Are people better?

[45dotACP]

I like that article!

[IronArcher]

Echoing some of the others. There is just a LOT more information out now on training and technique. All the books that may have been written in the past are still available, but you get more new books, DVDs, Youtube vids etc.
The average joe can come here on the web and ask a GM for advice....I have never met a GM, and everyone that I have shot a match with save for 1, I met AT a match. Being able to get advice from the truly knowledgeable is a HUGE benefit. Being able to post a video and get feedback from a GM is a big benefit.
As a brand new shooter this year, I was able to get information from guys like Ben Stoeger. I was able to get VERY good advice, and was able to focus on the stuff that really mattered and ignore the stuff a noob doesn't need to worry about from GMs(Thanx specifically to Waktasz). In a few months, I'll be taking a class with Ben Stoeger... without the web, I wouldn't know who Stoeger was!
Hell, I learn a lot just listening to the Practical pistol show podcast! All the different GMs and their opinions...great stuff.
Honestly, stuff like that just makes me WANT to train more, and get better. If it was just a book on a table, it would probably lose my interest.

So yeah, I think collectively, we are getting better, and getting better faster...and it's MAINLY because of GMs like Les, Waktasz, Stoeger, Hopkins, Herron, etc etc.

Thank you guys!

[BaiHu]

Very apropos of this discussion. I read this article many years ago and refer to it often when teaching older/less physical or handicapped (visual/physical impairment) students martial arts.

Thanks for this article as it dovetails nicely to my 'collection of awesome reads'.

http://www.wired.com/2007/05/ff-mindgames/

[Randy Harris]

Another factor that combines with better training methodology to make shooters better and faster than they have ever been is the now ubiquitous affordable electronic timer and the reloading press to turn out large quantities of more affordable ammo at home.

[Sal Picante]

Another factor that combines with better training methodology to make shooters better and faster than they have ever been is the now ubiquitous affordable electronic timer and the reloading press to turn out large quantities of more affordable ammo at home.

^ This is a huge contributor, no doubt!! I mean, I've got an automated reloading setup and that alone has allowed me to burn more lead...

That said, volume alone isn't going to make you better - and that is where the timer comes into play: it allows you to measure to the Nth-degree what you're messing up and what you're doing right...

[Randy Harris]

Agreed. My point on ammo is that a guy in 1920 who was a serious gun carrier might only shoot 10 boxes of ammo (500 rounds ) a year due to the expense and they might have been considered an "expert pistol shooter". There are serious shooters now who might shoot that every week. I feel like I can probably guess who the better shooter is between the two..... Now, practice does not make perfect, it makes permanent. But assuming one learns the same skills, the one who has the ability to practice more has the advantage.

[MDS]

But assuming one learns the same skills, the one who has the ability to practice more has the advantage.

This. In my own experience, which is just anecdotal and comes from being addicted to getting "competent" at lots of things rather than getting "excellent" at just a few things, as well as applying that philosophy to my own teams, is that there are a few variables, each with different level of importance. Quality of practice and mindfulness during practice are IME more important than volume of practice. Quality of practice has to do with structured exercises focused on specific aspects of your performance, as described in the article. Great thread, thanks for pointing out that article!

[smithjd]

"Valley Uprising" is a documentary of rock climbing in Yosemite that shows a similar progression in a different endeavor. I thought it was respectfully done and very entertaining.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ONbyYMcp-Ss

[BN]

Nobody has mentioned Mike Dillon yet.

[Sal Picante]

"Valley Uprising" is a documentary of rock climbing in Yosemite that shows a similar progression in a different endeavor. I thought it was respectfully done and very entertaining.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ONbyYMcp-Ss

This is some pretty amazing stuff - I know 0.0% about anything climbing related. (Do pull-ups count?)

But I've been watching stuff on it for a bit this AM.

Shit like this underscores the point: