On Being Deliberate, Part II

Reviewing lessons learned from Bat Masterson, and applying them to the two pistol classes I took this summer, here are some observations:

On each drill at both classes, my intention was to do the drill with the utmost of deliberate action. No speed-up at all. Draw, shoot, remedy, whatever, but do it BY THE NUMBERS - as explained by that instructor. So that was my focus - SLOW everything down and do it with a precision of movement. 

Results?

• Never was I the "last one" done with a drill. (Neither school put a hard stop on drill times)
• Frequently (all but a couple of times, between two classes) I was the first one finished with the drill. This was nearly the opposite of my intention, just a happy coincidence. 
• A grand total of 4 "misses" between two classes. Both shots missed in Fighting Pistol were center mass - within an inch of the target vital area. The "misses" at PistolCraft were on a bullseye shoot drill with my left hand - and were in the "9" ring instead of the 10 ring on a B16 style target. By far the fewest of any participant. My friend, "Cookie," had 6 misses in Fighting Pistol, and that was the second-fewest in either class. 
• An instructor on one drill asked if I actually performed all of the target discernments prior to deciding to shoot and shooting. He felt I had done the drill "really fast" - and my perception was that I had taken forever to do that drill. 

Take-Aways?

BE DELIBERATE - on each and every shot.