The last BP2/DPS1 class I helped with at KR Training generated a bunch of thoughts in my head. I thought I’d make a small series out of it.

Pressure

You have to learn to pace yourself…. Pressure
You’re just like everybody else…. Pressure
You’ve only had to run so far, so good.
But you will come to a place
Where the only thing you feel
Are loaded guns in your face
And you’ll have to deal with… Pressure!

Thank you, Billy Joel.

For many people who come to Defensive Pistol Skills 1, it’s the first time they’ve had to shoot under pressure.

You’ve got instructors hollering commands at you.

You’ve got all this new information you’re trying to process and apply.

We tell you to go faster.

We tell you not to be the last guy on the line to get the shot off.

You feel your own pressure because you want to do well.

You feel that people are going to judge you, be it the instructor or other students.

You can’t help but look at the targets of the other guys to see how they’re doing, and comparing it to your target.

There are so many things going on. And you have to deal with the pressure.

Shooting at the range? There’s rarely pressure there. It’s usually very casual, friendly, laid-back. Taking the CHL test? You’ll probably have some nerves since it’s a test and you want to pass. If you’re coming to Defensive Pistol Skills, you’re taking the first step towards a deeper understanding of “a gunfight”, not just slinging lead with friends at the range on a sunny day. Granted DPS1 isn’t truly a gunfight, but it’s helping to lay the foundation for the skills you’ll need.

And that includes the mental aspect, dealing with the pressure.

Do we as instructors expect you to have it down after 3 hours of class time? No. Do we expect you to try? Oh certainly. But it happens time and time again: you get in class, you get taught a new skill, we want you to apply it, but then we put the pressure on you and you revert to monkey-brain mode and do what you’ve always done. It’s natural. What we hope you take from it tho is a realization of where your skills are, what it is that you fall back upon when the pressure is on, and thus what you may need to do in your own out-of-class practice to help yourself get there. Basically, you need to reshape your monkey-brain response.

What do I find myself saying most often to folks in class? Relax. 🙂

There’s a lot of tension, which is understandable. But tension doesn’t help you. Grace under pressure is what you want, but I know from my own experience that’s far easier said than done. I too struggle with being too tense and having that do more harm than good to me. I know relaxation makes things go faster and better. But I’m human like you and struggle with it. Still, so long as we know it and work to improve it, that’s all we can do.

Just remember: when in class, it’s not a competition. It’s not a contest. It’s a time to learn. We don’t expect you to come to class knowing it (else why are you here?), we don’t expect you to perfect it in 3 hours. So long as it’s evident you’re getting the concepts, that you’re trying, that you’re learning, that’s what matters.

Then when you’re out of class, work to put that pressure on yourself. Get a timer (hey, if you have an iPhone, there’s lots of shot timer apps). Some people take the class with friends, so get together after class and work on those same skills and drills with each other. Consider taking up competition. Sure it’s artificial, but it still will push you.