Exercise Training and Perfomance

[RobJ]

Hi All

Noted in the latest Air Gun World Terry Doe heralding the benefits of regular exercise is having on his shooting and it has got me thinking.

I left all the trappings of the corporate world in October last year to teach Tai Chi full time after training for 13years (www.elemental-taichi.co.uk)

Tai Chi is a slow moving martial art that is mainly taught for health these days but focuses on posture, rooting, building stable stances and the ability to hold certain structures in a relaxed manner. Different types of breathe control also play a major part. Tai Chi has been proven to lower blood pressure, improve your resistance to stress, and produce calm in the face of adversity (be that the stresses of life, or the pressure of a competition shot).

I have been recently applying this to my shooting practice (hw97KT), mainly in free hand standing shots and found vast improvements, finally taking this to the field recently and taking a 28yard rabbit free hand.

I appreciate there is a leap of faith required in trying something new (especially something that can be perceived as 'esoteric' ) but I've distilled some of the principles of Tai Chi to make them applicable to shooting only because that is my other passion.

I am thinking of offering training services to local, serious competition shooters as a method to improve accuracy and calmness under pressure and wondered what, if any, training or exercises the serious lot amongst you do? and whether if it was available, would the training above be of interest?

Any thoughts on the subject would be much appreciated

All the best
Rob

[zx10mike]

well honesty is best,i think your flogging a dead horse bud,the amount of people prepared to make that sacrifice would be small,
that said when my fitness is up i notice the benefits because my pulse is calmer faster just due to recovery speed.

[Chastiser]

i cant see it doing anything but good. i do yoga regularly and have martial art experience. i find the held positions combined with breathing training excellent for most activites and think it would apply very well to shooting.

[RobJ]

Thanks for the replies chaps. I appreciate the opinions. This stuff really works when done properly and as a martial artist myself I did used to find it a little ironic seeing guys in those stiff target 'suits' at the club when you can easily train your body to achieve stability and 'rooting' with 15/20 minutes a day without relying on external equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely have some gaps in my knowledge on the target suit things as it's not my discipline, but one thing I do know that even the basic principles of Tai Chi can reduce or eliminate that 'fight or flight' adrenalin response we all have when under pressure.

I'm not expecting this to take off as a business idea, just a way of practically combining the two things I am most passionate about.

All the best
Rob

[nick-nic]

I need all the help I can get with unsupported shots/ raised heart rate in comps & this is something I have thought about, having done a lot of Karate in the early 80's & aware of its benefits. On one of the permissions I have they also runs a Tai Chi type class on Tuesday evenings ( I was watching them while waiting for bunnies this week). Might be worth enrolling, then going shooting afterwards

[defblade]

As I was told on my instructing course: shooting relies on your fitness, but does nothing to improve it.

[Powderfinger]

Dru Yoga and some running. The yoga is very beneficial.

[RobinC]

Any one shooting at high level or coaching those shooting at high level knows that fitness does have a major impact on performance and it can be quite significant. It is a vital part of being a successfull competition shooter.
Zen, Yoga, and Tai Chi are all currently used as fitness and particularly as relaxation techiques by many top level and good level shooters, and will be suggested by any good shooting coach to those aspiring to shoot at the top levels.

[Rutty]

Zen, Yoga, and Tai Chi are all currently used as fitness and particularly as relaxation techiques by many top level and good level shooters, and will be suggested by any good shooting coach to those aspiring to shoot at the top levels.

That's an interesting statement Robin, I feel that it is useful to consider what may lie behind the recommendations by some coaches. First of all I should say that nowhere in any of the published shooting literature have I found any direct recommendation that any of the above are particularly beneficial. Indeed the only place I have found mention of one of them, Yoga, was a in a trial carried out by the US Army AMTU that concluded that it appeared to confer no additional benefit when compared with current sport psychology techniques. Where Yoga, Tai Chi etc. do score is the social aspect of their practice. This provides athletes with incentive and encouragement in a group environment quite different from the almost solitary and inward looking characteristics of shooting training.

At the end of the day there are no "magic bullets" and all the psychology in the world cannot make up for imperfect technique. The relaxation and control techniques can help keep those techniques intact under pressure but if they are imperfect to begin with you are on a hiding to nothing.

Rutty

[Hemmers]

I did used to find it a little ironic seeing guys in those stiff target 'suits' at the club when you can easily train your body to achieve stability and 'rooting' with 15/20 minutes a day without relying on external equipment.

Don't get me wrong, I definitely have some gaps in my knowledge on the target suit things as it's not my discipline, but one thing I do know that even the basic principles of Tai Chi can reduce or eliminate that 'fight or flight' adrenalin response we all have when under pressure.

The target clothing is definitely in addition to physical fitness, not instead of. Most martial artists would struggle to stand still in a load-bearing position for 75 minutes, however stable their stance might be in the short term.
Malcolm Cooper famously did something like 60 lengths of his local pool every morning and would watch TV from a standing position with his rifle pointing at the wall to build and maintain the core stability muscle groups. International grade shooters will do a lot more than 15-20 minutes of physical training a day.

Anyone vaguely into 3-Position and Air Rifle will need a level of muscular endurance. The gear helps iron out minor movement but it's not a magic bullet and ultimately your body is still carrying the weight of the rifle (although the weight should primarily be carried by bone structure, not muscle tension). All disciplines benefit from good cardio and the ability to keep a cool head and low heart rate under pressure.

[RobJ]

That's an interesting statement Robin, I feel that it is useful to consider what may lie behind the recommendations by some coaches. First of all I should say that nowhere in any of the published shooting literature have I found any direct recommendation that any of the above are particularly beneficial. Indeed the only place I have found mention of one of them, Yoga, was a in a trial carried out by the US Army AMTU that concluded that it appeared to confer no additional benefit when compared with current sport psychology techniques. Where Yoga, Tai Chi etc. do score is the social aspect of their practice. This provides athletes with incentive and encouragement in a group environment quite different from the almost solitary and inward looking characteristics of shooting training.

At the end of the day there are no "magic bullets" and all the psychology in the world cannot make up for imperfect technique. The relaxation and control techniques can help keep those techniques intact under pressure but if they are imperfect to begin with you are on a hiding to nothing.

Rutty

There is a certain chicken and egg syndrome in some cases here as there is a natural reticence in people to try something new. For an art form that is over 300 years old for example, it is only recently that the NHS have recognised Tai Chi as an evidence based exercise program to reduce falls in the elderly. Yoga is very different to Tai Chi in many ways yet it is natural to lump them both together but I would state that the benefits from Tai Chi are considerably more than just social.

The target clothing is definitely in addition to physical fitness, not instead of. Most martial artists would struggle to stand still in a load-bearing position for 75 minutes, however stable their stance might be in the short term.
Malcolm Cooper famously did something like 60 lengths of his local pool every morning and would watch TV from a standing position with his rifle pointing at the wall to build and maintain the core stability muscle groups. International grade shooters will do a lot more than 15-20 minutes of physical training a day.

Anyone vaguely into 3-Position and Air Rifle will need a level of muscular endurance. The gear helps iron out minor movement but it's not a magic bullet and ultimately your body is still carrying the weight of the rifle (although the weight should primarily be carried by bone structure, not muscle tension). All disciplines benefit from good cardio and the ability to keep a cool head and low heart rate under pressure.

Sure, understood on the suits and thanks for the insight into Mr.Cooper, superb dedication.

One particular practice in Tai Chi is zhan zhuang or 'standing post'. This requires the practitioner to stand in a parallel stance, arms in a 'holding a ball' position at chest height for long periods. Regular practice of this alone with the correct positioning/alignment of the lower spine, the top of the head and the relaxing of all muscles teaches you to use bone structure instead of muscles. It also creates a very stable stance.
My teacher is very traditional, my black sash exam was a 24hr fitness test that culminated in 'standing post' being held for 2 hours. Granted this is extreme and not required by all but your post did highlight further similarities between serious rifle training and Tai Chi. Thanks.

All the best
Rob

[edbear2]

Lots of reps, using the rifle as if you are shooting works well, ie. dry firing (obviously only if you have a PCP...with a spring gun you can still take your stance and aim ) or just loads of practise if you are lucky enough to have the facilities. I read an article somewhere ( A.G.'s book of the rifle?) about an Army service rifle champion many years ago who would just stand and aim his gun for at least an hour a day when he could, thus building up the muscle groups (and memory) he used when in competition.

There is a theory that the human body needs to repeat something at least 6000 times before it gets instinctive, I can understand this as I play guitar as well, and can now make chord shapes in mid air before my hand touches the fingerboard, whereas once I would need to look down and painfully place each finger in position.

General fitness and associated benefits will also help...I was doing a lot of cycling and observing a diet over the last two years, and at one point had dropped from over 16 stone to a tad over 12 stone, plus had not been fitter for years. At this time my scores were noticeably higher.

ATB, Ed

[Hemmers]

There is a theory that the human body needs to repeat something at least 6000 times before it gets instinctive, I can understand this as I play guitar as well, and can now make chord shapes in mid air before my hand touches the fingerboard, whereas once I would need to look down and painfully place each finger in position.

The 10000hour rule says it takes 10000hours to become a master of something. Not just an expert though - you get to expert in less. 10,000 ours would get you to world class level - the Bobby Fischer equivalent of your field.

[10Metershooter]

Wish I had more time to shoot let alone "downward dog"