MENTAL TRAINING
The following is a series of articles...short...on Mental Training by Dick Whiting. Each will build on the previous articles. We hope you get something out of these articles, and if you do...let me know. I hope you enjoy them
Mental Training Lesson 1
If you can remember, write your name, worry, or tie your shoe, you can succeed in the shooting game, as a matter of fact just about anything you care to do. Visualizing...creative mental imaging (picturing) is no more difficult than what you do when you remember some scene out of your past, or worry about the future.
What is mental imaging? It is learning through doing. For example, I know an individual who can sit through an episode of True Grit or Crossfire Trail, muted, and recite the entire scripts word for word.
The same is true when we practice, we start by groping our way along...and as we do, we make corrections to achieve the objective one step at a time. For example, putting on a sling correctly, or setting up a spotting scope correctly, or loosening our belt line to make breathing easier in sitting rapid. Same thing as when we, as a young child started to walk, talk, or tie our shoes. We learned though years of daily practice, and as we continued to practice, we get better and we could draw on those past exercises which were remembered. Remember that word.
The more we practice the more we remember and the powers of recall are enhanced. But...we want to remember how we did it correctly...not how we did it wrong. Once we learn from them, forget the mistakes...and work on performing each step correctly. Our greatest asset as a shooter is to remember from one day to the next what it is like to shoot an X, then repeat it over and over again.
Remembering takes a great deal of data being fed into our memory banks...to support our every move. After a few years of stumbling around as a child, we learned not to walk into doors, or walls, or touch something hot. Most of those who have ever put their hand on a hot stove...can vividly remember that sensation and how long it took them to look at the stove door.
The same holds true for anything we do...shoot an X, remember...and do it again, and again...and again...but shoot a 7, we analyze why and then forget it.
An Olympic Gold Medalist once said when asked about some nines he had shot in a high level tournament, "What 9s?" "I don't remember the 9s, and why should I?" We learn to analyze our performance through mental imaging...but only if we practice regularly. The human mind is just like a tape recorder...we can mechanically erase the bad and save the good. Our minds work the same way, so we can then use the good to build our egos, confidence, and what is known as "self image". Humans are uniquely gifted with this thing we call self image...and if we like what we see, we succeed, if we don't, we tend toward failure. Look in the mirror...do you like what you see?
In the next article we will explore this thing called self image and what it takes to change our self image from a failure mode to a success mode.
Winning is an Attitude
Some say that Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing.” What he actually said was, “Winning isn’t everything, striving to win is.” We may never reach our goal, but we strive daily toward perfection. it's an attitude thing.
Winning…is the sole reason for competition. If we are in it to lose, then why partake. To the Gladiators, it was a matter of life and death. Those who engage in running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain have a ‘sharply’ defined incentive to run faster than the bulls. For the rifle shooter there are lots of incentives that entice individuals to get involved and strive for the ‘Golden Ring’, ergo DR Badge. But, how do we succeed as competitors? We start at the very beginning of life, the day we were born…and a time when we were competitors. We had an incentive to breath…and we still do, but the process does not require conscious though. As we grew, we experienced many set backs, a few bumps on the butt and noggin while trying to stand, or walk those few halting steps, or while eating try not to punch our eye out with a fork…so Mom gave us a spoon. We learn quickly how the spoon can be effective in launching peas or other unsuitable foods. Success…and we learned by it…even if a spanking came with the fun.
We learned in steps, gradually over a long period of time just what we needed to do and what not to do, like touching something that was hot, or swinging off the draperies, or carrying around sharp objects. In any event, you get the picture. Some of us, as it turned out, became great runners, others became doctors, others lawyers, and still others electricians, plumbers, nurses, or workers on an assembly line. Each getting very good at what we did and perhaps still do. Here is where practice and training pays off. Do something often enough and you will become proficient at it…perhaps not a world class swimmer, or diver, or a runner or high jumper, or an excellent shooter, but you will be good at it. I witnessed a young soldier once putting charges on mortar shells…he was not only fast, but accurate. He had achieved his goal…to be the best mortar squad in the company and/or division. To each his own…I suppose.
One of my favorite training tools is the pencil. Exercise: Pick one up and write your name, no not on the wall, on a piece of paper. Go ahead…it doesn’t hurt. Now, explain in writing the mechanics involved with this exercise. This may take a while, so I will shorten the process. One cannot precisely explain the mechanics involved, because they are practiced and involuntary…they are part of our subconscious. What told our fingers how to pick up the pencil, versus what fingers to use as the pencil is manipulated around the page? We don’t have to look at a pencil to pick it up, or the piece of paper, or any object for that matter. It is our automatic system working for us. Just as I type this, I can do so without looking at the keyboard, after over 14 years using a typewriter or desktop, it has become practiced motion…muscle memory if you will. When a person gets into a car, and starts the engine, they are performing as they have practiced for how many years? The same fundamentals are applicable to shooting. If we shot every day, like we practice writing, then our shooting skills would be high master in short order…or would they? Some of us can use a pencil or pen, but few can write legibly…but again, that isn’t the point, practice is.
But, you say…there are the David Tubb’s of the shooting world…I can never expect to shoot better scores than he can. Not true. You can, if you set your goals so that they are attainable. First, however, one has to learn what it feels like to win. To get that winning feeling. Trial, error, applause, encouragement, training, and setting realistic goals. What is a goal? For the rank beginner…it may be to keep all shots on the target backer, a 6 by 6 foot square piece of cardboard, and for the Marksman, keep all shots in the scoring rings. For the high master keep all shots in the ten and X rings. These are goals…and I like to refer to them as ‘ring’ goals. If you are beginning as a new shooter or are a seasoned veteran…goal orientation is important. Why does a person who has won the National Championships need to set goals? To win another…and another…and another. How do they do that? By thinking about shooting, by conducting mental and physical practice sessions, and by having the best rifle and ammo combination that is available on the firing line. The best is a rifle and ammo capable of shooting X ring groups across the course.
I have said this before, and will continue to say it…’Life is too short to shoot bad ammo or a bad rifle.’ This we have debated to some degree here on this forum…yet I still see posts that say, “Well, the ammo is good enough for my level of shooting.” Not unless it is the best. I know that price is a factor in this game, but if you want to excel, you cannot sacrifice along the way. If you do, it will catch up to you and may cause the loss of self esteem and confidence.
The following is a series of articles...short...on Mental Training by Dick Whiting. Each will build on the previous articles. We hope you get something out of these articles, and if you do...let me know. I hope you enjoy them
Mental Training Lesson 1
If you can remember, write your name, worry, or tie your shoe, you can succeed in the shooting game, as a matter of fact just about anything you care to do. Visualizing...creative mental imaging (picturing) is no more difficult than what you do when you remember some scene out of your past, or worry about the future.
What is mental imaging? It is learning through doing. For example, I know an individual who can sit through an episode of True Grit or Crossfire Trail, muted, and recite the entire scripts word for word.
The same is true when we practice, we start by groping our way along...and as we do, we make corrections to achieve the objective one step at a time. For example, putting on a sling correctly, or setting up a spotting scope correctly, or loosening our belt line to make breathing easier in sitting rapid. Same thing as when we, as a young child started to walk, talk, or tie our shoes. We learned though years of daily practice, and as we continued to practice, we get better and we could draw on those past exercises which were remembered. Remember that word.
The more we practice the more we remember and the powers of recall are enhanced. But...we want to remember how we did it correctly...not how we did it wrong. Once we learn from them, forget the mistakes...and work on performing each step correctly. Our greatest asset as a shooter is to remember from one day to the next what it is like to shoot an X, then repeat it over and over again.
Remembering takes a great deal of data being fed into our memory banks...to support our every move. After a few years of stumbling around as a child, we learned not to walk into doors, or walls, or touch something hot. Most of those who have ever put their hand on a hot stove...can vividly remember that sensation and how long it took them to look at the stove door.
The same holds true for anything we do...shoot an X, remember...and do it again, and again...and again...but shoot a 7, we analyze why and then forget it.
An Olympic Gold Medalist once said when asked about some nines he had shot in a high level tournament, "What 9s?" "I don't remember the 9s, and why should I?" We learn to analyze our performance through mental imaging...but only if we practice regularly. The human mind is just like a tape recorder...we can mechanically erase the bad and save the good. Our minds work the same way, so we can then use the good to build our egos, confidence, and what is known as "self image". Humans are uniquely gifted with this thing we call self image...and if we like what we see, we succeed, if we don't, we tend toward failure. Look in the mirror...do you like what you see?
In the next article we will explore this thing called self image and what it takes to change our self image from a failure mode to a success mode.
Winning is an Attitude
Some say that Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, it is the only thing.” What he actually said was, “Winning isn’t everything, striving to win is.” We may never reach our goal, but we strive daily toward perfection. it's an attitude thing.
Winning…is the sole reason for competition. If we are in it to lose, then why partake. To the Gladiators, it was a matter of life and death. Those who engage in running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain have a ‘sharply’ defined incentive to run faster than the bulls. For the rifle shooter there are lots of incentives that entice individuals to get involved and strive for the ‘Golden Ring’, ergo DR Badge. But, how do we succeed as competitors? We start at the very beginning of life, the day we were born…and a time when we were competitors. We had an incentive to breath…and we still do, but the process does not require conscious though. As we grew, we experienced many set backs, a few bumps on the butt and noggin while trying to stand, or walk those few halting steps, or while eating try not to punch our eye out with a fork…so Mom gave us a spoon. We learn quickly how the spoon can be effective in launching peas or other unsuitable foods. Success…and we learned by it…even if a spanking came with the fun.
We learned in steps, gradually over a long period of time just what we needed to do and what not to do, like touching something that was hot, or swinging off the draperies, or carrying around sharp objects. In any event, you get the picture. Some of us, as it turned out, became great runners, others became doctors, others lawyers, and still others electricians, plumbers, nurses, or workers on an assembly line. Each getting very good at what we did and perhaps still do. Here is where practice and training pays off. Do something often enough and you will become proficient at it…perhaps not a world class swimmer, or diver, or a runner or high jumper, or an excellent shooter, but you will be good at it. I witnessed a young soldier once putting charges on mortar shells…he was not only fast, but accurate. He had achieved his goal…to be the best mortar squad in the company and/or division. To each his own…I suppose.
One of my favorite training tools is the pencil. Exercise: Pick one up and write your name, no not on the wall, on a piece of paper. Go ahead…it doesn’t hurt. Now, explain in writing the mechanics involved with this exercise. This may take a while, so I will shorten the process. One cannot precisely explain the mechanics involved, because they are practiced and involuntary…they are part of our subconscious. What told our fingers how to pick up the pencil, versus what fingers to use as the pencil is manipulated around the page? We don’t have to look at a pencil to pick it up, or the piece of paper, or any object for that matter. It is our automatic system working for us. Just as I type this, I can do so without looking at the keyboard, after over 14 years using a typewriter or desktop, it has become practiced motion…muscle memory if you will. When a person gets into a car, and starts the engine, they are performing as they have practiced for how many years? The same fundamentals are applicable to shooting. If we shot every day, like we practice writing, then our shooting skills would be high master in short order…or would they? Some of us can use a pencil or pen, but few can write legibly…but again, that isn’t the point, practice is.
But, you say…there are the David Tubb’s of the shooting world…I can never expect to shoot better scores than he can. Not true. You can, if you set your goals so that they are attainable. First, however, one has to learn what it feels like to win. To get that winning feeling. Trial, error, applause, encouragement, training, and setting realistic goals. What is a goal? For the rank beginner…it may be to keep all shots on the target backer, a 6 by 6 foot square piece of cardboard, and for the Marksman, keep all shots in the scoring rings. For the high master keep all shots in the ten and X rings. These are goals…and I like to refer to them as ‘ring’ goals. If you are beginning as a new shooter or are a seasoned veteran…goal orientation is important. Why does a person who has won the National Championships need to set goals? To win another…and another…and another. How do they do that? By thinking about shooting, by conducting mental and physical practice sessions, and by having the best rifle and ammo combination that is available on the firing line. The best is a rifle and ammo capable of shooting X ring groups across the course.
I have said this before, and will continue to say it…’Life is too short to shoot bad ammo or a bad rifle.’ This we have debated to some degree here on this forum…yet I still see posts that say, “Well, the ammo is good enough for my level of shooting.” Not unless it is the best. I know that price is a factor in this game, but if you want to excel, you cannot sacrifice along the way. If you do, it will catch up to you and may cause the loss of self esteem and confidence.
Last edited: