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Found this article on getting over plateaus in life at Art of Manliness. Seems to have some good insights:
1) Focus on technique
2) Stay goal oriented
3) Get immediate feedback
I'm nowhere near a plateau - still definitely on the upslope. But have some of the instructors/professionals here experienced plateaus? How do you get over them?
I change things.
It is really easy to get into a shooting "routine", especially when crunched for time, and life continues on. Kids, Wives, GF's, jobs, etc all get in the way of shooting. What I typically end up with is a very predictable routine when I start getting busy. I show up, shoot my 300-400 in very similar ways each and every range trip.
Break the routine. Try something new. Set aside a few extra minutes to ensure a productive change of pace. Often I will go find a trainer that I have not shot with for a very long time, or ever. Get a new old spin on something. I am fortunate that I have a large rolodex of trainers that I can hit up for some fresh materials, and a fresh look at how I can improve. If you don't just go find your shooting buddy who can help push you.
Finally, always shoot with people better than you. Getting donkey stomped always makes me push a little harder......pride can be a useful tool at times.
People plateau at different points for different reasons.
First, if you're not performance tracking, you have no idea whether you've plateaued to begin with.
Second, don't automatically equate a plateau with failure. If I was consistently shooting 3.5 FASTs for a year straight, I wouldn't cry about it. Breaking through some plateaus can require substantial time and effort. Compare your plateau to your goal before jumping to the conclusion that "skill maintenance" is bad.
Another important aspect of breaking through a plateau is to watch yourself and make sure you really know what you're doing. I recently worked with someone who was certain his grip was great and it was trigger control that needed work... but the exact opposite was true. Think of all the things you know you're supposed to do -- grip, stance, sight focus and tracking, trigger manipulation, etc. -- and then pay attention to whether you're actually doing them. Are you doing things the way you would teach someone else, or are you just sort of doing all that stuff yourself?
I've taken a few breaks from my training program and would definitely recommend that to anyone stuck in a plateau. Don't practice for a week, or two weeks, and you'll come back to it with a fresh perspective :)
1) I am amazed how few people actually shoot with a timer. In a thread on the PPQ, on another forum, I asked a poster about split times on known drills with the PPQ compared to their times with a Glock or M&P. His response was that split times were just for gamers, and all he cared about was accuracy and reliability. Huh? The conversation then devolved into his statement that the "shoot house was all that mattered."Quote:
Originally Posted by ToddG
2) I also believe that we can create psychological barriers that prevent us from progressing. As an example, on the last day of class, Bill Rogers described a series of drills that we could practice on paper with a timer, without the benefit of his target system. I will give times to make the point, but they are irrelevant otherwise. Par for this particular drill, from an extended ready was .5 seconds to place an A zone hit at 7 yards (about .25 to react to the timer and .25 to make the shot). Initially, I was comfortable at .65, and .50 felt racing. With time, I was consistent at .50, and felt comfortable as that was what Bill had given as the par time. Occasionally, I saw .41 or .42, and assumed it was a fluke. In a conversation on the Gunsite alumni List, someone commented that they could do it in .35. I called BS, but they insisted. After that, I went out the next session and did .36 and .35 enough times to know it was not a fluke, and have .32 on video. Nothing had changed except I had given myself permission to go faster than the Rogers par time. No doubt, there are many things I am sure I can do faster/better/more accurately if I freed myself of self imposed restrictions.
I call that getting out of my own way. It is the hardest thing in training, for me.