Went down to Wallers Ash SG near Winchester for one of Phils Masterclasses today and thought I would share my thoughts and experience of the day.
For myself being a C class shooter the general advice before I went today was get your technique up to scratch then worry about the mental side of things, after doing the course I believe this was wrong. Granted the technical side of my game does need work (as highlighted by Carl Bloxham in the technical parts of the day) However, I feel the introduction to the mental side of my game will give me extra kills due to proper visualisation of what the target is doing and more importantly better focus and less tension whilst shooting the stand.
The day for me started with a technical session with Carl. We started on a pair of teal, not my favourite target at the moment, but we got some hit. Then on to a quartering l-r rabbit followed by a quartering l-r low blaze, both of them were dropping away but ever so subtly. Missing the first pair over the top highlighted a problem with reading line as well as forward allowance.
Then a swap round and Phil took us through some visualisation drills, "Shooting" 3 pairs of l-r riser followed by a l-r looping at the top of a bank with no cartridges in the gun. Then "shooting" 2 pairs standing in the cage with hands in pockets and going through your preshot routine in your head. Feels really wierd but there is method to the madness. Its all to do with visualising the target flight, where you want to break it and seeing it break. Then Phil explained his RAG routine (red, amber, green) which entails look at a couple of pairs then switch off from shooting clays until the guy before you is in the cage. Dont look at their first few pairs look down at the floor, visualise from memory how YOU will kill them take deep breaths and for the last pair look up to check the sight picture then step into the cage and nail them. (a very abreiviated version and just my take on it)
Pretty much the same after lunch but shooting some different targets and going into a little more depth on the mental side, bringing in some self talk to your preparations. Rather than think "dont hang on to it" think "attack" or "dont rush it" think "slow, smooth"
Directly after the course finished I was thinking how much did I find benificial today and my answer was a little but not much, but, and a big but, the more I think about the drills and techniques presented today the more I I feel I can apply them to the way I shoot and the more targets I believe it will get me.
Would I look into the mental side more in the near future? Probably not, but I feel I have a better understanding of the mental process of shooting clays and a pre-shot routine that I can work with. Couple that with my ongoing work on technique and I can hopefully get far enough up the classes to call on Phil again.
The course did exactly what it said on the tin. An introductory masterclass, not going too deep as to baffle you with science but enough to incorporate into your shooting and realise why you are doing it.
Fuz
For myself being a C class shooter the general advice before I went today was get your technique up to scratch then worry about the mental side of things, after doing the course I believe this was wrong. Granted the technical side of my game does need work (as highlighted by Carl Bloxham in the technical parts of the day) However, I feel the introduction to the mental side of my game will give me extra kills due to proper visualisation of what the target is doing and more importantly better focus and less tension whilst shooting the stand.
The day for me started with a technical session with Carl. We started on a pair of teal, not my favourite target at the moment, but we got some hit. Then on to a quartering l-r rabbit followed by a quartering l-r low blaze, both of them were dropping away but ever so subtly. Missing the first pair over the top highlighted a problem with reading line as well as forward allowance.
Then a swap round and Phil took us through some visualisation drills, "Shooting" 3 pairs of l-r riser followed by a l-r looping at the top of a bank with no cartridges in the gun. Then "shooting" 2 pairs standing in the cage with hands in pockets and going through your preshot routine in your head. Feels really wierd but there is method to the madness. Its all to do with visualising the target flight, where you want to break it and seeing it break. Then Phil explained his RAG routine (red, amber, green) which entails look at a couple of pairs then switch off from shooting clays until the guy before you is in the cage. Dont look at their first few pairs look down at the floor, visualise from memory how YOU will kill them take deep breaths and for the last pair look up to check the sight picture then step into the cage and nail them. (a very abreiviated version and just my take on it)
Pretty much the same after lunch but shooting some different targets and going into a little more depth on the mental side, bringing in some self talk to your preparations. Rather than think "dont hang on to it" think "attack" or "dont rush it" think "slow, smooth"
Directly after the course finished I was thinking how much did I find benificial today and my answer was a little but not much, but, and a big but, the more I think about the drills and techniques presented today the more I I feel I can apply them to the way I shoot and the more targets I believe it will get me.
Would I look into the mental side more in the near future? Probably not, but I feel I have a better understanding of the mental process of shooting clays and a pre-shot routine that I can work with. Couple that with my ongoing work on technique and I can hopefully get far enough up the classes to call on Phil again.
The course did exactly what it said on the tin. An introductory masterclass, not going too deep as to baffle you with science but enough to incorporate into your shooting and realise why you are doing it.
Fuz
This course will never make you a world champ overnight, but I firmly believe it will pick you up a few clays whatever your class. How many silly misses have you had through lack of concentration or poor preparation?(rhetorical, not aimed at ase 
