Mescaline stopped through for two days of training.
On the first day we drilled.
On the second day we sparred.
When we were done, he asked for the takeaway, self-coaching pointers.
We have some very dedicated self-coachers in our network and I am thrilled how much men like Charles and Sean, and now Mescaline, have improved in solo training.
There were some technical issues, to do with his muscling methods, his thinking too much and his old fencing habit of binding, which is no good outside the sport of fencing.
Rather than get into all that I could say only one thing, "Relax, loosen up. Relaxation is the single most adaptable quality a hand-to-hand fighter can develop."
For a young man seeking physical autonomy in an increasingly violent world, there is no better key component.
Do understand, that relaxation is somewhat conditional. For instance, I am more relaxed grappling than most boxers, but I'm super tight compared to a wrestler, and rigid means brittle, both mechanically and structurally.
Never forget that far more drunks survive high speed auto accidents than sober drivers.
I do not know if this also applies to shooting. Perhaps our hunters can comment on this.
Is relaxation a key component too shooting?
Being a Bad Man in a Worse World
Fighting Smart: Boxing, Agonistics & Survival
Relaxation is a key component in slow-time target shooting.
Off-hand rifle (or pistol) shooters learn to relax, to do the kind of "Lamaze" "cleansing breaths" that they train women birthing children to do. Your blood pressure is working against you as you try to hold the sights on the target, and the less that your heart is bumping your arm around, the more accurate you can be.
In timed target shooting, fast draw competition, or combat training, you're relying much more on fast-twitch muscle movement, and relaxing isn't really part of it.
I'm NOT an expert, but have been coached by people who are, so an actual coach might have better advice for the readers than mine.
I'm not a competitive target shooter, but I've read that many of them believe that they get worse scores after drinking coffee, the theory being that it tenses them up and leads to partial loss of muscle control.
Shooting requires lucid and fluid movement, muscle memory, practice, a lot of practice, killing is involved after targets, if you push skills this far, you have to be in gunfights, and survive, if you go past game hunting, well ask a vet not I, never hunted man yet.
Relaxation is of primary importance when shooting. Legends abound of elite snipers taking diazepam while in theater to steady their hands.
Squeeze, don't pull; touch the trigger with the tip of your finger and not in the crook of the joint, etc.
I've heard some are trained to pull the trigger in between their own heartbeats.