How to stay calm while shooting a competitive shooting match

[armadio]

hey ipsc and idpa guys!

today i`ve shot my first ipsc match in production class. the final result was ok. my ranking was somewhere in the middle of all competitors.

i am training for ipsc (courses, dotdrills, basics) since a year. i try to join the ipsc range 3 times a month. 2 times a month i am shooting standing with different firearms and calibers at 25 m, just to focus and not to forget about the basics.

i learned being relaxed while shooting to avoid failures. i am feeling quiet comfortable with it from now on.

but on todays match it was totally different. i was relaxed while shooting, like always, but i`ve felt kind of nervous/stressed while i moved on the stages. i forgot to shoot at targets, did unecessary steps and reloads.

ok, it was a match, but it was about nothing, except for experiences.

how can i improve staying calm and being more focused?
i know practise practise practise, but there must be something more!

any ideas?

 

[Sam1911]

The best practice for match shooting is match shooting.

Practice is great. The more you practice, the less you'll have to think about shooting and the more you can spend your brain's power on figuring out the course of fire and what you should be doing.

But the nervousness you're feeling is not going to go away until shooting a match is something you've done a lot of times. When shooting a match feels like just another practice day, then you won't have to fight nervousness and "match jitters" so much.

 

[1911 guy]

What Sam said. The only way to get over the jitters is to do it enough times that your mind and body feel prepared for it. If there was a "magic pill" solution, everyone would be all over it.

 

[Sam1911]

There were a great many competitors of previous generations who routinely took a small drink of their favorite fermented or distilled beverage before shooting to "settle their nerves." I don't know the social climate where you are, but here in the US that is thought to be very bad and socially (even legally) irresponsible today.

I remember seeing that there had been at least one study of such shooters many years ago and, if I remember correctly, it was found that there really wasn't any noticeable benefit from having a small bit of alcohol in the system.

Either way, I wouldn't recommend it.

Now other chemicals can certainly affect you. Shooters in the precision disciplines (like conventional or free pistol, position rifle, etc.) will often STOP drinking coffee, tea, or other beverages which contain caffeine, and maybe stop smoking as well during their shooting season or at least before matches.

I doubt that has any real effect on IDPA or IPSC or other "run & gun" type shooting, though.

 

[newfalguy101]

I think that if you were to talk to just about any top level competitor, they would tell you that the nerves NEVER go away, you just learn to funnel the nervous energy.

Watch top flight shooters prior to their runs and they are often going through the motions with eyes closed imagining the course...they are doing something to keep focused on the task at hand.

 

[armadio]

ok, thanks so far!

i was not thinking about doing drugs...
more like breathing techniques, methods to relax, just something to calm down naturally.

 

[patmccoy]

To calm down generally, you can do "belly breathing". Breathe in deeply through your nose while allowing your belly to expand; then breathe out slowly through your mount. Several repetitions can slow your pulse.

Also, develop a "special place" to go to in your mind. some where calm and relaxing. When stressed, close your eyes and go to the"special place" for a few moments.

What newfalguy101 said about running the stage in your mind before actually shooting the stage is also very helpful in not forgetting targets, remembering reloads, and generally getting through. The more realistic you can make the imagination, the better you'll do.

 

[armadio]

this sounds great! thx!

 

[Sheepdog1968]

When I joined a trap league I felt lots of pressure to do well. The clays flew fast. The mire I did it, the less stress I felt. I rarely feel stressed. Now when I'm having a good day, the clays appear to fly almost in slow motion. I think it is just a matter of doing it more till you are used to the situation and become a bit more inoculated to the stress.

 

[Sol]

Ive never shot in a competition, but if I did, I would get a good nights sleep and eat a good breakfast sans caffiene.

 

[arspeukinen]

no booze in preceding day. sex helps (=good sleep).

 

[taliv]

I'd recommend going to brian enos' forum and reading a bit there. I think they have a whole forum on this topic.

90% of shooting is mental.

 

[Hangingrock]

Its not life or death. A match is just a game. Nothing more or less. Place it in perspective.

 

[Deaf Smith]

How to stay calm while shooting a competitive shooting match

Charlie Askins in his book on shooting said he and other gents took a snoot full of Jack Daniels.

That was back in the 1930s and may not work out so well these days.

What I do is I take the match as a challenge to myself and to heck with the trophy.

And then, as Brian Enos would say, 'I let it happen'.

If you practice well before the matches, I mean long and hard, then the techniques will be ingrained and all you have to do is release yourself and, yes, let it happen.

Deaf

 

[MrBorland]

Lots of good advice here.

There's a difference between match jitters and letting distractions get in your head. I've always felt match jitters (I don't think that'll ever go away), but the latter is what really negatively affects your performance. Learn to discern the difference.

A distraction is anything that's not necessary for the task at hand and/or keeps you from shooting to your ability. Maybe everyone else on your squad is more experienced or has a higher classification. That has nothing to do with your shooting, so worrying about it is a distraction. Conversely, thinking about winning (or worrying about not winning) is a big distraction, as it's putting your mental energy on something other than the process of shooting your best.

Another distraction is the negative chatter that gets kicked around among the squad during a match. "Oh boy, this stage is gonna be hard. That mover is really fast". Buy into it, and it becomes subconscious mental chatter that gives yourself permission to underperform. So ignore it and let them underperform.

Generally, then, my advice, then, is to stay focused on only those things that help you shoot well, and ignore the rest. Understand and accept you can only do your best, and the chips will fall where they will. As Taliv offered, 90% of shooting is mental. A great book on the mental game is Lanny Bassham's With Winning in Mind.

 

[allaroundhunter]

I'd recommend going to brian enos' forum and reading a bit there. I think they have a whole forum on this topic.

90% of shooting is mental.

This is good advice.

Another piece that I will let is to make your own stage plan, and not worry about what other competitors are doing. As soon add you try to adapt your plan to include elements of someone else's, you will begin getting more nervous trying to remember that and start forgetting what you actually need to do.

Make a plan, stick with it, and see your sights.

 

[g.willikers]

In a nondangerous situation, stress and nervousness are self induced.
So, just don't do that.
Match stress usually derives from wanting to do well and lacking the confidence to believe you can.
And that's mostly an ego thing, wanting to score well and look good in front of others.
Forget that part and just concentrate on shooting the stage as well as you can, staying within your limitations.
Which, of course, are continually expanding with experience.
In other words, run your own game, not someone elses.

 

[taliv]

Different things stress different people. A friend of mine who has a LOT of combat experience says they had to work to keep the guys from getting too comfortable because they were getting in a firefight every night. But the stock market stressed him out so much he wouldn't invest.

I could be wrong but I think the fear of getting embarrassed in a match is worse for some people than getting shot at.

My match jitters went away a long time ago. I can bring them back if I stand around and psych myself out. But if I just go about my normal routine I never go buzzer dumb anymore.

But my distractions never went away. Still lose focus sometimes and have a trainwreck

 

[twofifty]

Trying to go too fast for your match experience level is a great way to increase your jitters and to make even more mistakes.

Best advice I ever got when starting out was to take my time and shoot the stage at a pace where I can stay on my plan. Eventually, we learn to execute our plan at a faster pace.

We also learn not to let the inevitable misstep flush the balance of a stage -or the whole match- down the drain.

 

[Ankeny]

Watch top flight shooters prior to their runs and they are often going through the motions with eyes closed imagining the course...they are doing something to keep focused on the task at hand.

You should be able to close your eyes and visualize shooting the entire course, target engagement order, moving, reloading, etc. Even visulaize the bullet hitting the A box or steel. Once the buzzer goes off, just execute the visual plan without judgement. The only shot that matters is the next shot. Shift your attention to what it takes to make and call the next shot. Nothing else matters.

 

[Drail]

I remember back about 1990 watching a young Doug Koenig walk around matches listening to heavy metal on headphones to relax. Personally Mozart or Chopin works better for me. Take a class or read a book on meditation. Meditation will help you live longer and take all of the stress out of life. It might seem weird to some but it works better than any drug. It will slow your breathing and lower your heartrate. Visualization is another powerful tool that helped me win a few matches. Be the ball, Danny. Shooting is a very Zen sport, like golf. Also get in the habit of NOT looking at the stats to see where you are. It doesn't matter until the match is over and you put your gear away. The only person I am competing with is myself. Relax. Breathe. Laugh a lot - especially at yourself. Set steel and paste targets. Read Brian Enos' book - Practical Shooting - Beyond the Fundamentals. There is a LOT of very good information in it.

 

[taliv]

Also get in the habit of NOT looking at the stats to see where you are.

oh, but the mental game is competitive too! psyching out your friends more then they're psyching you out. at the matches i attend, this generally results in nobody keeping their own score, while telling your friends you think they're in the lead.

i listen to the heavy metal on the way to the match, but once you're at the staging area, i'm either helping n00bs or trying to get in my friends' heads

 

[noplay6978]

I have always believed in preperation. Rest, organization, meditation, practice, game plan.
My last match preperation was much different. 3 hours sleep, drinking till late the night before, zero game plan. I did pack my range bag and laid my clothes out the night before. 2 cups of strong coffe on the way to the match and I was still a little ragged at the edges, with no expectations of doing any kind of work that day. I ended up winning my div/class, and 23 pts down for the match.
Go figure.

 

[waktasz]

Lanny Basham's mental management program is awesome.
http://mental.super-tactical.com/

 

[Jim Watson]

If I didn't get SOME match nerves to stir up the adrenaline, what would be the point of competition? I could just shoot my usual sloppy target while nobody was watching and save the drive and entry money.

There was an actual study of chemical effects on shooting, many years ago.
Starting with good bullseye shooters with long run average scores to compare, they administered either alcohol or a tranquilizer before shooting. Their slowfire scores improved somewhat, but their timed and rapid fire scores fell off badly.