If you’re more concerned with your previous best than what you can deliver right now cold on demand, you’re doing it wrong.
This evening I spent five hours having “dinner” with a very good friend and dedicated active duty military officer who is directly involved in the training of special operations units. Much of our conversation revolved around why it is far more important to train to a standard than chase after personal records while disregarding all the failures along the way.
You shot a 5 second El Presidente today? That’s great. Was it clean or was it just completed in under five seconds? Was it something you can do every time or was it something you managed once out of 20 tries, with the rest being slower, fumbled, laced with multiple misses, etc.?
Can you step up to the line right now, with no preparation, and guarantee you’ll do it clean in under 5 seconds? Because if not, don’t say “I can shoot a 5 second El Prez.” Say, “I once shot a 5 second El Prez.” There’s a difference.
Train hard & stay safe! ToddG
I believe it is borrowed from thee ducal profession, but I love they saying, “don’t practice until you get it right. Practice until you cant get it wrong.” Same concept though.
Thanks for this idea. It is well worth remembering.
I used to tell the recruits that yes they needed to make the easy gains during training. But at some point it became more about having their screw ups become less and less of a screw up.
Todd I was thinking this same thing the other day. It only counts if you can do it on demand. Every time.
Thanks.
Yep. I often get scoffed at during these conversations because I give what I know I can do 90% of the time given 1-3 attempts, which isn’t as flashy as any personal bests.
“Performance On Demand” Part of the Triple Nickel Creed. You guys are hitting it out of the park. It’s a shame the majority of trainers and students fail to grasp that concept.