Originally Posted by
LangdonTactical
This is exactly where I was headed with this whole conversation.
Where time plus really shines is it rewards you from going as fast as you can while keeping in control of the outcome. Like both IDPA and KSTG scoring, speed is very important, but you cannot shoot fast enough to make up for poor hits either. Unlike USPSA, where you can shoot fast enough to make up for poor hits. I have seen it done and have been beaten at major matches because of that fact. (Coming in second to someone that has a few misses and a hit on a non-threat is hard to understand, but it happens)
That being said, one has to start somewhere and there has to be standards of performance that are considered acceptable.
I know that when I was very training hard to win competitions years ago, I knew how long it would take me to do any given task. Draw to a difficult shot, easy shot, movement, reloads of almost any type. I knew what my push times would be and what my safe times would be for almost any given task. Training was often geared toward improving those specific times while maintaining a very high level of accuracy. I knew all this because I used a timer for most of my training sessions. Not all of it, like TLG says, there is a time a place for slow fire with no time limit. But that was the bulk of my training focus.
I also like using the par time drills, such as the ones on Pistol-Training.com. They are a great gage, and can be modified to suit each person’s skill level. Most of them also really focus on accuracy at speed, which is what we are all striving for.
But I think as some point you have to run drills and focus on what the timer says. As ones skill level goes up, the little improvements in time are much harder to come by. For example, going from a 2 second draw to a 1.50 second draw comes much easier than going from a 1.25 second draw to a 1.15 draw.
For me it comes down to this. I want to train to move and shoot as fast as I possibly can, seeing what I need to see for any given shot. All while not having to make decisions about grip, stance, sights, trigger. I need to be thinking about what/who needs to be shot, where they can be shot, where I should be moving to, who else is in the area in front of or behind the intended target.
I think this comes from pushing speed in practice. Speed with accuracy as a gage = time plus.
So therefore I think this is the way to get the level of skill up for an individual or an elite team. Elite teams are very competitive, but if most of them can max or come close to maxing their qualification course of fire I think it puts a cap on how far and how hard they train. Time plus always leaves room for improvement and for someone to be on top.
Ernest Langdon