Vignettes on Technique
I thought I would present something different in regards to coaching for this issue of Focus magazine. Over the years I have collected a range of different stories and articles on shooting. I thought it would be fun in this article to present some of these vignettes to you.
Posture and energy efficiency
In shooting one should minimize energy expenditure by employing only those muscles that are participating directly in the shooting process. An article from Anatoliy Piddubnyy states that this is achieved through assuming a balanced posture (Fig 1). However, some shooters prefer a less economical posture termed “reinforced” posture (Fig2). The term originated from the Soviet Union team about 25 years ago. Mexican Olympic free pistol champion Grigoriy Kosyh uses this technique and was able to shoot up to 200 shots without scoring a single 8 Training in the reinforced posture with a rigid stabilization of the wrist, In his article Piddubnyy went on to state that Kosyh shot for a whole season with a modernized Margolin semi-automatic pistol resembling a Free Pistol. In fact, the sports committee of the Soviet Union had even given him special dispensation allowing him to participate in the National Championship with the pistol. Almost all throughout his training he shot without lowering his hand, training his wrist to work with a great deal of energy expenditure. The result of his work is well known – Olympic gold.
Posture is an individual matter
Comparisons among shooters, World and Olympic champions, is showing that their physical traits are very different. Some are tall and strong like Ragnar Skanaker whilst some are also small and delicate like Svetlana Smirnova. The aim of good posture is for every shooter the same – maximising stability and minimising energy. However, achieving this does take up effort and energy (as standing still alone requires the activation of about 200 muscles). When one walks past firing line we can observe a range of different stances. From my experience, many shooters tend to observe and copy other good shooters stances. However, this is not a good idea as stance and posture are very individual. In fact, Australian champion shooter Colin O’Brien once stated to me that it did not matter how you stand (you could even stand on your head!) as long as you practiced enough you could shoot 10’s. Another example would be Vladimir Stolypin (member of the Soviet Union’s team for 20 years) who shot in the beginning with his side towards the target and the upper part of his torso leaning very much towards the left. At the end of his career and still shooting good scores he was using the frontal posture, with his chest facing the target and without any inclination at all. Imagine copying him throughout his career! Another example would be Moris Minder who broke the world record at the 1978 World Championship shooting with his hand turned at 90 degrees to the right. It is hard to believe however, a few people even copied his style hoping in vain for success. Even stability by itself does not guarantee success. Some shooters are able to keep the pistol in the aiming area for 5-6 seconds whilst others like Mihail Nestruev have only a very brief windows of opportunity, of up to one second. However, Mikhail is able to take full and effective advantage of that time and due to his ability to “seize the ideal moment” was voted World’s Best Shooter of 2001.
Grip pressure
Grip pressure is often discussed by shooters. One Russian coach once told me that the pressure required was like holding a fork “as required”. This is supported by another story of Alexey Gushchin, Russian Olympic free pistol champion who was once asked by an aspiring shooter “Alexey do you hold the grip very firm?” Gushchin replied, “Of course, very firmly.” Shortly after this incident another person came up and asked “How are you holding the grip, loosely?” Guschchin answered, “Of course, loosely.” Someone overheard these comments and questioned Alexey on these opposing answers. He simply stated that both answers in his mind were correct as the force of his grip depends on conditions and those of the competition. Sometimes he would hold it firmly and sometimes loosely, however the most important issue was that the two people who had asked the question were looking for confirmation of their own theories and he felt he gave them what they were looking for. In fact, he felt that as they were about to commence their competition they were better off receiving positive then negative reassurance. Yefim Haidurov’s pistol designer and World Championship medallist compared gripping a pistol with holding an egg with a very fragile shell and stated “one cannot hold it too tightly nor relax one’s fingers too much. I prefer the reinforced grip, where the pinky finger is exerting greater force than the ring finger and the latter more than the middle finger. The thumb is pressing the grip only in the middle, with the tips of the fingers exerting no effort at all on the surface of the pistol”.
Sitting down whilst training
When we shoot while standing, there are oscillations, each part of the body moves in relation to the rest. However, while seated with the forearm supported we can eliminate the movements of the arm and body and retain control of the stabilization of the wrist. This concept is used by Ukrainian coach Anatoliy Piddubnyy who uses this type of training technique with support to great success with his military target shooters. He believes that the main obstacle in the spread of this training method is the conservative spirit, if not laziness, of coaches and shooters, as well as a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of something new. He also believed that the positive effects can not be immediately measured however those apply this method with tenacity and work (40 to 60 minutes a day), are never going to regret the time they have invested.
Mental Rehearsal
Free Pistol shooters know how important mental rehearsal is prior to the commencement of each shot. In the case of a firing a bad shot one should pause and analyse to eliminate the error either by dry firing or mentally rehearsing the next competition shot. So what happens when we do not follow these basic principles? Here is a story about Guatemalan Sergio Sánchez who was shooting Free pistol at the Sydney 2000 Games and was featured amongst the leaders after the fourth series. In the fifth series he shot unexpectedly an 8 which probably did not match his expectations. He got angry and immediately fired another shot, another 8. Not pausing he continued to shoot another 8 followed by a 7. Finally, he paused and stopped – however it was all too late.
Sportsmanship
Finally, to conclude my article here is a story of Lanny Bassham a well known US rifle marksman and mental training specialist. At a major competition Russion competitor walked past him during the official practice session and started to observe Lanny’s stance with great interest. He then came over to Lanny and trying to unnerve him before the competition inquired to Lanny “since when was he experiencing difficulties with his stance?” Lanny calmly replied “ever since I have been shooting 10’s!”
I wish you well and good shooting
Dieter Wilhelmi