And you know why? I forgot to smile.
Seriously. One of the things I've started to do before the start signal---is smile. I remind myself how much I enjoy shooting, and how much fun this is going to be---and naturally, I smile. I relax, I stay in balance, my shoulders drop, and when the signal happens I move and shoot. And when I start relaxed and happy, I shoot better.
Big surprise, hmm?
My pre-shooting ritual for the first stage was messed up today due to various things, so I just didn't relax--and so my shooting was too fast, too tense, and I didn't spend a whole lot of time aiming. As such, I shot the stage in ~36 seconds, instead of the 25-28 seconds that I really could have. And that extra 10 seconds took care of any possibility of me winning for the day.
The rest of the stages actually went pretty well---I had the best times of the Production Division for three of the other four stages, and was less than half a second behind on the other stage. However, all of those good times couldn't make up for the 10 seconds I was behind from my first stage.
On every other stage, I smiled, relaxed, and shot just fine---not always up to my level, but consistently well.
See how that first stage was messed up? My magazine stuck on the first reload, I didn't reload during movement but instead when I was just standing there burning time, and that last star...!
Other things for me to work on: my draw is smooth--but it really could be faster. I have quick hands, and really could flash it out of there faster, but when I do I tend to rush my shots badly. So, just like my last post said, I need to dry fire practice---fast draw, slow shot.
Matter of fact, the drills from my last post really haven't changed. I just need to do them more often.
Oh---the ENPS year-to-date standings are available here. I'm currently 1st in Production (with Dennis a close second), 1st in 3-Gun Limited (with Rich about 40 points down), 2nd in Steel Production (second to Dennis, by 4 points), and 3rd in Iron Man Aggregate.
Big difference from where I was when I first started!
I can be better, though.
Just remembered--this next month's match contains a classifier. Need to remember to smile for that one!
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