A new direction in my shooting...

It's time to go to work.  Up to this point with my shooting I've been working on base fundamentals, and I think that work has paid big dividends - I'm happy with my trigger control, accuracy, shot calling, and reloading, though of course there is always room for improvement in those fundamentals.  It comes down to the fact that I'm really proud of the progress I've made since I attended my first IDPA match 13 months ago, and I'm ready to turn yet another page in my shooting career.  To that end, it's time to get organized and start doing the things the best guys are doing, because in my mind I'm one of the best shooters, just one that quite learned all the things there are to learn.

So starting today, these are the changes I'm making:

Make Ready Routine and Mantra.  From now on at the "load and make ready" command, instead of being just zoning out and going through the motions, I'm going to execute a choreographed set of motions, and repeat a mantra in my mind.  Specifically, I'm going to reset the trigger, press out on the first target, and dry fire.  Then I'll load my barney mag, chamber, put the barney back in its pouch, and load my full magazine from my pocket.  I'll keep my grip after holstering, and as I think to myself, "Aggression.  Smooth Aggression."  I want to keep it simple, and keep the things top-of-mind that I want to emphasize in my runs.  This is also just a start.  I'll probably change it from time to time.

Stage Clustering.  Until now the way I have approached stages has been to think about the stage as a whole.  Shoot these targets then reload while moving over here then shoot these other targets, etc.  From now on I'm going to "cluster" stages and think of them as individual drills that I'll then link together.  For example, I'll say to myself, "Drill one is to draw shoot these four targets as fast as I can.  The key to this drill is transition speed.  The next drill is to reload and get into this position fast and smooth with the gun up indexed on this spot.  The next drill is to shoot these four targets, with the key being trigger control (for tight shots, for example).  And so on.  I figure most 32 round stages can be broken down into 5 or 6 clusters.

Skill baselining.  At every range session, I'm going to start by baselining a few skills like the draw, turning draw, speed reload, and a few others.  I'll do five reps each, record the times, and chart them in excel over time.

Very focused practice sessions of 300 to 400 rounds.  From now on I'm going to go to the range to practice one or two specific things.  I'll plan the things that I want to work on in advance and record everything so that I can see what works and what doesn't.

Daily practice routine.  I'll focus on daily practice, both dry fire and cardio/strength training.  I'll improve something every day.

Match diary.  I'll keep a diary of match performance every time I compete.  I'll record impressions, things I did well, and things I learned about the way I shoot and the kinds of challenges I encounter.

Goal setting.  I'm going to set a goal and work toward it.  This will give me motivation, and also allow me to chart my progress more effectively.  My immediate goal is to make A class.  I only need one or two good classifier runs to do it, and the work starts now.

Tips from a recent competition class

Recently I got to take a class with a top competitor, and I thought I'd share a few of the key lessons and tips that I learned.

• Even when engaging in dryfire training, grip the hell out of the pistol just as you would when competing for real.  This will result in your grip becoming fatigued well inside of 5 minutes, but your grip will be stronger over time and your practice will more closely mimic what you should be doing in matches.
• Many people using a thumbs-forward grip point their right thumb up in the air, when it should be either relaxed and overlaid on their left thumb, or riding atop the safety.  Having the thumb pointed up increases the chances that you will disrupt the sights during trigger manipulation.
• Take the time to chart as much data on your practice sessions as possible.  Evaluate individual techniques individually, and only incorporate multiple things to make sure you're putting things together properly.  For example, practice and record data on your turn and draw.  Practice and record data on your slide lock reload.  Practice and record data on your transitions (eg, start time, fire one shot on one target, transition, and fire two on the next target - record only the transition time).  Experiment with different techniques to try to make each of the above as fast as possible.  After all of that, then put it together with an El Prez drill and record all of the data.  See how your actual data from the El Prez drill compares to the data from practicing the individual components.  Work on those areas where you are slower in the drill than you are with the individual technique.
• Everything other than confirming sight picture and pulling the trigger is non-shooting, even waiting for the front sight to return.  To get faster, work on getting faster at everything that is non-shooting, that way you have more time for the actual shooting.  This is how the pros are both faster and more accurate through a stage.  
• Golfers are constantly checking their grip, stance, and backswing, and even expert golfers are constantly having pros give them tips on grip, stance, and backswing.  As shooters, we should be doing the same thing with our grip, stance, and movement.
• Vertical stringing is better than horizontal stringing.  Vertical stringing is the result of simply a timing or recoil control issue, which are both easy fixes.  Horizontal stringing is the result of a major fundamental flaw like trigger control, grip, or stance.  
• Practice outside of your comfort zone - somewhere between 110% and 120% of your ability.  Take the ego out of it.  Work yourself into a higher comfort zone.  This is the only way to become comfortable at higher speeds.
• Practice is about missing.
• Tell your shooting partners / squad mates what you're working on so they can watch and give you feedback.  
• Whenever you're the first shooter on a stage, ask for a test beep.  If the RO asks if you're ready, give an audible response, not just a head nod.  
• When moving to a new position, explode out of the current position and glide into the next one.  The gliding is more important than the exploding, so if it's a short movement, don't go so fast that it disrupts your smooth glide into the new position.
• Don't take extra steps.  Always use positive footwork.
• How you set up to a target depends entirely on where you need to go next, and how and where you go next has everything to do with getting to the last target as soon as possible.
• Pick a near spot to index on for each new position on the stage walkthroughs.  That way when you enter a position - before you can see the target - you can begin to index and be that much faster once the target comes into view.
• Your dominant eye has to clear a barricade/obstruction in order to shoot a target, so try to end on targets on the left if you're right eye dominant and targets on the right if you're left eye dominant.