Performance Based Training While traveling for business this week, I was reading Pat McNamara’s latest book The Sentinel, and in one passage, it reminded me of something I learned from him while on the range – the concept of performance based training, rather than outcome based training. For those of you unfamiliar with this concept, performance based training entails focusing on the mechanics and fundamentals of proper execution of a task or drill, rather than focusing on the result. For example, shooting the FAST drill while focusing on making a certain par time with acceptable hits, rather than focusing on performing a proper draw, good sight alignment/sight picture, a good trigger press, an efficient reload, a focal shift to the torso of the target, proper trigger control and sight picture for the 4 body rounds, etc. By focusing on the outcome, it is possible to achieve a certain par time with sloppy mechanics and fundamentals, but much easier to hit a plateau in your training. I also believe that focusing on outcomes and running a drill over and over again until the desired outcome is achieved is the pitfall many shooters fall into, making solid drills little more than parlor tricks, rather than good tools for evaluating performance and weak spots. However, by focusing on the performance of each fundamental or skill required to achieve a goal, solid fundamentals are engrained that can be applied to other tasks or drills, so that one can not only perform well on a given drill, but on any drill that requires a high level of speed and accuracy. While contemplating these concepts, I was also forming my AAR from my latest Kyle Defoor handgun class, and a real world example of performance based training presented itself that I believe illustrates the point perfectly. On day 2, we backed up to 50 yards with our handguns, and shot a group of 10 with no time constraints. For those of you who haven’t shot at 50 yards with a handgun, I can assure you that it is difficult if not outright impossible to see holes in the target at this distance. So rather than sloppily applying fundamentals and focusing on the resulting group, or outcome, you have no choice but to slow down and consciously focus on the fundamentals and ignore the resulting group on the target (at least for the time being). As a result, my groups were tighter and more consistent than groups at 15 or 20 yards. The very next drill we performed was a test at 25 yards consisting three iterations of a draw from concealment and two rounds on an IPSC target within a par time of 4 seconds. Using a Vickers’ scoring system, a passing score is 25 (out of a possible 30). I applied the concept of performance based training I was forced to use at 50 yards, I focused on my draw, sight picture, and trigger control rather than the timer and my hits on target. Low and behold, I made par time and put all 6 rounds in the A zone as a mere consequence of focusing on performance. Next time you are at the range running your favorite standards on the clock or even just for score, give it a try. Focus on the fundamentals required, and I bet your results will be better than ever. For those of you that find yourself at a plateau in your outcome, I bet you will find new highs by shifting your focus. See you at the range. JF
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 13:42:55 +0000
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