TargetTalk

you need either more experience or someone or some way to train up mentally. i too had a problem with competitions and would regularly shoot 40 to 50 points less. 8 years on it has somewhat stabilised.

i noticed that lighting makes a difference. with duller/dimmer yellowish ambient lighting its much easier to relax and clear my mind. i guess its because im falling asleep haha. this is something i actually do i would close my eyes and try to "sleep" when things dont go well. after a min or 2 i "wake up" and take a few deep breaths or simply yawn. it usually works and i at least remember what i should be doing instead of what i had been doing.

by any slight chance could you be anxious/jittery because you feel that your current score level gives you a good chance to be at the top?

trust me 5 shots dont mean anything. im not the sort to say never give up but i personally would only give up if my last 5 shots wont bring me anywhere. even so dont let that prevent you from releasing the shots properly.

do your thinking outside the range so you dont have to think at the firing line.

on a side note i wonder how i will fare next week lol. i have a competition coming up but i havent been able to train for the past 2 months due to illness and work. good thing there isnt pressure as im on the 2nd team.

Something you might wish to consider as a way to promote relaxation at all your matches:

http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?t=12040#52976

Take Care,
Ed Hall
http://www.airforceshooting.org/
http://www.starreloaders.com/edhall/

What you said. Thank you Ed Good Shooting Bill Horton Note; This is powerful stuff. I took an AK round through the chest in veit nam and was having trouble with bed sweats during my hospitalization. I applied this technique and the sweats stopped immedeately. I have never had another.

Theres more to this as what works for one may not work for another. I had excelent results using laughter as a tension reliever. A good joke and the resulting hilarious laughter became one of my most reliable tension releavers. Later I was exposed to another technique but never attempted to use it. It was reported that a russian coach and one of their top shooters would get in a shouting match about fourty minutes prior to being called to the firing line. This was repeated for each match. After the violent confrontation the shooter would relax completely and chill out before attempting to fire. My best guess is that they were triggering a massive adrenalin surge ond then letting it disapate . As to theory,, after a substancial adrenalin surge it is more difficult to have another within at least one hour. And the above is mostly guess work. Good Shooting Bill Horton

You shoot a ten by applying the fundamentals correctly, not by wanting to shoot a ten. BUT wanting to shoot a ten is the driving force ,the most important motivator behind all our efforts to do so. One of the principles being taught when I started shooting was to analize your bad shots and apply corrective action. No one mentioned that this reinforced what caused those bad shots in the first place. The correct approach is to annalize yoyr best shots and repeat them over and over. Remember Lanny Basham and' the ultimate you'. approach to mental control of your performance. Also something Ed Hall keep.s telling us about thinking in terms of good shots fits in well. How did he put it? " Dont give a bad shot an eternal companion"[ I would not have said it that way because the statement is itself in negative terms but I am not as skilled as Ed in use of the english language and he ststed it so well. Good shooting Bill Horton