Neutral Grounds Training

So it's been *checks watch* about a month since our last post. Usually I only write when I really have something to talk about, but I feel like some kid of consistency of content is important, so I'm going to just grab a topic out of a hat and let's run with it.

Woodshedding, (also know as how to convince people you have superpowers), is the art of consistency of practice in solitude. Anything worth knowing how to do is usually the result of hours, days, months and in the highest levels of performance, years of practice. It's the hard, dirty and boring part of achievement.

Most everyone who has seen "Oh brother, where art thou." or who has heard of the devil at the crossroads is probably at some level familiar with the story of Robert Johnson. He was a delta blues musician who, during the depression, disappeared for a while after a failed music career and reappeared some time later with amazing musical skills. The rumor was that he sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads in exchange for godlike performance playing the blues. The truth, as is usually the case, is much more mundane.

Robert Johnson was meeting up with his mentor in a graveyard late at night and practicing far from the prying eyes and ears of the general public. This was well known among other musicians and gained the term woodshedding, as in going behind the woodshed and practicing.

In shooting, our facsimile to this is dry fire. Practicing the fundamentals of marksmanship with a cleared gun in a sterile environment without the interruption of recoil. How a shooter utilizes dry fire is the difference between a good marksman and a phenomenal marksman. Appropriate dry fire encompasses a variety of factors, primarily Consistency, Understanding of the Fundamentals and Self Analysis.

Consistency: You don't necessarily have to do this everyday, though you'll have quicker results. 2-3 days a week, 15-30 minutes before bed is sufficient. Dedication to the craft is of utmost importance and is the hardest part of getting started. Small, frequent commitments are easier to keep to by setting a routine rather than going once a year to the range and blowing 500 rounds in a sitting.

Understanding of the Fundamentals: Having a solid background in the fundamentals of marksmanship means that when you practice, you are utilizing proper technique and won't have to unlearn ingrained bad habits or practice something counter productive to your end goal of hitting the target. The fundamentals vary slightly depending on who you ask, but the commonalities are stance, grip, natural point of aim, aiming (consisting of sight alignment and sight picture), trigger control, and follow through. If you are a new shooter, it is highly recommended that you partner with an instructor or coach that can spend the time to ensure that you understand in detail the fundamentals.

Self Analysis: This refers to the ability to recognize errors that you as the shooter cause during the firing process. Whether over gripping at the point of ignition, slapping the trigger, driving the muzzle to the ground, etc. This is the ultimate goal of dry fire. The ability to self diagnose shooting errors will enable you to determine the source of missing the mark and decide on a corrective course of action. Just like a bowler can tell when the ball leaves their fingers wrong, the shooter should be able to take a shot, close their eyes and pick out the general area on the target where their shot landed.

This is by far the least interesting part of shooting. Doing the work to get better isn't glorious. It's not standing in the winners circle and having someone hand you a gold medal or trophy. It's not the relief of winning a gunfight or crossing the finish line. It's the banality of sweeping the floor or cleaning the toilet. It's a necessary evil that without it, you will never know the greater glory.

-Christian

Do the work...

Getting out to the range is imperative to performance on demand. Learn the fundamentals. There is no such thing as "advanced shooting", there is simply mastery of the fundamentals. The time to learn these things is not in the gunfight because I promise, there is someone out there training to kill you.

Be a hard target.

Be brave, be brave, be brave.