This past weekend I participated in my second 'official' USPSA Match. As my first match I came in 4/4 (That is the mathematical nomenclature for last place). The humbling impetus came from the very stage I walked away in belief of my excellent run (i.e completed). This stage had a score of zero (0). I had completely forgotten to engage one target that smugly sat in a corner. Not only did I get the penalty for missing the target, I get my very own procedural error for not following the course of fire. So, simply add that to the fact that I my hitting any 'A's and the score goes negative really quick. Thank goodness zero is as low as one can go.
Coming up from last place is easy when I think about it. But this is about doing, not thinking.
Prior to this month I practice drawing.with my practice pistol and holster. 15 minutes each morning and each night I simply drew onto a target and had a little timer on my cel phone that would Beep at 1.4 seconds. (Dry Fire Practice - App).With a little experience under my belt, I'm less conscious about my draw. Leaving me to focus on other items. Each stage This Sunday morning I picked a specific goal to execute. The first stage being a steel run 4 larger targets and a steel popper end plate.
The CoF - Fire left to right with two shots to each target. Reload. Fire two shots on each going back, right to left. End on the popper. My test was to simply go a little bit faster than comfortable. tap-tap, tap-tap, tap-tap and onwards through the stage. Not to bad a miss or two but I simply followed my plan.
The next stage was complicated, for we beginners, and involved multiple sections. This one I cared less about accuracy (well....hit the paper) and simply wanted to run the course I had decided on. It felt good to have followed the plan. and my score was mediocre. Most importantly, I remembered my course all the way through.
I carried this enthusiasm onto the the next stage which gave me the confidence to dive right in and completely forget my plan half way through. In my euphoric state of stupid confusion, I fumbled for an eternity during a mag change as I counted to ten wondering which number was my shot count. It was a mess of glorious proportions culminating in kind words of 'it sucks to get lost' from my supporting squad members. We were a good bunch of friends by this point. One guy did nothing but quote flawless Bill Murry from Caddy Shack. It was intensely cool as it was disconcerting as I couldn't figure out exactly what he was trying to tell me.
The morning continued onward with better focus throughout the day ending in second place out of 5 in my class and division (Single Stack - Seniors).
Now off for more practice (and work to pay these mounting bills).
