Stage planning and execution: programming conditionals

[Clusterfrack]

Several years ago Ben Stoeger told me that programming decisions into a stage plan is an advanced skill. He told me at the time not to try it. Steve Anderson has a similar take. The theory is that the subconscious mind is good at executing simple commands at our current level of skill. The subconscious is very literal, but not very smart. It has a hard time with even simple logic. For example if you tell it NOT to shoot the non-threat target, the subconscious is likely to ignore the negative and shoot the NS along with the other targets you thought about.

Here are some examples of what I mean by "programming conditionals":

• If I miss the 20yd minipopper: reload after the 1st target array, else reload after the 2nd array.
• If the swinger is available: shoot it first, else shoot the 1st static target.
• If I shoot to slidelock at the last position: stop even if steel is up (high HF stage).

I've had some recent success with adding conditional logic to my stage plans, and am curious if/how other people have solved this. I'll link some example videos in another post.

[Clusterfrack]

Here are two examples of decision-making: 1) subconscious "programming" and 2) a conscious decision.

The activator was at the first position and the swinger was at the last position [0:12s], so I couldn't know what the presentation would be (visible/not visible). Some people got lucky, and a bunch of people lost time waiting. My "program" was: 1) if there's a target at the left side of the barrel, shoot it, 2) shoot the R target, 3) shoot the swinger if it hasn't been shot. etc. I visualized it both ways a bunch of times.


Recent IDPA match: this stage was 3 shots per target, 9 rounds at the 1st position. To game it I wanted to dump the 10th round and reload with one in the chamber--but if needed, use that round to make up points down. This one's interesting because you can see my mental processing delay in the video. I shot a -1 on Target1, -0 on Target2, -0 on Target3, then the makeup on Target1. That's because it was a conscious decision, and I think that's always going to be slower.

[Lon]

[BN]

Interesting thread.

Your plan will be different depending on the type of match. For instance, your makeup shot on the IDPA stage was proper and you probably bettered your score slightly with 1 point per second scoring. Close though. In USPSA, you shouldn't make that pickup shot. In the old .5 second per point IDPA, I wouldn't have made up the shot.

I've been shooting matches of some sort since my first IPSC match in 1980, so I've seen a lot of changes in stage planning as well as stage design.

[JCN]

@Clusterfrack I’m working on just that specifically with regard to misses that change reloading strategies (cover / no cover).

I’m programming it in (or at least attempting to) kind of like you program in a malfunction clearance.

This is specific for me in IDPA and hadn’t come up in USPSA but the tac reload vs emergency reload rules “in the open” necessitate having that kind of programming.

When in doubt, step open and dump to slide lock lol.

[mmc45414]

Well yeah, but I forget all that shit when the beeper goes beep...

I do think I have a lot to gain at three gun by making better decisions. Last month we had an option to hit a couple (pretty big) targets with slugs from ~90yds or run forward and hit them with a pistol from ~45yds. We all (we are all Senior or Super Senior) made the decision that we run slower than we shoot, and went with the slugs. I chose poorly, pretty sure I can run less slowly than I can load a shotgun.

[GJM]

I generally have a plan and stick with it. My two exceptions are when a moving target presents, and reload/no reload decisions based on make up shots taken.

[ArgentFix]

So *that's* what everybody is doing for 5 minutes before the noises start. I thought they were all just wandering around mumbling numbers.

[Lon]

So *that's* what everybody is doing for 5 minutes before the noises start. I thought they were all just wandering around mumbling numbers.

One of my best friends, just “walks around and shoots some shit”. His attitude is “no stage planning in gun fights”.

[JCN]

One of my best friends, just “walks around and shoots some shit”. His attitude is “no stage planning in gun fights”.

Yeah, when someone tells me to do bill drills or slide lock reloads, I just Mozambique everything.

Same thing at shooting classes. Because why listen to directions or try to test your cognitive loading, amirite?

(You can tell him that stage planning and execution is cognitive load testing like casino drills or what have you, it’s not a surrogate for a gun fight… it’s training to be able to handle complex things while running a gun….).