Mental Training

Greetings,

Attached is an article from 1990 on mental imaging and it's use for competitive pistol shooting that I found tucked away in one of my books.  I'm not sure if this article is copyrighted, but if so I will remove it.  I thought it was a good short article on the concept of mental imaging.

Good article, there are a ton (59) more here:
https://www.ssusa.org/search/?q=0&p=1&e=&s=mental+training

Unfortunately the digital archives only goes back to 2009.
- Dave

dronning wrote:
https://www.ssusa.org/search/?q=0&p=1&e=&s=mental+training

- Dave

Great link. Thanks.

And, has anybody read this -from the link?

https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2016/6/22/book-review-bullseye-mind-mental-toughness-for-sport-shooting

Item number 4 on the Mental training list is: Rotate the pistol to the right to lock your elbow into the most steady position.  Can someone tell me more about this?  
Thanks
Doc

Doc, When holding the pistol in shooting position, the crease in the elbow can face left (for right handed shooters) or up. Item 4 establishes the crease facing up so recoil is more upward than left"ward".

I have been reading the "tennis" book (along with other mental articles) and have come up with a simple philosophy to help myself on the mental side.

"Coach yourself the way you would coach anyone else (with caring, respect and compassion).  Don't tell myself something is wrong, instead ask if I know why something did not work."

I have discovered that deep down I harbored beliefs that I had started this sport too late and that I had limitations due to physical injuries.   I now believe that if I work hard and smart, I will progress at a satisfactory pace.

The proof will be in my happiness, not in my scores.

Dockokol wrote:Item number 4 on the Mental training list is: Rotate the pistol to the right to lock your elbow into the most steady position.  Can someone tell me more about this?  
Thanks
Doc

Marines are known for over doing this. I don’t think it’s healthy for the elbow. I don't recommend it.
Jon

Jon Eulette wrote:

Dockokol wrote:Item number 4 on the Mental training list is: Rotate the pistol to the right to lock your elbow into the most steady position.  Can someone tell me more about this?  
Thanks
Doc

Marines are known for over doing this. I don’t think it’s healthy for the elbow. I don't recommend it.
Jon  

i rotate my shoulder? forearm? cause i'm super cool like that but i don't lock my elbow, it sits in the joint and i have my grip firm no straining on the elbow. Can one rotated the elbow?

It took me a little time to figure it out but the air pistol practice in short sleeves helped me visualize it. Watching video of 10m Olympic pistol helped some more. 
Finally I realized that it was helping me achieve a much better arm/elbow extension, it reduced my wobbles and improved my scores. As a side benefit the process puts me in a good place mentally.
I don't dry-fire but I do practice ~25:1 with the air pistol in the garage  and since 95% of my firearm shooting is with .22lr I'm certain that my elbow won't sustain in one year the wear that the Marines' elbows see in one week.

I interpreted the sequence as the actual process Dan Iuga used.  Some time back, I knew a retired Navy guy who started with the 'gangsta' horizontal hold and rotated the pistol vertical (which rotated the pistol to the right, for a right handed shooter) to lock his elbow.  That was with a .22.   I somewhat ignored the process presented by Dan.  However, having a process and doing visualization rehearsals is available to everyone.

About the "Bullseye Mind" book, some of these guys have more detailed opinions on the book: http://www.targettalk.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=52108

Some authors take tens or hundreds of pages for what they are describing.  Some take a page and a half.  I can't say what is better, but they aren't quite the same.

Aprilian wrote:I have been reading the "tennis" book (along with other mental articles) and have come up with a simple philosophy to help myself on the mental side.

"Coach yourself the way you would coach anyone else (with caring, respect and compassion).  Don't tell myself something is wrong, instead ask if I know why something did not work."

I have discovered that deep down I harbored beliefs that I had started this sport too late and that I had limitations due to physical injuries.   I now believe that if I work hard and smart, I will progress at a satisfactory pace.

The proof will be in my happiness, not in my scores.

Thank you. That is some of the best advice I have read online anywhere.