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On the Arnold thread, Klem said he was interested in hearing more about the notion of Centering and Relaxation techniques.
Here is my shot at it.
Lets take the situation where one of the guys here drove a hundred miles to a range and only has two hours to test out some loads and group. He rushes through set up, gets behind his blaster, and shoots a shot -- dead center in his target. Excited about not having to deal with zero issues, he shoots again and the holes are touching. Focused in on his third shot, the clover leafs.
Thoughts start entering his mind like "man, this seems like a great load! Maybe I got something here! Let me put this next shot right in the middle of the group." As he readies himself to shoot again, he notices a bit more tension in his shoulders and arm but looking through the optic, he notes that it really is a decent hold so he shoots again and the hole is just a bit outside of the others but maybe good enough.
So he thinks to himself "one final shot and if this one goes into the middle, I know I have something. I just need to get this shot off dead center or I will end up having to head home without knowing if this load was good or not. And the next time I can get here is in three weeks when the conditions may not be as ideal as today." He gets ready to shoot but things don't feel right. His legs are very tense, shoulders and arms are also very tense. He feels sweat rolling down his face and it bothers him. He gets behind his rifle and it seems the position is collapsing so he frantically adjusts things until he thinks he has something stable. His sight picture is a bit fuzzy and the reticle is moving but not that much. "Not sure if this is a good load or not and this shot will tell. Got to take a good shot." So he shoots but the optic jumps so he can't really call his shot. He thought it was centered but wasn't really sure.
The shot is about and inch outside the others. Not so far out he blames himself but not what he wanted either. And he doesn't have time to do it again. So he leaves trying to figure out if his load was good or not.
The first thing he screwed up was not taking all five shots in a rapid fire sequence where he would simply focus on sight picture and trigger as LRRP52 and myself normally recommend. He looked after each shot and the better the group got, the more his focus changed from shooting good shots to a demand for a perfect result. And he then let outside stressors get involved such as once a month range sessions, only two hours to figure out if his loads were good, etc. Physically, his muscles tensed which probably isn't good for precision shooting. His focus shifted from process to result, and he slowly left his ideal performance zone until he failed.
A person can look at 'centering' as balance between mind, body, spirit. Sounds familiar I bet. And yes, center of the body is considered the lower abdomin as you martial artist guys understand. That said, when people say 'stay centered' what they normally mean is to stay focused. This implies an ideal (for that person) state of being where he can focus on performing a specific task perfectly. It allows a person to shed stressors and refine his focus on performing the task. People who have practiced centering techniques can center themselves extremely quickly. Some use a breath with a cue word, others a breath with some sort of ritual. Either way, what they are doing is shedding what ever distractor is there and focusing on what they know is the right series of actions to take to succeed. It does not concern the past or future but only the present. You do not have to be laying down in a quiet room to 'center' yourself. You can center while doing about anything. It does take practice.
Here is a understandable link to centering. https://www.verywell.com/how-to-keep...e-game-3120691
Centering normally entails deep and controlled breathing. Normally inhale through nose and exhale through mouth. The breathing is controlled and most people use a count for inhale, hold (sometimes) and exhale. I think a SEAL is pushing a decent breathing technique to center which is a four count inhale, four count hold, and four count exhale. Some do two count inhale and four count exhale. OK -- do what ever you want because the whole intent is for you to shift your attention away from stressors and this can be done by counting as you breath, hold, or exhale. If your are counting, your attention is on counting. That simple. Plus you are oxygenating your entire body which means better vision, more strength, etc.
Once you do a couple iterations of your controlled breathing and you feel better from it, you can shift attention to muscular relaxation if that is appropriate. For shooters who are shooting standing or from a bench, let me suggest as you inhale your four count, shrug your shoulders upward, hold with tension at the top for your hold, then as you exhale you slowly relax your shoulders until they no longer feel tension. For shooters who are prone, when you get your shoulders relaxed, shift to your legs.
Once relaxed, your mind is clear and you can put the right types of images or thoughts into it for success.
So, what you are actually doing is clearing the mind, oxygenating the body, relaxing muscles so that you can focus your attention on doing the right actions to accomplish your task.
It won't happen in an instant. You need to practice it to find what works but it will entail controlled deep breathing -- that much I will say is required. Practice it when you are doing some informal shooting to learn your technique and use it when ever you need it.
OK Klem -- that is my part for the month.
LR55
Here is my shot at it.
Lets take the situation where one of the guys here drove a hundred miles to a range and only has two hours to test out some loads and group. He rushes through set up, gets behind his blaster, and shoots a shot -- dead center in his target. Excited about not having to deal with zero issues, he shoots again and the holes are touching. Focused in on his third shot, the clover leafs.
Thoughts start entering his mind like "man, this seems like a great load! Maybe I got something here! Let me put this next shot right in the middle of the group." As he readies himself to shoot again, he notices a bit more tension in his shoulders and arm but looking through the optic, he notes that it really is a decent hold so he shoots again and the hole is just a bit outside of the others but maybe good enough.
So he thinks to himself "one final shot and if this one goes into the middle, I know I have something. I just need to get this shot off dead center or I will end up having to head home without knowing if this load was good or not. And the next time I can get here is in three weeks when the conditions may not be as ideal as today." He gets ready to shoot but things don't feel right. His legs are very tense, shoulders and arms are also very tense. He feels sweat rolling down his face and it bothers him. He gets behind his rifle and it seems the position is collapsing so he frantically adjusts things until he thinks he has something stable. His sight picture is a bit fuzzy and the reticle is moving but not that much. "Not sure if this is a good load or not and this shot will tell. Got to take a good shot." So he shoots but the optic jumps so he can't really call his shot. He thought it was centered but wasn't really sure.
The shot is about and inch outside the others. Not so far out he blames himself but not what he wanted either. And he doesn't have time to do it again. So he leaves trying to figure out if his load was good or not.
The first thing he screwed up was not taking all five shots in a rapid fire sequence where he would simply focus on sight picture and trigger as LRRP52 and myself normally recommend. He looked after each shot and the better the group got, the more his focus changed from shooting good shots to a demand for a perfect result. And he then let outside stressors get involved such as once a month range sessions, only two hours to figure out if his loads were good, etc. Physically, his muscles tensed which probably isn't good for precision shooting. His focus shifted from process to result, and he slowly left his ideal performance zone until he failed.
A person can look at 'centering' as balance between mind, body, spirit. Sounds familiar I bet. And yes, center of the body is considered the lower abdomin as you martial artist guys understand. That said, when people say 'stay centered' what they normally mean is to stay focused. This implies an ideal (for that person) state of being where he can focus on performing a specific task perfectly. It allows a person to shed stressors and refine his focus on performing the task. People who have practiced centering techniques can center themselves extremely quickly. Some use a breath with a cue word, others a breath with some sort of ritual. Either way, what they are doing is shedding what ever distractor is there and focusing on what they know is the right series of actions to take to succeed. It does not concern the past or future but only the present. You do not have to be laying down in a quiet room to 'center' yourself. You can center while doing about anything. It does take practice.
Here is a understandable link to centering. https://www.verywell.com/how-to-keep...e-game-3120691
Centering normally entails deep and controlled breathing. Normally inhale through nose and exhale through mouth. The breathing is controlled and most people use a count for inhale, hold (sometimes) and exhale. I think a SEAL is pushing a decent breathing technique to center which is a four count inhale, four count hold, and four count exhale. Some do two count inhale and four count exhale. OK -- do what ever you want because the whole intent is for you to shift your attention away from stressors and this can be done by counting as you breath, hold, or exhale. If your are counting, your attention is on counting. That simple. Plus you are oxygenating your entire body which means better vision, more strength, etc.
Once you do a couple iterations of your controlled breathing and you feel better from it, you can shift attention to muscular relaxation if that is appropriate. For shooters who are shooting standing or from a bench, let me suggest as you inhale your four count, shrug your shoulders upward, hold with tension at the top for your hold, then as you exhale you slowly relax your shoulders until they no longer feel tension. For shooters who are prone, when you get your shoulders relaxed, shift to your legs.
Once relaxed, your mind is clear and you can put the right types of images or thoughts into it for success.
So, what you are actually doing is clearing the mind, oxygenating the body, relaxing muscles so that you can focus your attention on doing the right actions to accomplish your task.
It won't happen in an instant. You need to practice it to find what works but it will entail controlled deep breathing -- that much I will say is required. Practice it when you are doing some informal shooting to learn your technique and use it when ever you need it.
OK Klem -- that is my part for the month.
LR55
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