Mental Skills Philosophy

[lijaco]

I have to agree, you first have to visualize that you can hit it. The worst thing to go up against, aside from unforeseen wind is actually thinking that you cannot do it. Nothing is tougher and harder to overcome than that. You just have to be familiar and know what you are going to do so as you can go and take and pick the shots that you are going to hit.

[waynemac]

Interesting...
I shoot benchrest. Not a very physical game, but it requires your gun handling to be pretty good. The game I shoot is called UBR. It's score shooting, and the goal is to hit a little dot for a score of 11. That corresponds to an X, and of coarse there are 10, 9, 8 rings as well. Wind reading in this, is the MOST critical of any other shooting sports you'll play. Components have gotten more, and more expensive, and so I don't practice at the range anymore. I sometimes have a morning commute of an hour and it's all interstate, early in the morning, and so I shoot a match in my mind as I drive. I've shot so many matches I have all the little nuances in my memory, and so I drive and shoot. I see the wind flags, I've got a 2-2.5 MPH wind coming from the 10:00 zone and holding steady. My rifle's in tune, and perfectly zeroed so I hold a little shallow in the 9 ring and touch the 1.5 OZ. trigger. I see the cross hairs move up in recoil, feel the butt stock touch my shoulder, then I grasp the trigger guard and slide the rifle forward to inspect my perfect eleven. I work the bolt, insert a fresh round and close on it, then settle the rifle in the rest in preparation for the next target.

This all started after I read a story about an Airforce pilot who was shot down and captured, then put in a small cage. To keep his mind from going to mush, he played 18 holes of golf every day... in his head. After he was released, and went back to civilian life, he played his first game of golf since his capture... the best game he had played to that point. His best game... made so from all the practice he had did during his incarceration.

I'm convinced it works. I normally shoot at least 2 matches a month during the season and have been in the top 3 or 4 where ever I shoot. I'm curently ranked 3rd in modified class for shooter of the year and 5th in unlimited class. Please feel free to look that up on the Ultimate Benchrest site.

In closing, please understand it's not my intention to brag, just qualifying my point. The surface has just been scratched, and there's potential for much more as we delve into the mental game.
Try it, it can be a game-changer if approached with an open mind.

Wayne

[Texas]

I have to agree, you first have to visualize that you can hit it. The worst thing to go up against, aside from unforeseen wind is actually thinking that you cannot do it. Nothing is tougher and harder to overcome than that. You just have to be familiar and know what you are going to do so as you can go and take and pick the shots that you are going to hit.

I do much better on live targets than paper. Because of a 300 Win Mag which kicked me all over a mountain, I do have to think about not flinching, but I find I concentrate on moving targets much better than stationary except for live game which takes the center focus and everything else seems to fall into line. Definitely a mental game once one learns how to shoot properly.

[ShooterScott]

I equate it a to like golf, once you get the basics down and practice a ton, it comes down to mostly mental. I know if my mind isn't clear and my breathing relaxed chances are I'm not going to perform as well as I usually could.

Also, not to get into a lot of woo woo, but I know in Japanese archery they speak a lot about the mental side and focus. For whatever that's worth.

[LR1955]

I equate it a to like golf, once you get the basics down and practice a ton, it comes down to mostly mental. I know if my mind isn't clear and my breathing relaxed chances are I'm not going to perform as well as I usually could.

Also, not to get into a lot of woo woo, but I know in Japanese archery they speak a lot about the mental side and focus. For whatever that's worth.

SS:

I think the mental side and focus is true in any activity where a person must direct something towards a target of some sort. I think that archery may be the most studied of the martial sports.

LR55

[drewthebrave]

"Baseball is 90 percent mental.
The other half is physical."
- Yogi Berra
I think this also applies to marksmanship.

[LR1955]

"Baseball is 90 percent mental.
The other half is physical."
- Yogi Berra
I think this also applies to marksmanship.

DTB:

Forgot the 2% luck.

LR55

[Johnny555]

Sometimes it is really hard for me to keep calm and don't get furious, but I have started practicing meditation and it really helps me to control myself