A question of focus

[WhizzyBill]

(I have also posted this on the US Palma site, for those of you who have a deja vu moment!)

The top shooters and coaches all share one specific ability, that of being able to focus. i.e. to switch off the outside world and concentrate on the task.

At the end of last week, I had a lengthy conversation with a friend and colleague of mine at school, who happens to be an ex England cricket player and is currently taking a bunch of coaching qualifications.

He wanted to know whether I could identify a moment when I went from being a good shooter to international standard. The conversation then progressed to the way in which I developed my focus leading in to shot release, whether I thought I had always had it and merely honed it and a comparison between a shooter and the process of shot release and a fast bowler delivering a ball, specifically with regard to wide and narrow focus. He also wanted to know what technique(s) I use to clear my mind and trigger my focus.

My reason for starting the topic is to share my own recollection of when my focusing skills and my current method for triggering my focus and to ask others to share their own techniques.

Like all skills, people are born with focus in varying degrees, to some it comes completely naturally and they are able to fulfil their potential at a young age, (examples of this would be the likes of Sherri Gallagher, Glyn Barnett and others who have been at the top of the sport since their late teens). For others, that ability to focus seems always to be just outside of their grasp, they can often deliver good performances, but not with the consistency that would enable them to fulfil their full potential.

Back in the early 80's, when I first started shooting at a decent level, I would have good days and I would have bad days, typically identified by not having my mind fully on the job, either not being on top of the wind or problems with shot release or other fundamental technique issues. i.e. What I suspect most shooters go through as they develop as shooters.

It was when I started writing stats and squadding software and running Rifle Meetings in 1983 that I developed my focus - simply because I had to. The first couple of Meetings I ran and participated in at the same time were a joke, I would go out to shoot and my mind would be on all the issues I was dealing with back in Stats and not on my shooting. The results were less than satisfactory! It was a case of work out how to focus or my shooting was going nowhere.

It was when I worked out how to properly partition off the shooting from the stats and extraneous rubbish that my shooting made that step to the next level. It took me a couple of years to do it, but 3 years later I made my first GB team.

My "wide" focus, (as my cricketing colleague puts it), is triggered by playing a tune, (typically whatever one comes immediately to mind rather than anything specific), in my head. I use it to clear out my other thoughts, so that I only have the tune running through it. I then "switch off" the tune, which triggers my "tight" focus and my initial concentration is typically on the wind and, at the appropriate moments, it then moves to the aim and the shot release and then back to the tune.

Switching back to a "wide" focus as quickly as possible is important to me or I find I am unable to maintain my focus over the course of a 30-40 minute shoot (because we shoot in threes) and infinitely more so when it comes to coaching in a match, which might be three/four ranges in a day, coaching four shooters. Mental exhaustion is a major consideration. If I try to maintain a tight focus for more than a few seconds, probably 20-30 at the outside, my ability to maintain my performance tails off markedly towards the end of a long shoot/match. My ability out switch between wide and tight focus has really improved in the last 3-5 years and I think that this is a major factor in more consistent results over the last 3 years in particular.

Anyone care to comment/contribute?

[Tower75]

Seems to come and go with me, depends what mood I'm in I guess.

Some days, the guy next to me could release his shot and that would make me jump and loose all focus. Sometimes I cannot get comfortable and all shots "feel" wrong, sometimes I anticipate the recoil and flinch a bit.

But saying that, when "in the zone" the World doesn't exist, only the iron sights and the target, and I am only half conscious of felt recoil. You somehow link up with your rifle and you know where that shot is going - those are the days where you mentally will the shot to release and it does without you doing anything.

[ovenpaa]

I could zone in with my climbing to the degree that I was oblivious to all around me other than the next two moves, I can do this far less so with shooting, that could be an age thing or it could be it is less important to me, or just a lack of surplus mental energy. What I have noticed I need to be in a good mood to start off with and laughing before I shoot is a great way to set me up.

For me the most important thing is first shot placement and if I can accurately judge the wind from the off it helps no end, it is a confidence boost, another thing is breathing and the Christel's words 'get your breathing under control' are wise ones for me, she may not say it every time but they do come back to me every time.

I am easily distracted probably because I have an active and inquisitive mind, so it is important to try and block out anything that might rattle me. I use electronic cans and have learnt to turn them off when I am about to start shooting, obvious maybe but it took a while to realise. Talking of obvious I mentioned many years ago to a very good shooter how sometimes I knew the shot was going to be bad even before I had squeezed the trigger, his wise words were 'Well don't take the shot'. Again something so obvious it had never occurred to me.

I will never be a world class shooter, I lack the discipline and mental fortitude so I need to make the best of what ability I do have, I do plan to change some of my shooting factors this year so it will be interesting to see how I progress.

[EagerNoSkill]

Hi Bill

In my competitive IPSC & IDPA shooting found several things can inhibit the focus or even stop you getting to focus

Preparation of equipment
So you trust the equipment to deliver leaving your focus on the tasks

Remember the basics
Have a sequence of actions and procedures that enable you and focus you

Basics like nutrition, Hydration and Comfortable clothes and shoes all help

Game plan and determination
Define what you want to achieve
Prepare and organise youself
Talk less excretes with people and analyse conditions

[Sim G]

No, something always going on in my head........ I'll guarantee you that at the exact point of trigger release, I'll be thinking about one of the kids, something at work or even something I can see at that moment out of the corner of my eye. It never stops!

[Southcape]

We have shooters here in Western Australia they can replay their shoot shot for shot. They will come and stand behind me when I shoot, and when I have finished start quizzing me on where I was holding for shot number "whatever".
I found myself trying to remember where I was holding how much wind I was adjusting for each shot.
This meant my scores went down, as I was trying to remember too much.

Then I met, and had a chat to the current Australian Lever Arch Champion.
Who told me that he does not remember his whole shoot. But he remembers the shot that doesn't fall where it should have. This was a huge relief for me. as it sums up the way I like to shoot.

I have some stretching exercises that start off with my focus on the flags before I get to the mound.When I am on the mound, my focus is on the job at hand. The only sounds I am listening for are the wind, my scorer calling my score, and the RO's whistle. Everything else is irrelevant. I do not count ammo, nor do I keep score in my head. My focus is on what's happening down range.

[nicklm]

Developing focus or more to the point removing the daily junk from our brains as we shoot can sometimes be very difficult.
This weekend ran the usual west sussex open indoor shoot, our first one of the year. Normally I try and shoot on the first detail so I can get on with running the meeting, in the past results have not always been as good as wanted. Change of tack this year, shot the last detail, alot less going on in the head and far easier to 'focus' but still not great, dropped points were down to mind wandering off. Anyway finshed on equal top score 296/300 to loose on guages (don't you hate that).
We can all remember when shoots went well sometimes things are just perfect, Scotland 2009 I think double dewar dropped 1 ponint everything gelled and mind was perfectly clear and focus was spot on.

Mental training in shooting is very under utilised by the majority of club level shooters who could very well elevate themselves to the next level with some training/menta coaching.
The ability to tune out the junk and focus takes practice and over the years have spoken to many people who all have different technoques to do this but all acheiveing the same result, just some do it alot better than others.


regards

nick