Peak performance

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Over the years I've competed in many sports from field hockey, cricket, tennis, American football, go-karting, shooting sports at others; I have had an extremely competitive nature and always held to the belief that there's no point in competing if one doesn't have the desire to do so at ones' peak-performance. To enter a sporting competition of any nature, for me, means that I will give it one hundred percent of my effort and energy in a bid to perform at my maximum.

Winning, placing oneself in the position to do so, means also having a winning attitude and in the past winning has been a strong focus for me. Although underlying to that desire to win has been the desire to beat my personal best from previous competitions and achieve the maximum from myself that I could possibly gain on that day. I'm my own strongest competitor.

If I walked off the field or stepped out of my go-kart feeling that I have achieved my best it really never mattered whether I won or not; I still considered it a personal victory and was happy. Sure, winning is awesome, but that feeling of achieving ones' highest level on the day is too.

I recently committed myself to shooting in the upcoming IPSC State Titles where I will have to compete against some of the best shooters in the country. It should be a fun event, an opportunity to hang out for the weekend with some people I only really see at these major events, and to push the limits of my ability in the pursuit of a personal-best result.

I don't care where I place overall or even within my own class and division; That simply doesn't matter. I'm not there for trophies, glory, accolades or to see my name at the top of a list; Those things don't excite me too much these days. I just want to have fun and come away knowing I left nothing on the table, giving it all in an attempt to operate at my peak.

Over the next few weeks I will do a lot of practice at home with my handgun. Having a fast draw and target acquisition (we shoot from holstered typically) is important just as is having the right grip on the handgun. A fast draw and being able to accurately put the first round onto the target saves time and the correct grip manages recoil making subsequent shots faster and more accurate.

Speedy magazine changes both stationery and running will also get practiced...All of this happens in my workshop and no shots are fired. It's about creating muscle-memory, which will translate on the range. I'll need to spend some time studying the course of fire also, which get's emailed ahead of the event.

Pictured here are three of the twelve stages for an example.

Here each brown target has to be hit twice, the yellow ones only once as they are falling steel targets (Fall once hit at the top section). Note the swinging target with the black hard cover sides...That will start swinging once the door is opened by the shooter. Targets with the 'X' are called no-shoots - Hitting one is a minus 25-point penalty for every time it is hit. The starting position is the thick black line.

Same as above with the brown targets requiring two rounds on target. All yellow targets are falling steel. Note that there's a platform and stairs on this stage, and plenty of semi-obscured targets.

Again the same here. The swinging target, behind the black hard cover, will activate when the yellow popper is dropped.

The distances the shooter has to traverse on each stage are unknown and these stages sheets are not to scale. Shots will be made at anywhere from 2 metres (Around six feet) out to 50 metres or so, sometimes more. Scores are calculation of elapsed time and points gained with greater points gained for better accuracy on the chest-sized brown targets.

Obviously the faster one runs and shoots the better the score.

Just for an example of the way IPSC looks in real life here's a video of a guy shooting at the 2018 Australian IPSC handgun Nationals. He's shooting in the Standard Division and shoots well enough to take second place in that Division. The video will give you a good idea of what I'll be doing at the State Titles event in a few weeks.

I'm looking forward to the State Titles and whilst I'll be prepared, will also be somewhat nervous; Always am at competitions. There are some complicated stages and because this is a practical discipline there's always multiple ways to run each course, some faster than others. They key is to determine which way to do it, which targets to shoot first, where to change magazines and so on.

I'll probably not have many photos from the weekend as I'll be too busy working and Faith isn't coming to this event. She normally keeps me organised, fed and hydrated so I can focus on the stages and the shooting. Without her there I'll have to look after myself completely which complicates matters...I will probably write about the weekend at some stage though. So stay tuned if you're interested.

Thanks for sticking around and reading.


Tomorrow isn't promised - Design and create your ideal life, don't live it by default
An original post written by a human
Discord: galenkp#9209 🇦🇺



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(Edited)

Nice that looks like a fun event man! My 9mm has been collecting dust (figuratively, it’s in the case away from the elements lol). I haven’t fired it in a few years, makes me sad. I was starting the muscle memory a tiny bit, though I don’t have a holster.

I was glad though, at renewal I was able to get concealed carry again for my license which isn’t easy in the Boston area. I had it before but moved cities and wasn’t sure if they would let me continue it. Not sure I’m in the point where I would actually carry besides heading to the range but having the option to is comforting given the unfortunate negative attitude towards firearms.

I also love that shirt lol

Good luck at the event I’ll try to remember to check it out on your page to see how you did!

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Hey mate, thanks for reading and commenting. I couldn't imagine not shooting for that long...I'd get withdrawal symptoms I think. Is there a reason you haven't gone shooting?

P.s. The shirt says, Grenade; Fuck that guy and everyone near him.

It's by a veteran run business here in Australia. and available through Scorpion Projects or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DeltaEchoApparel/

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(Edited)

The primary reason I haven’t is I don’t have an available range near me. The closest public range is 45 minutes away and the club in my city requires volunteering and other weird requirements that I can’t commit to in order to be a member. It’s also a financial thing for now.

Thanks I’ll check them out!

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Oh that's a bummer...That club near you sounds odd...I don't have to do a thing at my range to be a member. I help out here and there when things need doing but it's not a requirement. I hope you get to shoot again soon.

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Hectic stuff .... to mach for me now...served two years and many camps in the milItary during our border war.... seen enough of guns and what they can do to last me 5 lifetimes.... but all the best. Are you going to wear a Go-Pro?

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I won't wear a GoPro in the State Titles, I need to focus on the job, however I have posted videos here of other competitions I've done in the past with the most recent being a three-gun competition I did (Handgun, rifle and shotgun.) Thanks for stopping by. :)

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Having played sports all through high-school and college I hear you on the competition thing, and performing at one's best.

That looks like a lot of fun. I watched two videos of the competition and the second one had a lot more running involved in that round, is there a difference. What type of handgun do you use in the event and how many rounds does each clip hold.
In the first video I also noticed that at one point towards the end of the course the contestant was shooting with one hand rather than two, any particular reason for him changing his style.

Good luck in the event.

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Hey there.

I use different ones but the one I will be shooting the State Titles with is a CZ Shadow 2 9mm. The magazines hold 10 rounds and I carry six. Look out for my post in 12 hours about my holster rig.

The competition calls for different types of shooting and sometimes they make us shoot one handed, even with our non-natural hand. This simulates being shot in the arm and having to defend oneself by using the other. It is a military-based event simulating real-world scenarios.

20190623_124957_2.jpg

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Thanks for answering my questions @galenkp. What a good looking pistol. Looked at the pistol on line and found out that it is one of the most popular pistols for competitions because of its accuracy and ergonomics.
A new one costs over $1,100.00. Most guns are a good investment as they tend to gain value over time. I will be looking for your post on holster rig.

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All good. Yes, it's runs flawlessly...I put hundreds of rounds through it each weekend and it has never failed. Holster rig post is up.

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I’m currently wearing a Peak Performance hoodie 😁

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Cool coincidence. Hope you peak-performed at your day...Running errands for your mum (mom) right?

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Do You do a dry run, practice non shoot pass...? Or just have to memorize from e-mail details...?

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When the squad arrives at each stage they read the brief which is what I have shown in the post. There is then 3 minutes allotted (for the entire squad) to walk the stage which is when one has to work out how they are going to run it, what targets they will engage and when, where magazine changes are going to be done etc. It's not a lot of time to do this, especially if one is the first shooter on the line.

A squad could be anything up to 20 people so sometimes only one dry-run is possible. Makes for an interesting stage. 32 rounds, mag changes, running etc...All in 20 seconds or so is hectic. Good fun though.

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Howdy sir galenkp! Very interesting and that's great to include the video as some people would have no idea what it's like.

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Yep, I'm smart huh? 🙂

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well yes of course, some would even say brilliant! lol.

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