For without trying too hard to win. Ae) ope rere ernie omen tote) eared ere een Po eee es Rana en er a Cee ae eee) Re eee ee ee esas Prerary 3, they are looking eeu an eee) Sree aa ees Sree rence Coo COUN ams shooters, there is a conflict between de Sennen tise ec re a eee arr a SU Oecd Rn ere ean Oa een ere eee sy eae ore er Jon Kabat-Zinn and other practition: crn race ndfulness use the expression ee SR Yiasae RY 2021 Peak Performance SOR Oh UR ORS UL ROM lacie aC iurUle:) eG Pe eee ert Seen reer aes Peet ea eat Dreak a clay target, the less likely itis Pacers Se tee ete eee sce to do to break targets. Specifically, you eee ey break the next target by strengthening Ronan ter etsy aks, err meat ee rs Peer et Dene! een sy Peet ere ees UU em ne ee ante Pe eran ter ad Eee ems an es rere ‘Trying harder doesn’t work for every Cece eee eee tease cera neers pee geen Ce a cneneel eet earned to read simply by memorizing es eee oe etre Deere Tee ieee arty from experience that good intentions re eee at fing results. Quite possibly for this eee erste crea ren ee eee ets Cee ere tr ees eee e a ey eee eae ts SO ne a awith @ paradoxical intention when they feel the urge to break the next target Visual deceptions occur when a shooter's intention is directed toward breaking tangets instead of watching them continuously. Although the con: scious mind believes itis pointing the gun barrel ahead of the target at the correct lead, the perceived picture is just an optical illusion, Visual deceptions are the sesult of breakdown in the proper detection, ‘acquisition or tracking of the target. At some point during this moment of truth, the shooting eye loses primary focus on the target and begins to look at the space hetween the target and the ‘end of the gun barrel. This shifts the tar {ect into the secondary focus zone and alters the visual perception of lead. Essentially, the good intention to establish a correct lead picture causes the shooting eye to verify the position , of the gun barrel during the flight of the target. If | may paraphrase an old axiom, the path to a missed target is paved with misguided intentions > Alltargets count the same in around of skoet. The last target of around where: ‘you're running perfect so far counts the ‘same as the first target of the round. Don't assign one target more value than another. Despite the fact that most shooters break the majority of the targets during a round of skeet or sporting clays, itis common practice to reflect on the missed targets, Certainly it is important to determing whether you consistently miss specific targets on certain stations or if your misses are random. When you consistently miss specific targets, itis usually related to a bad mechanical or visual habit, Random misses are ustally ‘caused by a bac mental habit. Once identified, these bad habits can be man. aged with specific raining drills ‘Our basic survival instinets prompt us 4 I's natural, but detrimental, to focus on missed targets instead ofthe ones you hit to focus on negative outcomes. However it is much more important for shooters to assess and reinforce the good habits When I shoot a 99,1 reflect on how I biistered those 99 targets and forget the ‘one I missed, IFT shot a 96 because I ‘missed four low 5 targets, would go to the range and fix the problem, ‘You must re-program a bad habit swith training drills to create a good. habit. Good habits are reinforced during practice sessions and carried into com petition with unconditional trust. Peak 40. WWLNSSA-USCA.ORG /FEEALAY 2021performances are realized when you tse positive ses to reinforce trust in your good habits (pre planned moves) An unge isa sirong deste or impulse For many clay tagct shooters, the need to manage the insidious unge to break the target isa pervasive challenge. In his article “Coping With Urges? Dr Robert Westermeyer sid "Habits and urges go hand in hand” He on went to exphin, “What is usualy mos dtficlt for poo ple when changing 2 bad habit s coping ‘withthe sometimes relentless urges Impulsive thoughts are normal, so you can’ expect your urge to break the next target t vanish permanently The ‘objective is to convince yourself that you need to care ess about breaking the next target and care more about watehy fg it break The urge to break the next target will diminish 2s you develop more trast in your preplanned moves Aecording to Dr Westermeyer,a cra: fing is activated by an expectation of specific reward. Ifyou get elated every time you successfully break a target or run. 25 straight and dejected every time you miss one, the urge to break targets will remain strong The craving for that feeling of suecess activates Your selfdefeating bad habits. Consequenty, the misguided intention to break the next target overrides the need to watch the target uni i breaks A logical approach to suppress the urge to break the next target is to Dpecome emotionally detached from ‘whether the target breaks or not The reward must be the feeling that arises ‘when you place unconditional tust in your preplanned move.A broken target ora perfect round is just che consequence of performing to the best of your ability: In ecordance with the “which wolf you fed” metaphor, you rust starve the bad habits and feed the 00d habits AVOID THE VALUE TRAP “The actual value ofa clay target isthe same whether you break it or miss it ‘When a shooter places a relative value oon certain targets it creates an emo- tional distraction that affects pesfor- ‘mance. When you begin a round of skeet, the high 1 target has the same actual value as the low 8 option shot. However, many shooters feel differ. cent when they are stll straight as they approach station 8. When you increase the relative value of the next target, I {If you're focused on winning, your ago is In overdtive and will wreak havoc. Focus on following your process. activates the urge to break it call this phenomenon the value trap. ‘The best way to avoid the value trap is to become emotionally detached from outcome.A quiet mind allows you to avoid emotional attachments to out ‘GBmes and enables you to pay attention to the process. simple preshot rou- tine will enable you to quiet your mind as you approach the moment of truth, A quiet mind increases your awareness and prepares you to detect, acquire and track the next target without emotional distractions. ‘The value trap also activates instruc tional self.talk.As a general rule, instruc- tional selPtalk is necessary for taining, and motivational selfealk is indicated to achieve @ peak performance: Instruc- tional self-talk erodes your confidence and encourages you to do extra things. Motivational self-talk reinforces simpli ity and promotes unconditional trust your pre-planned move. Tadmired artist Hans Hofmann’s com- ‘ment about striving when he said,"“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary ‘may speak." Hofmann’s comment re: fects the genera] theme of my shoot- ing philosophy — just watch the target ‘until it breaks and allow your natural shooting reflexes 10 execute the shot Sequence, By correctly programming, your natural shooting reflexes during ‘raining sessions, you can break clay targets efficiently effectively and elfort- lessly to achieve a peak performance uring practice and competition, STRIVE FOR PEAK PERFORMANCE {A peak performance isa state in which you perform a task to the maximum of your natural abilty.[is characterized by subjective feelings of confidence, ef- fortlessness and tou concentration on the task at hand. When you focus your intention on the training of your natural abilities, the process will lead to incre ‘mental improvement. These incremental improvements provide the foundation for yous peak performances ‘When you focus your intention on ‘winning, it activates the ego's desire to surpass others or be perceived as supe: rior in the performance ofa task. Win ning or impressing others is conditional ‘upon outcomes that are beyond your Control. Herein lies the source of anxi- ety and selédoubt. When yous iatention is focused on peak performances, your natural abilities will enable you to sur pass the outcomes of others whife they are trying harder to beat you. Peak performances for chy target shooters occus when the mechan Cal, visual and mental elements of the shot sequence work in harmony:This requires a combination of appropriate physical taining the proper emotional state, and the correct mental focus.A peak performance isthe result of mak: ing the right efor to do the right things the right way.In this context, striving for your peak performance i diferent than FEBRUARY 2021 CLAY TARGET NATION 41(PEAK PERFORMA pursuing excellence or trying harder in an attempt to win a competition. It is about performing to the best of your abilities at a moment in time, not being Detter than your competitors. CLARIFY PERFORMANCE GOALS Cay target shooters can facilitate peake performances by clarifying their goals, Defining what you want to accomplish is necessary to determine whether your ‘goals are reasonable and what you need to do in order to accomplish those goals, ‘Wanting to maximize your shooting. , potential is a reasonable goal, Wanting to win a World Championship or an Olympic gold medal may be reasonable for just a few shooters. Regardless, i you want to win a World Championship, you will need to maximize your shoot. ing potentiat to achieve a series of peak performances. Striving for peak perfor ‘mance is the key to developing your potential to win championships. One year I went an entire season ‘without missing a 12,gnuge target ia competition. I didn't even realize that Twas 1,000 straight in 12-gauge until someone told me. just focused on the next target and trusted my pre-planned. moves. During the following season when I missed a target in the 12-gauge ‘event, I never thought about the end of the streak. I just focused my attention "on my preshot routine to execute the option shot by watching the next target My five World Championships were just the consequence of striving for my | next peak performance. I describe my | approach to shooting by paraphrasing ‘Ayn Rand:"A peak performer is mot vated by the desire to achieve, not by the desire to beat others” ADOPTA PERFORMANCE MINDSET Itis important to differentiate between 4 training mindset and a performance ‘mindset Training is dominated by your ‘conscious mind, Performing involves your conscious mind (watching reflex) Seer Se ‘4 Mental discipline is being able to ‘suppress your desire so you can approach the game with reason. working in harmony with your uncon. scious mind (shooting reflex).The pur pose of traning is to program specific reflexes. The purpose of performing is to allow the appropriate reflexes to react and respond automatically to the target encourage you to adopt a perfor. mance mindset before you deive to the gun club. Ideally, you will use the shot gun, the clothing and shoes, shooting vest, shell pouch and gauge of ammuni- tion you would use in competition, You will also define a specific performance sal for the practice session, Research in biofeedback and neuro- feedback training techniques indicates that visualization reduces stress and anxiety, improves mental focus,and enhances consistency of your perfor: ‘mance. I encourage shooters to use kinetic visualization because it ineor- 42 WWLNSSA-NSCA.ORG / FEBRUARY 2021,orates the “feeling and secing” aspects of the pre-planned move for the next tanger. This process activates the visio- ‘motor coordination associated with the next pre-planned move, helps eliminate distractions, and allows the shooter to pay attention co watching the next tar get continuously until it breaks. 1 utilize a simple pre-shot routine that reinforces my performance mindset. After I establish a correct stance on the station, I point my gun at the break point and visualize the target breaking to the left or right of the barrels.Then I rotate my upper body back to my gun hold while visualizing the target path in reverse. Finally, mount the gun, settle my vision into expanded soft focus at the eye hold, and call for the target ‘This “reverse sehearsal" activates the appropriate preplanned move for the next target. have unconditional trust that my shooting reflex will react and respond to the image of the target (cue) ifTacquire it correctly at the eye hold and watch (track) it continuously. It re- ‘quires monotonous mental discipline to repeat a simple pre-shot routine prior to every moment of truth, Nonetheless, it is mental discipline that enables me to preserve a performance mindset. PRESERVE A PERFORMANCE MINDSET ‘When | refer to performance mindset, am emphasizing the distinction between ‘raining consciously and performing automatically. Often, a shooter will begin « practice round in a performance mind- set but slip back into 2 training mindset after a missed target. Training involves consciously executing elements of the shot sequence to program shooting reflexes (pre-planied moves). Practice involves shooting a complete round as, if you were in competition. The purpose Of practice isto develop unconditional ‘rust in-your preplanned moves, ‘When you begin to analyze your shots during practice or competition, it causes ‘you to revert from a performance mind- set toa training mindsetThe training, mindset activates the conscious mind -4 We love to celebrate wins and broken targets, but sticking to your plan and routine is thereal cause for celebration, Fee tengo act cat trolevery aspect of theshot sequence. | shooting ina ining mindset involves | inseuctonal sah and conscious | thought. Once you begin to analyze the outcomes of your performance, the net tive selftalk will increase in frequency and intensity Shooting inthe conscious mind is nota effective isles efficient, and requires more effort. Managing your selttalk during ‘practice and competition isthe key to preserving a performance mindset. "Therefore, itis important t0 use mental | discipline to stile negative setftak and pay attention to the process of shooting. | Mental discipline is the suppression ‘of base desires and urges so you ean use | reason to determine the best course of action. It is syaonymous with restraint And emotional control-The purpose of mental discipline isto eliminate self doubt ard promote unconditional trust. Selfdoubt is a competitor’ greatest ‘enemy. Unreasonable expectations and ‘misguided intentions feed self-doubt. Emotional detachment from a desired outcome and an intention to pesform the task at hand promotes confidence andicates peak peormance. | CRAVE THE PROCESS My love affair with shooting clay targets began when I was 8 years old. Shoot- Jing was easy for me,and it was the only thing I did well as a child and young adult, Condoleezza Rice described my shooting jourriey when she said,*People ‘who end up first don’t actually set out to be first, They set out to do something they love” ‘When I encourige shooters to strive for peak performance, I am really per- suading them to identify things they Jove about shooting clay targets, When shooters discover something they love | about shooting, they will naturally crave the process.This is the secret tos ing without striving. Striving for peak performance enables shooters to realize their natural potential and feel like a ‘winner regardless of the outcome. ¢n > John Shima sa five-time World Skeet ‘Champion and the leacing authority on detection of visual decoptions and presorbing appropriate visual training ‘to unieash the power of realty for clay target shooters, You can reach him at johinajonnshima.com. To order his books ‘or view previous articles, go to wien FEBRUARY 2021 / LAY TARGET NATION 43