Posted by steve swartz on September 24, 2000 at 19:05:32:
I would like to extend "An Interesting Proposition" to the group:
Apropos of the recurring mental shooting threads on this bBS, I remember a couple of weeks back one of the gentlemen in this group actually posted some information regarding actual research (scientific, even!) conducted on factors contributing to performance in the shooting sports. IIRC, he suggested that the research was conducted in the 1960s and 1970s, (funded by? under the guidance of? the NRA). When the posting first appeared, I thought "Gee, there is probably a lot of good stuff like this that is out there, but nobody knows about it!"
Now that I am done moving my household across town, my EMail is up, and I have a 10 meter range in my basement I would really like to follow up on this. About a year ago I conducted a "mini literature review" on Sports Psychology as it relates to shooting disciplines, but it was (is) woefully inadequate and I'd like to pick it up and improve it again.
I know J.P. O'Connor and others have made some great comments about everything from Alpha Waves to Zen over teh last year, but I was unable to capture most of the references.
I am volunteering to be a central collection point for "Book Reviews" (abstracts) of any and all references to Mental Shooting, Sports Psychology, etc. I would like to collect everyone's reviews and then provide a summary to the group (well, anyone who's interested). Yes Chet, even your book should and will be included if I could get a brief (100 words or less?) summary of the main principles expounded therein.
I figure I was going to do this for my own benefit, I might as well share the wealth with all.
As new information becomes available, of course the database of abstracts/reviews would be updated.
I see this as a "labor of love;" and working on it is probably the best way to finally break 570!
Steve Swartz (habitual 565 AP shooter)
Posted by Mike Keyes on September 24, 2000 at 20:02:14:
Thanks for referring to me as a gentleman. The research into shooting was done during the early '80s during the hey-day of US Shooting and was the product of the NRA who put up the money to fund research. The primary researcher was Dr. Dan Landers, a non-shooter, and the funding committee was headed by Dr. Henry Cross, a research scientist and an All-American shooter in his own right.
A lot of good research was published and more was done on an informal basis. It appears that no one is using shooters as a research tool any more in this country even though there are plenty of tools to use such as the training software and gadgets that evolved out of the laser and computer stuff of the '80s.
The research document is no longer available, but I will be glad to publish exerpts and summaries if anyone is interested.
I don't know if the NRA still holds the copyright (probably, the publishing date is 1988) and due to the politics that may still be present, the info will probably never see the light of day again. I hope i am wrong.
There are several books on mental training for shooting available. Mental skills are not that hard to learn, the trick is to put in a lot of work, have talent and do everything correctly. I think it should take only about 6 years of concentrated training for a talented shooter to reach the elite level.
Posted by D. Lee on October 11, 2000 at 18:45:27:
Dr. Landers study of EEG was published in the American Rifleman at one time. It hinted to being able to discern something about right and left hemisphere functioning for peak performance. It started me initially on some work at the biofeedback lab at San Francisco state some 12-14 years ago. During that time, he also published the research that NRA had funded. The key point to one of your responses was that he was not a shooter. As I recall some of the things he studied in addition to EEG (electroencephlograms) was some of the types of meditation, balance platform ?, and pulse/respiration. It was in my opinion sensationalized beyond reasonable bounds. A little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and when backed by the media it becomes even more so. For instance, Dr. Landers once stated that world class shooters shot between heartbeats. You would not believe what was done with that simple observation. I personally know one world class athlete (gold medal in both Olympic and World games) who went on a cardio training program that slowed his heart rate down an incredable amount. However, he couldn't get his hold to stabilize to what he was used to. Yes, he increased the time between heart beats, but he also was so fit now, that the pulse volume was so large as to knock his sights way out of the area of wobble this shooter was used to. He probably added years onto his expected life span, but found out that it was of minimum value to his personal shooting regime. And more to the point, every shooter has the ability to shoot between heart beats. By watching your sights the way you should be to get a good release, the sights need to be stable, and hence, between heart beats. Dr. Landers publication was used in my class to discuss research methods, and invariably almost all of the students found fault with the research because he wasn't familiar with the protocals enough to make any real conclusions, just observations. As to his work on comparing meditations I would have to look at it again, but I think he went off in the wrong direction by not looking at the type and styles of mediations involved. I believe the Germans and Russians are way ahead of the game and have done more to codify the information. Years ago, Dr. Heinz Lozel? of the then UIT, would do many articles on performance factors that were very well thought out. He may be a source for you if he's still around. He spoke once at OTC, and was very impressive. I believe that texts such as "Olympic Target Rifle Shooting - Technique,Tactics, Training" by Ralf Horneber and "On the Training of Shooters" by Heinze Reinkmeier on the right track. I was also wondering whether or not you've tried any of the psychological journals for the type of information you looking to. I recall alot of stuff being done with mental rehearsals using guided imagery, and Autogenic training being done a few years back. Hope that provides you with something of substance. All the best in your work. I'd like to be in your information loop should you move forward on this subject.
Posted by Justin Elsley on September 26, 2000 at 10:33:55:
I have started shooting again, although i am only 29, and have again high hopes for the future. certainly having the right mental approach for not only training but for competition is paramount to shooting winning scores. Books that i have read in the past and found helpfull include Mental training for success by RL Domey and Psyching for sport by T Orlick. However in my view certainly as a junior i found the book Competitive shooting by AA Yur Yev to be of greater influence.
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