Here we are at last. I feel the pressure to have something amazing to say about this since I have delayed for so long. Don't get your hopes up. I've had a lot on my mind and my body still hasn't recovered from the trip.
Ok, here we go. Below is a picture of the sights on my handgun. I have some cool glow in the dark marks for night shooting. My husband loves to trick things out. Those little glowing dots are essential for aiming in the dark. Let's look at the alignment on the left. Just aiming the forward dot at your target is not going to get you where you want to go. You will miss your mark. The one on the right shows proper sighting. You've got to have the back sights inline with the forward sight....or yourself inline with the teachings of the Savior and Prophets and Apostles. That makes up your front sight. I heard over and over and over again to focus hard on your front sight. The tendency is to focus on your target. Your target's bigger and you're afraid to take your eye off of it....especially when it's a bad guy coming for you. Even when it's a bad guy, even when it's dark, the only thing you need to be focusing on is your front sight. You're bad guy is on the receiving end of that front sight and as long as it is aligned properly, you've got him - even if he is moving around.
There was much of the 2 day course spent in the reloading of magazines. You've got to be prepared. Once you use a magazine, you need another one loaded and ready to go. My fingers aren't strong enough so I've got a handy little loading device. BTW, like the bling on my grip? I got teased by all the instructors for 2 days, they didn't want to be caught handling a girlie gun.
Another element we focused on was getting to the ready position. The picture with my shirt up was getting to the ready from concealment - you've got to learn how to get your clothes out of the way in a hurry and safely. There are 4 steps that get you to the ready and you practice them over and over and over again. You do this to create muscle memory so you don't have to rely on your brain in a stressful situation. You've got to have your grip and stance automatic so that while you are lifting up to target from the ready position the only thing you are focusing on is your front sight. Just before you lock in your target you are getting the slack out of your trigger so that you are ready to pull back steady on the trigger for your "boom." Then you've got to remember to keep your finger back so that you slowly release to the click and you're ready to shoot again (so you're not getting slack out again). You've got to have this motion down and steady so you don't pull off target when you engage your trigger.
We came home from the 2 day course and my husband was already using an analogy from our 2 day course. I was talking about teaching seminary being like throwing seeds against a wall, hoping that eventually one of them landed in a crack and started to grow. He, of course, thought a gun analogy was better. Shooting holes in their walls. You shoot enough little holes and then 1 time it will be a really big caliber shot that finally breaks it down. I told him that I hadn't even thought of an application and was sad that I couldn't come up with any.
I'm not sure what I was thinking about when it hit me. Of course I had an analogy. I had been hearing a phrase so many times throughout the course that I couldn't help but remember it. Focus hard on the front sight.
What is the front sight? I used the scripture in section 82:19 about "doing all things with an eye single to the glory of God." When I think about only focusing on God and not the enemy swirling I think of Heleman 5:12
12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty stormshall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.
When I think of building muscle memory I think of all the seminary answers. All the things you've got to be doing every day to get yourself to the point where you don't have to think about who you are, you just are. You have the ability to stand firm in any situation because you've trained yourself to. You've been listening to the voice of the Lord when he speaks to you through the scriptures, through prayer, through the prophets. You know His words and you've decided to follow them. When temptation comes busting thru your front door you don't have to try to remember how to load a gun, how to get to the ready position, how to aim because it's all already there. You don't have to freak out and start focusing on the temptation/target because you remember that all you have to do is focus hard on your front sight and your temptation/target is covered. You're ready to act because you've practiced in all kinds of scenarios. Practice, practice, practice.
You cannot fall when your focus is set upon the rock of our redeemer. You'll get the kill shot every time....with a controlled pair to the thoracic cavity and then a head shot if the bad guy is still coming at you ;0)
Now onto just describing how we spent our time during the 2 day course. Day 1 was cold, windy and raining for the entire day. That was not good for my neck. What also wasn't good is that I am a ball of tension and holding the gun in ready position all day had me all tensed up. My husband kept coming over and rubbing my shoulders to remind me to relax. We got to spend our lunch hour with the 2 younger kids who were off in a youth course.
Emma was my partner for the weekend and Jared and Nate partnered up. You always have to have a "coach" with you. Someone to stand no more than an arms length behind you to make sure everyone stays safe. Making sure the finger is off the trigger and no one muzzles anyone. They also coach your through the steps of ready position and defensive finish after you've decided to shoot. There are steps you take before deciding to holster your weapon. Emma and Jared did awesome. Me, not so much. I'm a good shot when I'm not worried about all the correct steps and posture. When I start focusing on those things trying to correct them, my shooting gets horrible. It was a downer, but I still had fun and all the instructors where phenomenal. I got tons of one on one training.
We had a great time despite the weather and the soggy sandwiches we ate for lunch each day. I'm hoping my neck feels better (back to just feeling it's normal bad) soon. I can't wait to go back and do it again - hopefully the 4 day course next time. Oh, one last thing. At the very end we got to go into a "house" and simulate an intrusion. Your instructor is hooked to you from behind. They start yelling in your ear while pictures pop up in windows and doors and you have to put into play all you've learned. Determine the threat and decide whether or not to shoot in seconds - you don't want to end up shooting a hostage. Um, I accidentally shot one of my hostages. The bad guy had grabbed him from behind and was holding a gun to his head. All I could think was controlled pair to the thoracic cavity - forgetting that it was actually my hostages. I knew something was wrong, but I couldn't process it. That's why you've got to practice, practice, practice for those stressful situations. Luckily my trainer didn't tease me too bad.
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