This week I'm running the pistol and rifle events for the Ohio Police and Fire Games and I've seen quite a few meltdowns.
I think the only way to get past it is to expose yourself to that stress as often as possible. The biggest stressor i saw over the last couple days was in the man on man steel shoot off. Good shooters tanked under the pressure.
Go shoot matches. Be safe. Have fun. Go slow at first. You will get better.
Formerly known as xpd54.
The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions or policies of my employer.
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The shot timer isn't the only factor that causes a loss of IQ points. There's also the fact that you suddenly have an audience. If you do something stupid in practice, no one knows but you. You do it at a match and you feel like EVERYONE sees it.
The "don't look stupid in front of everyone" factor can be a big one. That's taking a lot longer for me to move past than the shot timer anxiety.
Speaking of match meltdowns, I can honestly say that I'm glad that I didn't have a video camera filming me today, because my performance was probably one of the worst I've ever put together. My first "big" match since making 5-gun master, and I need a lot of work before the IDPA World Shoot.
Shoot your own match, the only person you should be competing against is yourself. I started having meltdowns much less frequently when I stopped caring how other people shot and developed the visual patience to see what I need to see on every target. Remember, shooting is 99% mental, and the rest is in your head.
Nice to meet you yesterday Caleb. You weren't the only one with the 'match meltdown'. After the HNT I had on stage 2 (the runner) I found myself trying to speed up to make up for the 5 points...big mistake because I began eating points.
Being a 5-gun Master (one of only 13 in IDPA) puts you in the class with those I mentioned above.
Keith, it was good to meet you in person as well! I did actually have fun shooting the match yesterday; the Carolina Cup really is the best example of how an IDPA match should be run in the country.
It's also important to remember that even when your match doesn't go well, there is always something to learn from it.
For example, the Carolina Cup this year was exactly what I needed. I'm shooting the IDPA World Championship this year in September, which gives me about 3 months to prepare for the match. The Cup really showed me some of the big weak spots that I need to address before the World Championship, one of the big one being my footwork. On one of the very few stages with any sort of realistic cover, I spent too much time getting in and out of positions and not getting on target quick enough. In fact, I'd say that's the biggest problem I had throughout the match was that my footwork cost me precious seconds across the board. I shoot like a 5-gun master, but I don't move like a 5-gun master. And at the level of matches like Carolina Cup, moving quickly is just as important as good shooting.
I did also drop a few too many -3 targets as well. The other valuable takeaway I had from this match was that if I'm having trouble getting my head in the game (which I did all day yesterday) the best thing I can do isn't try and slam the throttle against the wall and hope for the best, but rather take a bit off and focus on getting good hits.
I'll actually have two posts up next week on Gun Nuts about the match - one on the match in general and another on shooting through bad focus.
Originally Posted by Keith Garner
Are you basing this number on the list on the IDPA web page? My understanding is that those lists are the names of the people who have filled out the forms and sent a check to IDPA and that the lists don't show the names of all IDPA shooters that qualify.
I'm not disparaging any of the 13 on the list at all as if I qualified I would send in the appropriate stuff.
Yes, the ones listed on their page. If I am ever so skilled to get that designation my account will be less $50.00.
Keith, just saw the match results. Looks like you edged me by a couple of seconds, congratulations on some great shooting! Even though you were shooting an Enhanced Gamer Pistol and I was shooting a manly .45 ACP. ;-)
In all seriousness though, you should try for the 5 Gun Master thing. I think it's a shame that there are plenty of talented shooters out there that haven't given it a go even though it's actually easy*.
*Assuming you have the time and money to set up and practice the classifier regularly.
Yea, I have my own division now...EGP! LOL!!! 5-gun will happen eventually for me...maybe I can win the lottery and it'll happen faster but since I work for the gov'mint I will take one at a time.
I went back on Sunday for the Panteao Productions clinic...mainly just to meet Vogel and hear some wisdom. I can not believe how fast he is. He beat his closest competition by over 30 points...total score 165.95...only went 13 down for the entire match (16 stages for those of you that weren't there). Watching him shoot stage 10 (picnic table) again at the clinic he did an 8.74...clean! I don't think he has "match meltdown" the same way I did. He melted each stage with speed & accuracy...I got my rear-end handed to me...especially on the runner & boat stage.
I stand by my prediction that if Vogel ever shoots F.A.S.T. he will be faster than Dave.
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