just got back from a USPSA match and just like every match I've shot for the past year, I completely shit the bed on my first stage of the day. I am usually in the bottom 5 in my division every first stage I do, even though I typically (not today) ramp it up as the match progresses.
How do you guys get over the mental hump and first stage jitters?
Is the problem accuracy, time, or both? I take extra care to exercise extreme visual patience on the first stage of a match. I also take the time to dry fire in the safe area so that my first draw/trigger press of the day is not on the first stage.
usually a combination of fumbling mags and accuracy issues. guess I need to force myself to slow down as I feel like I am moving a million miles per hourOriginally Posted by joshs
Today on stage one, I had 3 user induced malfunctions, botched a couple mag changes, and accuracy was in the shitter. Missed a couple of steel poppers badly as well.
Instead of racing through the course run the stage slower. Stop thinking about the clock and concentrate on performing every task correctly. I've found the more I concentrate on right the faster, and more accurate I get. There's nothing that makes me turn into a monkey with a football faster than trying to punish the clock in a match, and I have some pretty foul scores to show for it.
I do my best proofreading after I hit "Send"
I always do stage 1 at about 75% of whatever I feel my total capacity is. You can't win a match on your first stage, but you can certainly lose one.
It seems like you have forever to prepare for that first stage, but in reality you're loading mags, chatting with friends, helping the MD set up, putting your gear on, and so on. Be sure to give yourself ten full minutes to visualize running the stage perfectly over and over again. If you can see yourself execute every detail perfectly you can do it in real life.
I'll also caution that first stage jitters are a killer at a match like nationals, where you only shoot half days over the course of several days. If you need a few stages to get warmed up or settle in you will find yourself warmed up at the exact moment you're packing your gear into the trunk of your rental car each day.
Stop thinking about results (ie. match results) and just shoot the stage. If you have prepared and practiced well, you will do well. If you haven't, you won't, so don't worry about it. Plan out the stage, run through your plan a couple of times, then just shoot the stage. Don't pay any attention to how others shoot or what they say.
Eliminate all concept of shooting fast or pushing speed. Pay attention to what is important, which is making each shot no matter if easy or hard, hitting every reload correctly and moving efficiently. Don't think fast or slow, think correct sight picture for each shot.
No one consistently wins matches because they told themselves, "I'll push myself harder and faster and stretch my limits at the match today." They win matches because they have prepared themselves so well they didn't have to stretch.
Gringop
Play that song about the Irish chiropodist. Irish chiropodist? "My Fate Is In Your Hands."
If you think that you're always bad on your first stage, it becomes a self fulfilling prophesy. As was said above, focus on doing things correctly on stage one, not thinking about speed. If you do that, you'll eventually find yourself doing well on every first stage, and once you internalize that thought, you'll do even better.
Sent from my PG06100 using Tapatalk
I solved my "first stage" jitters by trying to "shoot" my first stage in my car, on the way over. I'll turn off the radio and envision my draws and reloads, think about where I'm putting my feet behind cover/fault lines, and how I like to get into and out of positions. I may or may not take my hands off the wheel and unconsciously pantomime reloading and trigger-press. By the time I get to registration, I'm past worrying about my mechanics, and am in the proper frame of mind to plan stages.
I'm sure I look ridiculous to anyone watching, and I feel pretty ridiculous sharing this. But my scores don't lie; when I spend the drive thinking about my shooting, I no longer make dumb mistakes on the first stage. Maybe looking ridiculous will work for you!
You can practice your first stage when you go out and live fire practice.
"Walkthrough" your first drill or exercise or little stage the first time you shoot. Do everything just like you would do in a match. Dry fire a bit in the safe area, get all your mags just right, etc.
The goal of this is to feel pressure. You need to convince yourself that the first rounds out of your gun for the day are your actual skill level.
If you can do that you will feel a bit of match pressure before you shoot when you are practicing. Once you feel that pressure you can learn to overcome it.
Reply With Quote