take down a murder suspect in front of the Empire State Building (true story).”  I don’t want to get into specifics on the brave LEOs facing an armed killer, since 20/20 hindsight is always easier than being there.   However, a lot can be learned from these kinds of events.

WARNING:  The following is based on my opinion and like your opinion, we all got one.  I ask you to check your ____ and continue to read.  YMMV… Continue reading →

Last time we left off on the crusade to make competition safe for the tactical world, we were making the case that stress introduced into shooting causes interesting results.  Being able to work through the stress of the timer will always improve your shooting ability.

I just got back from competing in a major international shooting competition where I saw and experienced different levels of stress.  The funny thing about stress (aside from actual physical stress) is that it’s only in the mind.  That’s right.  Stress is in the mind.  Stress has nothing to do with shooting.  Does it?  What constitutes shooting?  Lining up the sights and pulling the trigger.  No where in that equation does the word “stress” make an appearance.  “I hope I won’t miss”, “I suck at steel”, “I hate qualification” etc.  All mental problems that have nothing to do with shooting.  Being able to turn off the mental stress (conscious mind) and replace it with subconscious skill comes only with repeated practice.  However, you can practice and practice by yourself for eternity, but you need a way to test it.  That comes from shooting competitions. Continue reading →

“Don’t go swimming after you just ate a meal”, “You’ll get sick if you go outside with wet hair” and of course, “shooting competition will get you killed!” (from the Tactical Bible..)

Axioms to live by..or maybe we need to use critical thinking to get past what easily could be described as sacred mumbo jumbo.  Why?  In this four part series I’m going to present an argument on why competition is good for the tactical soul. Continue reading →