Ok this will be a longish post and kind of a follow up detailed post to what I wrote in Using competition as a training tool
, but I’ll try to make it actual advice on making competition into worthwhile practice for the real world. My take on comps is I will never be a competitor for sport, I’m only interested in using it as a practice tool for real world.
So if you share that goal, shoot IDPA and use your standard carry gear. What I mean is PLEASE do not go out and get a photographer vest if your not a photographer. Don’t get comp speed holsters/belt and Kydex mag holders if you normally carry in an old leather holster and keep your spare mag in the back pocket of your jeans.
Dress normally and don’t “game” the stages or use shortcuts to get better times for “sport” even when other competitors urge you to do so for better times. When I did my first IDPA comp I went to a shoot with one of my best friends who is also one of my mentors. He is a seasoned high speed, real SF guy with decades of putting down bad guys all over the globe. In his role he deploys with Delta, Seals, Recon and other SF teams. He has also been trained in just about every civilian program worth anything to evaluate them for potential use for his folks and heads the selection process for his group.
He did the comp in a t-shirt, Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts and Keen sandals because that’s what he wears when he is “off”. Heard some of the other competitors whispering comments and I was highly amused since this was the only guy in the place that has actually ever got shot at, so he navigated the stages as if the targets shot back because in his world they do. Time wise he was dead center of the pack, but never missed a shot.
Run stages the way you would a real life encounter using concealment, cover, barriers, barricades, etc to your full advantage. Slice the pie before you enter a room even if the “door” is just a frame and you can see the whole “room” before you go in.
Distance is your friend. Use lateral movements when drawing from open and reloads as you would in real life and pay no attention to the timer. Every shot should be a hit to the vitals of the target. You can’t miss fast enough…
Do not get caught up on RO instructions to only take X shots to COM. Visualize an attacker and if takes 4 shots to stop him in your mind take 4 shots. Do your assessment when you are done shooting, and not as range theatric, but really asses your surroundings before holstering your gun and ask your brain the 4 questions:
1-Anyone one else needs to get shot?
2-Any other persons of interest?
3-Anyone needs medical attention, especially me?
4-Am I in a safe position or do I need to move for an advantage?
Any gun competition you go to bring an IFAK with you and keep it handy. Have a friend video your stages so you can criticize yourself later and learn from them.
Watch the other competitors like a hawk, specially if the look too “new” with shinny equipment and guns and/or nervous. ROs and Safety Officers only have two eyes and I’ve seen TONS of unsafe behavior they have missed during competition. You DON’T know the level of experience of the other shooters. Had a guy right next to me have a ND with a new-to-him Glock that he had no experience with and had “jammed”. He stepped off the line and launched a 9mm round right into the ground right by the ROs feet and just a few feet from me. I knew he was going to be a problem as I watched him gear up so I made sure I was never in front of him.
Never shoot for time but always practice with a timer. Time is a benchmark not a goal of training. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. Train for smooth and efficient and speed will be the happy byproduct.
Ask for help and freeze in place if you have a problem! Anyone will be happy to help.
I think that’s it for now…