There was a time when we use to do these bizarre drills in USPSA/IPSC matches.
You know; when you had to perform some kind of meaningless task which had NOTHING to do with the target-engagement; but it made the Course Of Fire more demanding?
As I age, I'm glad that I don't have to do that shit any more.
But I suspect it's just because I don't think I CAN do that shit any more!
I know I'm getting old and feeble, but unfortunately I also think that USPSA (or the local practitioners there-of) may be getting old and feeble, too.
Lately, I've noticed that there are very few physical challenges in USPSA Courses of Fire.
I've come a long way from where I was five or ten years ago, when I complained that match stages seemed to be "too much" focusing on physical capabilities. You know, like the ability to run 100 yards down range to a shooting position, and then engage a plethora of targets .. sometimes in shooting positions which are uncomfortable?
That sort of thing. The physical tests, to make the shooting tests more (dare I say it?) "PRACTICAL"!
I think the current version of the sport is becoming overly yuppified. They're all "Stand And Shoot", or perhaps "Move And Shoot" stage designs. The worst challenge is often whether you can successfully engage targets from an "awkward" shooting position.
The best example of "awkward" is standing behind a Bianchi Barricade, and moving from one side to the other.
Stage designers rarely require the competitor to shoot through a ground-level port,, and then then move to a high-port to engage other targets.
That's because us Old Pharts can't do that very well .. y'know, stand up? We can't do that.
Maybe it's time to find YOUNG Stage Designers, who aren't afraid to include physical challenges to go along with the shooting challenges.
Hell, I can't even see the damn sights any more, and the last time I shot a match I broke my gun (which is not nearly as old as I am!!!)
I'm convinced that we're coddling the Old Pharts, rather than challenging the Young Bloods, and that's the wrong direction to go.
(Oh the other hand, maybe I should go actually shoot a match this month and see if the YOUNG stage designers have already figured it out.)
I'll get back to you next month on this one.
jB)
Pat McNamara TAPS course - YouTube: Published on Oct 28, 2014 Pat McNamara TAPS (Tactical Application of Practical Shooting) Course October 25-26 2014 Fayetteville, NC
1 comment:
I recall the stages where one started off lying supine on the ground or a low platform simulating a bed, with one's pistol on the nightstand. You leaped up and commenced engaging targets. Now days gravity is a powerful enemy. I don't leap up from a supine position. I slowly maneuver from supine to upright. I also recall stages which simulated clearing the corridor of an underwater submarine and if you hit the walls (bulkheads) it would sink the sub. Ahhhhh, the good ole days.
Just call me Anon.
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