Movement is NOT Running

I’ve found myself unable to stabilize my sights during and after movement. Sure, I can run fast, but then my hits would be all over the place. Turns out – it doesn’t matter how fast you can run, if you’re coming into the position out of balance and not ready to engage the target. Pure time shot-to-shot between the positions, I was slower than much older and less athletic shooters.

So, I started paying attention and realized that movement in USPSA isn’t always about athleticism or who can run faster. It’s about efficiency, flow, and stability. In Practical Shooting Disciplines, Movement (or Non-Shooting Platform) skills are always Secondary to Shooting Skills.

Movement is a highly automated subconscious skill

When shooting on the move, the Processing Platform controlling the movement should define nothing more than a vector, that is, a direction and amount of force. Nothing more. Everything else should come naturally. Without thinking. This is why it’s important to mix things up, combine different drills and directions, improvising on the fly.

For getting into precise shooting positions, the Processing Platform should utilize a memory of a single foot placement, relative to the visual environment around the first target that will be engaged from this position. It’s OK to start with picking a visual marker on the ground, but for better flow and efficiency – you want to remember how it feels to get into the correct position, while looking at a target.

Precision Positioning

The best way to do well on positional stages (hard leans, tight ports, corners, etc.) is to learn the positions and movement between them beforehand, during the walkthrough. Here’s my 3-step walkthrough for a tight shooting position.

1. First, figure out the optimal static position (feet planted). Ultimately, you want to find a most comfortable and efficient way to engage the position’s targets. Ideally, you should work on positioning after you’ve already figured out which targets you engage from where. Optimize for shooting efficiency first, less depth in corners and openings second. Avoid stepping on fault lines if possible, and always consider soft entry versus soft exit in and out of the position.
2. Once the static portion of the position is determined – it’s time to program your Non-Shooting Platform on how to enter the position. I prefer to use Subjective Slow-Motion during this step, simulating full-speed body mechanics (e.g., inertia and stride length), while looking at a specific spot where I want my foot to land. I never use both feet to define a position. At most, it’s defined like “right foot here, wide and low stance”. Usually, I chose the foot that is closest to the shooting area boundary, or some kind of imaginary external line I would rather not cross. With that in mind, I simply allow my Non-Shooting Platform to figure out the number and length of the steps on its own. It’s worth repeating, that during this stage I’m still looking at the ground reference point and a specific place where I want my foot to land.
3. Finally, I shift my attention to the target. Focusing on pre-aiming and tying up visual environment as a reference to the feeling of Non-Shooting Platform settling in to the position. It feels like walking through a familiar room in the dark. I can still navigate myself just fine, but I’m using different senses to do that. During this step, I’d like to check that entry is comfortable and doesn’t need any additional adjustment. If it does – ideally, the position walkthrough needs to be redone from step 1. Unfortunately, it’s not always possible, and you just have to make it work right there, right now. Usually, slightly shifting your feet and getting into a lower, wider stance is a bandaid that works good enough. After the walkthrough time is over, I like to step away from the squad from time to time, close my eyes and rehearse the stage. I don’t simulate full range of movement during this rehearsal, but I like to have a few feet of empty space, so I can extend my arms, practice leans and rudimentary steps.

If I forget something – I try to imagine a map of the stage, like if I was designing it on paper. Then I look at the stage and add corrections to that map. It might sound weird, but after designing some stages, I found myself getting better at figuring out and remembering stage plans. After all, there are not that many micro-stage design patterns, once you’ve seen enough of them – you’ve seen them all.

When I’m On Deck and doing my last walkthrough, I found it productive to just relax, and let it happen. Pretending that I have already shot the stage. On smaller stages, I also might do a full-speed air gunning to make sure I don’t use more force output than necessary and don’t overrun my shooting positions. On larger stages I try to avoid that, so I don’t get tired or pull a muscle right before shooting the stage.

Video

More positioning analysis and practical application of these concepts is available on YouTube: