In my classes one of the first thing I talk about is the fact that I use exercises during training and not drills. Here’s why. Most times when folks go to the range and shoot drills they do the same thing over and over again at the same pace and may or may not reach and end state that they want. For example a shooter goes out and does some Bill Drills from the holster. 50 times they draw the gun and shoot is 6 times in 2 seconds. They miss shots all the way to runs numbers 47-50. Does this mean they trained themselves to get a pistol out of the holster and get 6 hits in 2 seconds or that they trained themselves to fail for 46 attempts? I have done a whole lot of range sessions where I worked this sort of method and what I think I did was train myself to fail then eventually get it right. For example when I was training a lot for USPSA I would set up and run stages. I would bomb the stage a few times then start making magic happen. Guess what happened in matches? Most times I would bomb the first couple stages them settle down and do well. It’s hard to win against strong competition that way.
So here’s my exercise analogy. If you had a goal of benching 400 pounds would you walk into a gym,put 400 pounds on the bar and start doing 400 pound bench press drills? Not for long! My thoughts now are invest your training time, be very analytical about what’s happening when you shoot and identify then attack the things you need to work on to be the shooter you want to be.
-Frank Proctor
Frank Proctor has served over 18 years in the military, the last 11 of those in US Army Special Forces. During his multiple combat tours in Afghanistan & Iraq he had the privilege to serve with and learn from many seasoned veteran Special Forces Operators so their combined years of knowledge and experience has helped him to become a better operator & instructor. While serving as an instructor at the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat Course he was drawn to competitive shooting. He has since earned the USPSA Grand Master ranking in the Limited Division and Master ranking in the IDPA Stock Service Pistol division. He learned a great deal from shooting in competition and this has helped him to become to become a better tactical shooter. Frank is one of the few individuals able to bring the experiences of U.S. Army Special Forces, Competitive Shooting, and veteran Instructor to every class.
All this experience combines to make Frank Proctor a well-rounded shooter and instructor capable of helping you to achieve your goal of becoming a better shooter.
Gunfighter Moment is a weekly feature brought to you by Alias Training & Security Services. Each week Alias brings us a different Trainer and in turn they offer some words of wisdom.
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