Episode 226- Training

[Tim Burke]

Just spent an hour listening to this podcast. Great topic, and spot-on analysis.
You mention a list of books, but I'm not sure where to find it. If Rory Miller's books aren't on the list I would suggest adding them.
As for the closing music, I would've gone with Pretty Good. Still John Prine, still light, but with a touch of irony considering the preceding discussion.

[ronlarimer]

I listened to the podcast yesterday with my 5 yo son in the car and used the idea of "deliver the shot" to reinforce a lesson about over confidence that I have been working on the past few months.  After our discussion and before our food came at dinner he was working on penmanship and I have never seen him concentrate so hard on that task.  Thank you.

Then today I went to the range before work and decided to work on "delivering the shot" and started with the Air Marshall Qualification cold.  I easily qualified.  Although shooting from an inside the waistband holster and a t-shirt cover garment the presentation times were pretty close (1.65sec).

I even had an issue on the last string where I attempted to insert my reload before the magazine had completely cleared and drove it back up in the magwell, seating it.  I redropped it, inserted the new mag and made my a-zone hit.  The par time for this string (1-R-Kneeling 1) is 4 seconds and I was discusted with my self for blowing it, put when I looked at the timer is was 3.2X secs.  I had time to spare.

Next I shot the dot torture and went 48/48 for the 1st time.  I got over confident and jerked the trigger for the last 1-R-1 and missed them both.

It was a great range session and the focus on "delivering the shot" really made a difference.  I even got a refesher lesson that as soon as it isn't the focus you have issues.  Those were the 2 most valuable rounds of the trip.

PS...  I decided to stretch out a little and had a 6" 3 shot group at 50+ yrds, (2 -0 and 1 -1, strung horizontally in high center chest on an IDPA target.)  Once again the focus was front sight and delivering the shot.

[Michael Bane]

Tim, the book list is here:

http://www.downrange.tv/blog/down-range-radio-226-firearms-training-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/11182/

And I probably should have included Rory Miller's 2 books, especially FACING VIOLENCE. NC Buckeye, when I was out at AAC last week, we were shooting a Glock 19 (among many other things) at about 40 yards. I was reminded that when I do my job, the shot is there. I'm always reminded of something one of my climbing instructors said when I was training to climb Mt. McKinley in Alaska. We were tying figure-8 knots...those are the knots you use to attach the climber to the fixed line up a mountain. There's only one set to fixed lines on McKinley, on the 600-foot climb up the headwall at about 15,000 feet. We kept tying the figure-8 over and over, during the day, at night, riding in the car...my instructor said he knew that I could tie a figure-8 knot, but what I had to learn to do was be 100% sure that I could tie that knot on the worst day of my life, when visibility woud dropped to zero, the wind would scream and the temperature would drop so far into the nether regions that I coudn't risk removing gloves or facemask.

When that day came...although it wasn't the worst day of my life by a long shot!...visibility was down to arms' length, the wind was rattling my brains lose and the thermometer hung about 20-below, I stepped out of the tent and without intent, struggle, thought  or removing my gloves I tied a perfect figure-8, hooked myself onto the line and climbed the headwall.

That's what taught me about "delivering the shot!"

Michael B

[Tim Burke]

Unconscious competence; it's a good thing; it's just not an easy thing.
Thanks for the link to the list.
Miller's books have impressed me more than any book since Ayoob's In the Gravest Extreme or Cooper's Principles Of Personal Defense.

I'm amazed at how many shooters are uninterested in training, or uninterested in anything that isn't advanced.

[ronlarimer]

Maybe it is semantics but I agree that is unconscious competence and it is a level of mastery that can only be gained by countless repetition and you only know you have reached it on reflection... like the 1st time you consciously identified a stovepipe only AFTER it was cleared, or not remembering a perfect slide lock reload during a run or training string.

To me "deliver the shot" is more akin to "Chop wood, carry water."

With the repetition the focus gets ingrained as unconscious competence.  Then again maybe I misinterpreted the whole podcast and learned a different lesson, either way thanks again.

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