Tips on Pistol Shooting

[tirpassion]

hey tir
have been practicing the 60 hold. last prac yesterday was exciting but am yet to achieve the tgt. yesterday i could get 100% in first 40 holds but the foresight suddenly went up on the 50th hold and on the 53 it dipped. shoulder tiring? i dont know. but i will keep trying.

You see jitu... you have achieved the 100% in 40 holds again. It has become a normal procedure for you. Very good going! Bravo!!!
Now that should be your mental power for a live shooting session be it training or a match; 'I know how to perceive and hold the perfect SA image for more than 10 seconds in my confidence zone so nothing can prevent me to release my shot in 3-5 secs. The job is in fact, not that tough at all...I can do it and hence I will do it.'

It is not shoulder tiring. It is just the sudden snag of the mental energy supply system; I am so near... kind of stuff
You are on the right track of the SA exercise. You will do it. You have another 6 days to go...

best regards
tirpassion

[brihacharan]

[quote="
airgun_novice"]
Dear tirpassion, You have broken that 510 barrier with your 522. In fact if a 7 had been turned into 8 or up and that "bloody 5" had been an 8 or up - you would have inched closer to 530 which is the confidence hvj1 Guruji has reposed in you. toe lage raho - congrats and good luck. Now that you have yourself set the benchmark, turn it into the "floor" and set a new one for the tops.

Dear all, I can now get into Padmasan for 15 min (don't dare go above that in case strain my knee muscles or ligaments) and in it actually tried lifting my body on hands (like modified tulasan) at the sides. Could do for a count of 5, i.e. may be 3 seconds. Kids were thrilled; so was I. Now shall combine Padmasan with Pranayam this week on. Last week (15th) also achieved first target of 110 kg - dropped 5 from 115kg.
Many thanks to "The One who has walked Many Steps" in helping me take my first step towards fitness. Next milestone - 105 on I-Day. On technical side - still in the 88 (estimated) zone. Did not count #9 or # 10; only the off shots and the rest multiplied by 9.5. Will hit the range again on 29th - have to do "follow-through" on a few other things till then.
regs,
AGN

Hi AGN,
> Your Physical Fitness Regimen seems to have jettisoned you from Inertia to acceleration - all that needs is to gain momentum and cruise along
> Keep up the good work & Good Luck
Cheers
Briha

[jitu sati]

hey tir
the dates for the raj states r probably on 20-21 Aug. anything different to be done for next month or so or should continue with the same

[tirpassion]

Dear jitu,
just keep on doing what you are doing. Be demanding with yourself to achieve better percentage. That is the goal. After 29th July, after you would have achieved your 100% in SA hold in 60 holds , you will shoot 2 consecutive matches of 40 shots one day on proper competition targets (but always with a box drill, the SOA drill so to say). You will count the score. After a brief analysis of the 1st match, you will note down all the errors and you will be firmly determined to eradicate the same errors in the following match. After the 2nd match, you will count the score and analyse your match in writing in your diary.

Please be prepared for the real match like situation, apply whatever you have learnt and acquired. Add to the difficulty by only shooting 3 sighter shots, not a single more.

best regards
tirpassion

[jitu sati]

ok tir. let me first set my sights on achieving 100% in 60 holds.

[brihacharan]

[quote="jitu sati"]
ok tir. let me first set my sights on achieving 100% in 60 holds.

Hi Jitu,
> From the above its clear that your mind is set on 'Achieving 100% in 60 holds
> Let me assure you that if you set your mind. body & soul to achieve it "YOU WILL".
> Go ahead - Make it happen
> Good Luck!
> BTW - Any progress with the exercises?
Briha

[tirpassion]

Hi Jitu,
> From the above its clear that your mind is set on 'Achieving 100% in 60 holds
> Let me assure you that if you set your mind. body & soul to achieve it "YOU WILL".
> Go ahead - Make it happen
> Good Luck!
> BTW - Any progress with the exercises?
Briha

Thanks Brihaji for your back-up and continuous support. I am sure it will help jitu, agn and others including me immensely.

best regards
tirpassion

[jitu sati]

brihaji
have started the ex. the repeated sets are tiring but would certainly help me build strength. will let you know if i have any problems
hey tir
did one more 60 holds prac yesterday. no hitch till 56th hold . was about to rush to the net to tell you"i did it" but then in the 57th hold the foresight dipped. for one moment i felt like kicking myself and storming out of the place in a huff. but calmed myself and did the 58-60 correctly. but i am sure now that i will achieve it before 29th. the arm and elbow pained a little after the 60 holds but i guess that is the part of the game.

[tirpassion]

Dear jitu,
I have only one word for you 'Excellent'!!! .
The day I went for the 90 holds, I faltered on the 86th hold because I was just willing to rush to the internet to announce as you have done. A small advice; sit down and rest before executing the last 5 holds. Sit down again and again if needed before every hold in the last phase. You are fighting with your own self and building MENTAL POWER. While sitting, concentrate and feel the determination of doing it. Visualize how you are doing it. You have done it!

The day you achieve it, you will rush to the internet and write a note like

Hey hvj, Guruji, I have done it at last, after two & half years.

Best regards
tirpassion

[airgun_novice]

My "progressive" glasses aren't ready yet. So went off to the range "as usual" - except for two days before yesterday I did a lot of reading and writing and had to use glasses due to prolonged hours. Though I slept off early yesterday - today at the range, had a problem focusing with the double images playing havoc - the first hour went for dry fire practice and "not-so-good" live ones. Looks like once eyes get addicted to glasses, it's very tough to do without them, right ?

In the second half "bootstrapped" myself, knit the eyebrows, sank into Zero every now and then for a sec or two and shot two cards each with 20 shots to "avoid" counting scores. First card 3 in #7 and 3 in #8 and no whites. Second card 1 in #6 (I have to have a white ), 1 in #7, 3 in # 8. Overall, 29/40 in the desired zone (#9 or #10). Dare I hope to see at least marginal "progress" due to the "progressive". That would be nice.

Incidentally, the previous visit to the range on Jul 18th had 38/60 in the desired zone (#9 or #10) on 3 cards with 20 shots each having 15, 10 and 13 therein.

[jitu sati]

hey tir
finally i ddddddddddddid it. took a lot of goading myself to try again yesterday. but i told myself that the time line fixed by upacharya is drawing close and closer it comes more tense i will get. so i steeled myself and went for it. first 40 was pretty easy as i had done it twice before. after that the mind started playing games. but did a lot of deep breathing and consciously kept trying to keep the mind focused. there was a bit of a hickup when i lost the count at 48th hold. i did one more hold to ensure that i had indeed done the 48th one. sat down after every 4 holds in the last ten. max effort was reqd for the 59th and 60th one. but finally when i did the last one, instead of feeling the urge to run to the net , felt totally drained with relief and just sat down for 10 min without doing anything. my family members gave me wierd glances, but i guess there are some moments when you dont want to share anything with anybody and feel like just enjoying it alone in your mind.
now that it is done please advise how many times i need to keep doing it every week. secondly should i go in today for the back to back shoots?

[brihacharan]

Quote - tirpassion
Dear jitu,
I have only one word for you 'Excellent'!!!
You are fighting with your own self and building MENTAL POWER. While sitting, concentrate and feel the determination of doing it. Visualize how you are doing it. You have done it!

Hi Jitu,
> Simply amazing - your persistence has paid full dividends
> It's MIND over MATTER!
> Small piece of 'Gyan' - Continue Pranayam before & after practice. Also if your muscles are getting stiff, suggest you take a body massage once a fortnight to loosen your muscles - after which bathe in warm water - helps blood circulation & reduces fatigue.
> Congrats & Keep going
Briha

[brihacharan]

Hi Jitu,

> Just came across this excerpt - Surprisingly this is what 'WE' have been discussing all along! I reproduce the text & the link - Hope it'll be useful.

Air Pistol Training is more about MENTAL DISCIPLINE than Technique
by
Jukka Lahti – Finnish Champ

If you truly want to improve your scores, you can't "just shoot". You have to practice.

You have to really concentrate on what you do on the range and at home. The fun part is competing as you can just relax and let everything you've learned in practice just happen.

Air pistol training is firstly learning the right techniques. More important than doing things like others do is to do them the way you feel comfortable. Of course there are guidelines and best practices that are universal. But there are also plenty of things you can adjust according to your own liking.

When you're practicing air pistol techniques, you should practice only one thing at a time. Stance, grip, aiming and pulling the trigger are the main elements but they can be divided into more detailed processes. For every practice session you choose an element you'll concentrate on.

There are two main reasons why you practice only one thing at a time.

1. Air pistol shooting is fairly complicated process as there are a lot of little things that are happening simultaneously. If you're not concentrating on one single thing, there's just no way you can perfect your process because your brain can't register all the things that happen during a shot.

2. To be able to shoot easily in a competition you have to have your shot process stored into your muscle memory. You know of course that muscles grow when you rest after a workout. The same thing applies to muscle memory. If you first practice one thing and another on a same session, your muscles remember only the last thing you were practicing. Muscle memory won't develop for the first thing.

I started air pistol shooting when I was 12 years old and I soon made it to the Finnish national junior team. In my first competition I shot only 543 and then I remembered the most important truth about air pistol training, designed a training schedule for myself and three months later I shot 575 and 577. So you can't just shoot, you have to practice.

This link should give you some additional gyan: www.airpistoltraining.com.
Cheers
Briha

[tirpassion]

Dear jitu,
My heartiest congratulations to you!!!!! You have done it! Great!!!!!
Please convey a word to Guruji. He will be more happy to know it.

You have crossed the first hurdle and I am sure that the feeling you have is exquisite. You must be having a sense of confidence in you because you have done it .
Contemplate the achievement and savour it. You have built up great mental power and now you will have to channelise this power to the match. Write down, point by point, elaborately, how you achieved the 100%. What was going on in your head and how you mobilised/inspired yourself. This a very important step. Please know also that it is never acquired for good. Two weeks later you will have to take up another challenge of achieving 100% in SA hold.

Please assign yourself 2 consecutive days of shooting. Go for your first 40 shot match one day. Box drill on SOA. 3 sighter shots only. The sighter shots will also go in the box drill (total 43 box drills). Enjoy the shoot. Savour it without any extra burden. Count the score and count the number of TENs only. Write down in your diary immediately. Point out the most important drawback (one only) to be corrected. Take time to write the diary.
Go for the second 40 shot match the very next day with firm determination of and full concentration on rectifying the error committed the day before. Do the rest as the first match.
We will discuss from then on. I will be in India already by that time.

best regards
tirpassion

[tirpassion]

AGN bhaisaheb,

jitu has taken the challenge with valour and has done it. Now, my AP is pointed towards you . I perceive my SA image pretty well and my trigger work is improving, enough not to miss you The slight difficulty I might face is the slight reduction of the target size by 5 kilos; from 115 to 110kg.

take care and take careful note of what I said

warm regards
tirpassion