Ben Stoeger – January 2013 Florida Class Review

*Stay tuned for a special audio cast in a follow up post where Ben addresses a couple of points about getting out of B/C class and we also talk a little about an upcoming technique book.*

(Edit: please see this post for the audio cast with Ben)

Having shot USPSA for a year now, I’m classified as a B Shooter; but my performance is still really at the C level. 2013 is a year where I really want to shoot at advanced levels (I guess, what year isn’t). So I registered for the Florida class since it’s closer to me than the classes that are being hosted elsewhere.

On the first day, we ran through several drills like shooting groups. Why shoot groups? Eval. Not all of us could group slow-fire at a five yard distance. Some could. When asked to try their gun, Ben fired three perfectly grouped shots with their gun, proving once again that it’s the shooter, not the gun. We did other drills like draws and 6-reload-6 (won a book on that one) and continued with shooting at cadence to work on transitions.

We also spent a lot of time shooting a stage over and over and over working on entries, a 25-yd plate, wide transitions and a swinger. Ben critiqued each of our performances, our stage plans, and demoed how he would execute different techniques and areas of focus where each of could be better.

Not only can you learn from just watching a champion shooter run the gun, Ben will ask and confirm and get you to question things that you’re doing. You learn how to learn. I needed that.

Day two started with “Practice Day” where we paired with a shooter and practiced individual skills in live fire. This special format is really my favorite because I needed somebody to diagnose the problems I was having that were keeping me from advancing to higher levels.

He also wanted to evaluate your practice regime.

What really blew my mind was that I had been wasting a lot of ammo trying to work a skill. My live fire sessions going forward will consist of verifying what I worked on in dry fire and back (The Live FIre/Dry Fire Loop). Ben also corrected a major, major issue with my training which was the fact that I have an inconsistent grip; being, one that I use in dry fire and one that I use in live fire.

From now on, I have one grip and one grip only. Like, today, I started with the basics of dry fire – The White Wall Fundamentals from his book to work on trigger control. I can feel it in my hands and arms from the focused reps. My front sight is getting more and more stable.

The rest of the class was spent with a focus on entries and shooting stages.

Ben Stoeger’s teaching style really worked for me. I had fun out there; but it wasn’t all fun and games. Some serious work was accomplished and he cares about the transfer of information to your brain whether it’s a movie analogy or a demo or a joke.

I asked Ben if we were going to go over the mental game at all. As a group, we didn’t need it, but I always want to know what people do when it comes to match pressure. He gave me a tip that I can work with on my own that no body had ever suggested before, and in typical fashion, he also told me to “Harden Up”. Good, simple advice.

I learned a lot about myself and my shooting over the weekend. Upcoming classes are posted at Doodie as classes become available and if you want to purchase the reference material and drills, Champion Shooting: Guaranteed Results in 15 Minutes A Day Dry Fire Book can be purchased at Amazon.

Class Info:

Instructor:
Ben Stoeger is a USPSA Production Grand Master, having numerous Section, Area, and National Championship wins. Ben finished the 2011 and 2012 season as the USPSA Production National Champion.

Location: Yulee, Florida (At the SEPSA USPSA Range)
Date: Jan. 19th-20th 2013
Time: Starts at 9 a.m. and will run until about 5 p.m. both days.
Cost: $375.00.  (Full balance must be paid to hold your spot – See additional details section below)
Ammo: Expect to shoot somewhere between 500 to 600 rounds per day. Bring extra.