[Chris Conley]

Awareness. I find it hard for me to keep my awareness all day long. At my local club we usually shoot 2 guns. One in the morning and one in the afternoon. That usually is 10-12 stages in the heat or here recently in the rain. Some things that I lose as the day wears on is front sight focus and transitions are not as fast. What are some things that you all do to keep awareness at a high level all day?

Chris C.

[Flexmoney]

Hmmmm...

[AWLAZS]

I have found that I loose my awareness if its a long day at the range and I don't take care of myself.

What I do to help. I make sure I drink water and have small snacks. If I forget my mental game suffers. A big lunch will do in me too.

[AikiDale]

You might try keeping snacks in your range bag to keep your energy levels up during the day. (That's silly, don't keep them in your range bag, eat them during the day!). Have water with you as well and stay hydrated. These are basic requirements for performance. As for the awareness you need to shoot, you do not have to maintain awareness all day. Only for a few seconds 10 or 12 times a day. Try deep breathing when you are on deck. As the day wears on and you begin to tire, you most likely begin to breathe more shallowly. Oxygen is essential to vision.

[Chris Conley]

Thanks guys this is good stuff. Keep it coming.

Chris C.

[spook]

I've asked this question before.
I also suffer this symptom when training for a long time. It is HARD to stay interested for a long period of time.
The trick, I think, is to "stay hungry". I try not to practice the day before. And on match day, I am aware from the walkthrough to the end of the shooting. Between stages, I want to keep my mind off the shooting as much as possible. At least, I don't want to force myself into thinking about shooting.

[Jake Di Vita]

The biggest thing for me is staying in shape and having a good diet. Usually my awareness tends to fade with my energy level.

[boo radley]

I can tell you what's NOT good for awareness -- a long, stressful drive or flight. A noisy and cheap motel. Too much alcohol. Very little sleep.


Of course these are the very conditions a major match seems to guarantee. <sigh>

[Chris Conley]

Nice replies. That's what I was looking for. I always drink alot of water at a match. I wonder what kinda food/diet to eat during. I usually eat peanuts, bananas but no sugar at all. Some of the ceral bars are really loaded so I stay away for them. I would have to say sleep is a hugh factor for me. Having a family to tend to and spending time the day before sometimes runs late into the evening. Momma give me hell for going to bed early because I'll be gone the entire next day.

Thanks for all the input.
Chris C.

[Bill Nesbitt]

Susan and I eat salads for lunch at an all day shoot. We stop at McDonalds or Wendys or someplace like that and get a salad with chicken the night before. Put it in the fridge over night and keep it in a cooler until lunch. It is light and refreshing. If I eat a heavy meal or eat at the range hot dog stand then I am a mess after lunch. We often keep fried sausage links in the cooler and carry a few in the range bag for snacks. Of course lots of water. If you aren't going to the porta pottie every hour or 2 on a warm day then you are dehydrated. Water not soda.

[ap3]

A good nights sleep, consistent hydration, and aerobically fit are what you have to do physically to be receptive to the mental aspects.

Read some material on Chi Gung, practice the art of visualization before each stage, find time during the match to get away from your squad for a few minutes and meditate.

I believe awareness comes to us in two ways, one is in youthful energy that allows us to process and move at wrap speed based on our physical attributes, but as we tire this will fade. The second is from a calmness of mind which is hard to get to at the first of a day when we are filled with energy and anxiety.

As the day wears on we get the "i just want to get it over with" attitude becasue we are worn out. Sleep,hydration and fitness help hold this off as long as possible, but it will happen. When you are physically at this point right before it is your time to shoot get off by yourself and visualize yourself shooting the stage postively, stretch a bit to relax your muscles, remind yourself that you are only maximizing what energy you have left for 30 seconds at the most, bottomline right befre you shoot fill yourself with positive thoughts.

When we get fatigued almost everyone gets negative(depressed,grumpy,paranoid,fatalistic), but for the 10 minutes you are getting ready and shooting your stage you can be aware of this and turn your mind towards a positive focus. Listen to the tape playing in your head, and change the program to what you want to hear.

You will always be more aware when your mind is positive(like at the beginning of the day when you are excited to shoot the match), then if you mind is filled with negative thoughts.


Since we shoot together I have one final thought: Always tell yourself you can never beat me.

[benos]

Keep one eye on your mind. Be aware of thoughts as they come in. In this way you'll learn to quickly let go of debilitating thoughts, which snowball into a stressful avalanche.

By being aware of thoughts as they arise, your natural wisdom will decide for you whether or not to keep thinking along a particular thought-train.
mr.sentence-ending-analogy

[wooddog]

I would think that during a long period of doing anything that our minds will wander, fade, and fatigue.
I recently spent some time a a seminar about our inner voices and how to change and be aware of how ew speak to ourselves. The toxic voice, our natural voice, spiritual voice, etc. If we take the time to hear just "who" is speaking to us it gives us the opportunity to be more aware of that particular moment or situation.

For me, awareness of each particular moment is in fact, maintaining it.

[benos]

wooddog, on Apr 17 2008, 05:23 PM, said:

For me, awareness of each particular moment is in fact, maintaining it.

Yes. Thoughtless awareness. But then at that point, "who" maintains "it"?
Answer, probably this guy:
:popcorn1:
I love popcorn.

[Chris Conley]

Good posts guys. That's what I was looking for was the physical and mental part of it. I find it interesting that I am starting to notice things like this now. Funny how I can do things at home and work quickly almost without thought. Yet while I'm shooting I can't do it. Maybe I'm thinking too much about I need to do. This is something that I need to overcome. Going to knock the dust off Brian's book. I'll be thinking about this for days.

Albert, I always think just the opposite.

Chris C.

This post has been edited by Chris Conley: 18 April 2008 - 12:27 AM

[Jake Di Vita]

Quote

Yes. Thoughtless awareness. But then at that point, "who" maintains "it"?
Answer, probably this guy:
:popcorn1:
I love popcorn.

What an awesome post. I'm not really sure what I got was what you were going for, but either way it works for me.

[FranDoc]

benos, on Apr 17 2008, 11:26 PM, said:

Yes. Thoughtless awareness. But then at that point, "who" maintains "it"?

See Masao Abe, Zen and Western Thought, " ... who is the 'who' who is asking?" A fundamental of Zen.

[ajg308]

Great thread.

[Chris Conley]

Shot a today and thought about this thread on the way to the match. I'm having a hard time putting into words what I'm thinking. It will take some time to digest and understand what happend today but it was awesome! Thanks guys for getting me on the right path. Now I need to maintain.

Chris C.

This post has been edited by Chris Conley: 19 April 2008 - 05:10 PM

[grottobob]

Maybe something chess professionals learned decades ago is relevant. It is hard to win a match against an opponent who is in good physical shape. Hours of concentration where one bad move loses the contest means the body must support the mind. Good posture allows a better flow of blood to the brain and increases stamina. Rodin's statue "The Thinker" shows a horribly contorted body -- wouldn't mind being paired against such a "thinker" in the final round of a chess tournament. Also don't think it's a workable new-fangled "remodified modified Weaver" stance.

The posture for Zen meditation would be ideal before a physical or mental challenge. It brings out calmness, concentration and confidence. (This assumes you are not on a cold stone floor of a Zen temple with young monks beating you with bamboo swords.) And indeed, Frandoc, Masao Abe's writings on Zen are the best available in either English or Japanese. Simple but not easy. I have played my best chess, shot my best scores and done my best professional work when in good physical condition and having cleared the mind through Zen.