Economy of Motion - Inside MDT

Posted by Les Voth on 2024 Jan 18th

Economy of Motion - Inside MDT

Chad Heckler and Morgan King, among other top shooters in PRS, use the term "Economy of Motion." The direct inference is not to waste any motion setting up your position, getting to the next position, and positioning yourself—each time—to get the best on-target trigger press possible. To be economical about any activity, you must be "in the moment" and "remove all distractions" during its execution. Prior consideration of all aspects of the game must include excluding the superfluous.

The superfluous, or unnecessary, includes the attitudes and chatter of others. Dave Preston is very clear about not entertaining negative talk during a competition. Even if you can walk away from it, you still must erase the perhaps, polite consideration of it. Better to not be in a place where negative talk reaches you.

Knowledge from MDT Pro Shooter Chad Heckler!

Dave Preston is also a believer in reading positive and useful books. They not only "get your mind right" attitude-wise, but they inform you of ways of doing things you may not have considered otherwise. Besides what you've heard on the radio, been told in person, or seen on TV (if you don't read), you only know what someone else wants you to know. People who want to excel seek solutions before they're needed or are necessary.

Create pre-stage checklists and mount them where they are prominently displayed. These lists have been on clipboards, in notebooks, and on backpacks. Checklists assist shooters to "zone in" the task at hand before shooting a stage. Like creating a "Trigger to focus," the kind of concentration that minimizes the world to the smallest radius possible. Outside distractions disappear, and you become forward-focused.

While being the best golfer in the world, a much younger Tiger Woods had a challenge putting the crowd noise outside his "Radius of Concentration." This was evident by his vocal outbursts vented towards/because of the crowd noise in the gallery after a golf swing/shot. Today, he has overcome this. But Tiger acknowledged the importance of shutting it out and is teaching his son to ignore outside distractions by following/sneaking up behind him and purposefully heckling, chatting, and talking to force his son to practice shutting out the distractions and perform well despite the environment on the course—including his father.

Everyone needs or uses a strategy to buckle down and get to work effectively in a stressful situation. Checklists, as mentioned above, are one. Mantras are another. When you are presented with the five positions and two targets demanded by the rock pile on Stage 8, you don't say, "Oh, crap! Now what?" Instead, remind yourself of the effectiveness of the "Economy of Motion" that you've practiced for hours at home, imagining yourself at the starting line, gauging the steps required to arrive at your position, effectively dropping into that position without an extra step/shuffle/wiggle, starting with this foot first. Visualize doing it numerous times before it's your turn.

If you're not the first shooter from your squad on a stage, you can collect data by watching other shooters shoot the stage ahead of you. Visualize what you would do the same, what you would do differently/better. Some top shooters speak of how they visualize shooting the stage 3 times before it's their turn to perform.

Three is a magic number. It's the quickest way to ingrain something into your useful memory. That's why marketers and salespeople repeat the key parts of their message three times—It's deliberate and based on our neurological makeup.

When Erik Cortina, the current World Champion F-Class Open shooter, decided to jump disciplines from F-Class Open Champion to PRS competitor, he read all he could and asked a top PRS shooter what equipment he should get together. The message was "keep it simple." Pick a cartridge, wrap a rifle around it, get a bipod and a bag, practice positions with a stepladder, and show up to shoot a match.

In his first PRS match, Erik finished 15th against some really good competition. He operated on the K.I.S.S. (KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID) principle, put in the work, and learned a bunch. Equipment-wise, Erik also agrees with the "Economy of Motion" concept. Operate with only the gear necessary to excel, and design it to operate easily.

This writer has seen this example in Erik's world when he shows videos of the V2 comps. You'll see two prone F-Class shooters side by side shooting at 1000 yards. The shooter on the left might have a left load, right eject, and right bolt of any manufacturer. The shooter on the right could have a right port, and right bolt of any manufacturer. Observe the shooter with the dual port action, ejecting a spent case and loading the next loaded round. You'll see him come right off the rifle with both hands, losing his cheek-weld, and must reset/reacquire his sight picture before shooting. The shooter with a single port on the bolt side must only move one hand and never leave the scope. For this reason, Erik Cortina says he prefers the single, bolt-side port–economy of motion required/dictated by equipment choice. Keep the weld. Only move one hand, be consistent, use minimal gear, achieve success.

HUMAN PERFORMANCE RESOURCES FROM MDT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Les Voth was born in Canada and spent his youth hunting on his father's farm. In 1991 he settled in North Dakota and started a family. Les Started his long-range shooting journey in 2016 and has been active in the shooting scene as both an RO and a competitor. 

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