Congratulations to all our shooters who competed in this weekends National Championships.  Susan, Laura and Paula Cunningham Took gold,silver and bronze medals in the Women's match.  Well done Ladies!

Mark G, Patrick, Shane and Paul took part in the Men's match.  Paul's rifle stock came undone and caused him grief.  Patrick and Mark G both hit scores in the high 490's, which would have been somewhat below their target scores.  Shane made a welcome return to the competition circut and hopefully we will see him on the line again next week at our match in Wilkinstown!

Mark C and I excelled in the AP 60 match!  Donal Lynch, however, qualified for the final in 8th place and through classic shooting aided by very vocal support from his clubmates and fans managed to move up into 7th place.  Well done 'you  boy you'!

Thanks to UCD for hosting and all who competed and assisted in running the event.

Now lets start working on National Cahmpionships 2011.

 

 

Just a bit of fun... Sunday's match sped up a little!

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Looking back over what I posted last time, I would like to move the process on a little further if I may.

Last time I spoke about developing a relaxed position through breathing and inducing relaxation while exhaling.  In those drills I suggested that one becomes aware of ones self and surroundings while focusing on the current feelings of harmony and tranquility and gently achieving stability and balance with eyes closed.  This time, I want to suggest a variation of the previous drill.  By all means, repeat the previous drill to achieve a state of balance and once this has been attained, we are going to add to it because the shooting position will require some modification in order to achieve balance while providing stable support to the firearm.

In this drill, I suggest that you alter your position somewhat to mimic the desired shooting position you wish to train in, be it prone, kneeling or standing.  So, if it is the prone position then adopt the prone position, if kneeling, then the kneeling position and if standing, then the standing position.  This new position, because of the shift in your centre of balance, will cause you to be aware of new forces coming in to play with your stability.  Like the previous drill, I want you to create a relaxed and balanced position by keeping ones eyes closed and concentrating on your breathing and relaxation process as outlined previously.

All of these drills must be carried out initially without kit and without the firearm ( these will be added later).  As in the previous session the goal that is sought is the establishment of the most stable and relaxed simple shooting position.  I call it a 'simple shooting position' because it is not complicated by kit and firearm.

What I want you to think about is how your body is preparing to adapt itself to support the weight of the equipment and how your body is going to build up its endurance to be able sustain this stable, relaxed and comfortable  position throughout the match.  So take time to practice these drills so that you can establish your stable position without any load factor.  When this is achieved, we will come back and offer some ideas about how to gently increase the load!

These are just some of my thoughts on this matter and I always invite comments, observations and more ideas,  please don't be shy, I won't wring your neck!  So don't be too lazy to .......