Things have been going well…until Wednesday when I jammed my right thumb skiing. My CMC joint is really flared up. Definitely no live fire at the moment. I may be getting to the point where I can practice draws, and dry work. I want to do something, but I don’t want to practice compensating bad reps. [emoji51]
Flip your holster to the other handedness by going IWB to OWB or vice versa and work weak hand only.Originally Posted by Risto
Yeah? I was considering that but wasn’t sure if it’s worth the relearning curve. I will try it! Getting arthritis in primary anyway.
When I injured my right wrist I took the opportunity to work my weak hand.
It’s better than doing nothing and you really want injuries to heal right or else it’ll keep flaring up.
I am not satisfied with my progress on this practice, and I realize it's basically because I am trying to do too much all at once. So today I changed my approach. Instead of doing whole sets of 10, I did sets of one, with a full visualization in between each rep. I set the time between reps on the dry practice app for 9 seconds, which gave me plenty of time. I was able to visualize getting my grip correct and firm enough, getting my trigger finger placed correctly (I've been moving it back off the trigger, more towards the textbook center of the distal pad, which I am finding improves the dot stability), taking my time to get the dot properly placed before I complete the trigger press, and watching to make sure I keep the dot stable through the two shots. After I finish the string I'm checking my trigger finger placement and the feel of my grip to be sure I did it right. This seemed to make a big difference. Sure, I still butchered the grip a few times and whatnot, but I believe in general I made a pretty solid improvement in the way I carried out the drill.
Visualization is one of those things I've read about but never really tried to apply. I will keep working on this through the rest of the week and see how we do.
I had hoped to get in a live fire check this past weekend but it didn't happen. Maybe Thursday this week.
O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts, And men have lost their reason.
I am seeing my dot more frequently at the 3yd stage during dry fire. Today at lunch I saw it on the first round probably 7/10 times. I am hopeful this shows improvement in my index.
The most noticeable lesson here is that improvement with the sub-second stage pays great dividends at longer range. I have more time to make a better, more stable shot if I spend less time drawing. On the 7 and 15 stages I’m seeing the dot for longer. I find myself slowing the split down slightly to get more refinement in my sight picture and trigger press, rather than trying for the fastest possible time. We’ll see how this works out live.
Still need to get some good video of my draw to analyze.
YES YES YES YES YES!
That’s the part I have not been able to get through to traditionalists who decry the “sub second draw.”
It’s not about the sub second draw, it’s about the index and vision that it buys you.
That’s what I was trying to get across to “that Weems guy” when he was decrying sub second draws in that video.
It’s missing the point. Having the ability to do a sub second draw to a reasonable target buys you more time and vision if you have to make a harder or tougher judgement shot.
It’s not buzzer-bam like a dog Pavlovian reflex. That’s simplistic and ignorant to think it is or would be the case.
Basically if someone CANNOT do a sub second close shot they’re slow or they’re not scaling their vision and mechanics. That goes both ways, if someone can’t scale close they also usually have a hard time scaling medium.
I would take someone who has these three gears and visual / trigger cadences locked down over someone who only has one trained speed (either fast or slow).
Awesome job @ssb in keeping an open mind and working things you hadn’t before.
It’s something that’s sorely missing in a lot of the traditional curriculum, IMO.
@Moylan great job in breaking things down further to get what you need out of it. Visualization is HUGE for improvement. Getting the mind’s eye trained for a split and spread without hesitation and with full confidence is what performing on course is all about. This will pay off huge for you.
There’s still time to put the work in!
I haven’t decided where / what format to do the next step.
We can do another drill thread or split it off into another group training journal / coaching thread or do nothing if people don’t care.
What are you liking / not liking about this format?
I typically do the 3 yard string last, but I think if I did it first I the other strings would be faster because of what SSB and JCN mentioned.
One thing I've also struggled with on the 3 yard is getting the safety off with proper timing. The draw is so fast that it sometimes comes off too soon or too late when I try to apply it later in the draw stroke. I think ideally I don't want it coming off until the gun is at least pointed in front of my body. Not something I''ve spent too much time thinking on.
Also on the topic of progress, I think we have to remember where we were when we started doing the drill. Even a tenth improvement on the strings over a couple weeks is HUGE.
I say do a separate thread from this. I like reading through everyone's progress and what people are learning.
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