WEBVTT 00:00:15.486 --> 00:00:16.586 And welcome to the Concealed Carry 00:00:16.586 --> 00:00:21.226 Podcast, part of the ConcealedCarry.com network, brought to you by HK. 00:00:22.106 --> 00:00:28.806 Today is Thursday, April 30th, 2026, as of the recording. This is a live recording of this episode. 00:00:29.446 --> 00:00:34.626 And I am your host, Riley Bowman. And I'm joined today by a special guest and 00:00:34.626 --> 00:00:38.366 friend of mine, Matt Little of Graybeard Actual. Hello, Matt. 00:00:39.446 --> 00:00:42.206 Hello. Hello, everybody. I'm looking forward to the show. I think we're going 00:00:42.206 --> 00:00:42.986 to have a good time, Riley. 00:00:42.986 --> 00:00:46.266 We are going to have a good time, especially starting off like that. 00:00:46.506 --> 00:00:50.826 We're going to talk about harmful phrases, particularly things that hold us 00:00:50.826 --> 00:00:54.266 back in training and in some cases can actually get people in trouble. 00:00:54.666 --> 00:00:57.606 And I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on that. 00:00:57.766 --> 00:01:03.446 As always, Matt's one of my most favorite people and a trusted individual in 00:01:03.446 --> 00:01:06.466 this regard because of your unique background and experience. 00:01:06.686 --> 00:01:08.746 So looking forward to today's discussion. 00:01:10.958 --> 00:01:15.778 I am too. I think some of these are actually some of my biggest pet peeves in 00:01:15.778 --> 00:01:18.698 training, so this should be a lot of fun. 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So that's our other episode sponsor is Guardian Nation. 00:03:36.399 --> 00:03:38.439 Go to GuardianNation.com to learn more. 00:03:38.839 --> 00:03:43.679 But this is only one of the many great benefits of membership is to have full 00:03:43.679 --> 00:03:45.999 and complete access to Guardian University. 00:03:46.319 --> 00:03:48.219 So hope that you'll do that. 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:52.859 Again, ConcealedCarry.com forward slash videos and Guardian Nation membership. 00:03:53.259 --> 00:03:58.659 GuardianNation.com. Those are two things I'll point you to as far as sponsorships today go. 00:03:58.659 --> 00:04:03.419 We appreciate your support of our sponsors that make it possible to do what 00:04:03.419 --> 00:04:09.359 we do on the podcast, including having excellent guests like Matt. 00:04:10.319 --> 00:04:14.759 We've got some comments already rolling in. Thanks, guys. We've got Eddie who's 00:04:14.759 --> 00:04:17.579 watching on Facebook saying, howdy, guys. 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:22.059 Now, is that a good old Texas howdy, or is that just a howdy, 00:04:22.199 --> 00:04:26.379 like a regular howdy? Because they do things different down in Texas like where Matt's at. 00:04:27.739 --> 00:04:31.799 Let's give him the benefit of the doubt we'll say it's a Texas hug Texas is 00:04:31.799 --> 00:04:33.319 the greatest country in North America. 00:04:35.751 --> 00:04:41.651 I love it. And we got Messy Rides on YouTube saying, let's go. Absolutely. 00:04:42.391 --> 00:04:46.211 And somebody's already chiming in. In fact, the first comment of today's show, 00:04:46.811 --> 00:04:51.391 I'm not sure, DMLA6371, whoever you are, but thank you for joining, 00:04:51.931 --> 00:04:54.811 saying, how about the phrase, I'll be shooting limited optics today? 00:04:57.791 --> 00:05:01.691 As far as harmful phrases go, I don't know. I like limited optics. 00:05:01.871 --> 00:05:04.891 I've been having fun in that division this last year a little bit. 00:05:05.351 --> 00:05:08.751 So thanks for tuning in, guys. If you have comments, want to share them with 00:05:08.751 --> 00:05:12.571 us and you're watching live, you can drop those, whether you're on Facebook 00:05:12.571 --> 00:05:13.851 or YouTube, just drop them in the comments. 00:05:13.971 --> 00:05:17.491 They come right into the interface here and I can put them up on the screen and share them. 00:05:17.691 --> 00:05:22.451 I won't share anything that's like ridiculous or unrelated to what we're talking 00:05:22.451 --> 00:05:26.871 about generally just so we stay on topic, but appreciate your comments and questions. 00:05:29.071 --> 00:05:32.231 Also, if you want to just reach out and you're catching this after the fact, 00:05:32.231 --> 00:05:36.171 you can always contact us at podcast at concealed carry.com. 00:05:36.351 --> 00:05:41.051 That's our email address that comes into, to Jacob and I here at the podcast. 00:05:41.051 --> 00:05:43.071 So podcast at concealed carry.com. 00:05:43.511 --> 00:05:45.791 Well, Matt, let's get into the topic. 00:05:46.871 --> 00:05:50.251 Uh, harmful phrases. All right. Where do you want to start? 00:05:51.551 --> 00:05:53.511 Oh, that's just so many. Um, 00:05:55.835 --> 00:05:58.315 Why don't we start with train like you fight? 00:05:58.475 --> 00:05:58.575 Yeah. 00:05:59.015 --> 00:06:02.235 Let's start with that one. Yeah. Because I think that's a big one. 00:06:02.395 --> 00:06:06.535 And it's not that you should never try to simulate the fight in training. 00:06:06.675 --> 00:06:08.255 I mean, obviously, that should be part of your training. 00:06:08.915 --> 00:06:12.215 But people tend to take this and they run with it and they make it where everything 00:06:12.215 --> 00:06:16.295 they do has to be a full-blown representation of an actual fight. 00:06:17.155 --> 00:06:20.095 And that's not the best way to get better, right? That's not the best way to 00:06:20.095 --> 00:06:22.815 build your skills. It's not the best way to actually get good at the fight. 00:06:23.455 --> 00:06:29.775 Like if you look at UFC fighters, none of them do nothing but spar in the octagon 00:06:29.775 --> 00:06:31.515 every time they practice or train, right? 00:06:32.455 --> 00:06:36.795 Football teams. There's no football team that does nothing but put on the pads and scrimmage. 00:06:37.295 --> 00:06:40.555 But somehow there are guys on SWAT teams who feel like they should put on every 00:06:40.555 --> 00:06:44.335 piece of kit they own every time they go to the range so they train like they fight. 00:06:44.895 --> 00:06:48.635 And I just think it's harmful for actual skill development and figuring out 00:06:48.635 --> 00:06:52.495 what things work and how they work. Yeah. You know, what do you think? 00:06:52.495 --> 00:06:58.335 I completely agree. In fact, I'm going to use this opportunity because I probably 00:06:58.335 --> 00:07:03.275 should have reintroduced you a little bit to those watching the podcast here or listening. 00:07:03.895 --> 00:07:07.775 You've been on before, of course, and you guys are welcome to go back and catch. 00:07:08.015 --> 00:07:10.975 I think we've had you on at least twice, if I recall. 00:07:11.275 --> 00:07:12.575 I think so. I think it's twice. 00:07:12.575 --> 00:07:16.935 And I remember one of those episodes, we were talking, well, 00:07:17.035 --> 00:07:20.855 I don't remember what the main topic was, but I remember we talked a fair bit 00:07:20.855 --> 00:07:25.755 about training methodologies or, well, 00:07:26.335 --> 00:07:32.335 like we talked about the different training, I'm at a loss for the word all of a sudden, 00:07:32.595 --> 00:07:34.595 Different types of drills. Different types of drills. 00:07:34.935 --> 00:07:38.975 Yeah. Like experimentation drills, isolation drills, combination drills, and so on. 00:07:39.015 --> 00:07:42.515 And that was really good. And I think that's actually relevant to how we, 00:07:42.675 --> 00:07:47.715 you know, that's one example of how we might train as we're talking about training as you fight. 00:07:47.855 --> 00:07:51.575 But I wanted to just take the opportunity to reintroduce you to listeners and viewers. 00:07:52.235 --> 00:07:57.015 You might know a thing or two about fighting. So tell us a little bit about 00:07:57.015 --> 00:07:58.575 your background in fighting, Matt. 00:07:59.931 --> 00:08:03.291 So, well, I started out as a martial artist when I was young. 00:08:03.471 --> 00:08:07.031 Then I joined the Army at 18, made my way to Special Forces. 00:08:07.851 --> 00:08:11.871 I wound up, nothing was going on because of Mogadishu. So I wound up being in 00:08:11.871 --> 00:08:16.111 20th Special Forces Group, which is in the Guard, and becoming a Chicago cop 00:08:16.111 --> 00:08:20.231 so I could get some action that way. So I did 21 years as a Chicago cop. 00:08:20.491 --> 00:08:24.771 Once the towers fell, we were bouncing back and forth with 20th Group to Afghanistan. 00:08:25.331 --> 00:08:27.211 I spent some time in Iraq as well. 00:08:28.231 --> 00:08:36.611 And I did about 25-ish years in the military all total and 21 years as a cop 00:08:36.611 --> 00:08:41.771 and then retired and started my business. So a little bit of competitive shooting in there too. 00:08:41.991 --> 00:08:46.191 So I got a pretty good look at several different ways of looking at this problem. 00:08:46.991 --> 00:08:50.231 So I know plenty of people that have done more of each of those things. 00:08:50.731 --> 00:08:54.351 I don't really know anybody else that's done as much of each of those things combined. 00:08:54.511 --> 00:08:55.091 Yeah, yeah. 00:08:55.291 --> 00:08:56.351 For whatever that's worth. 00:08:56.811 --> 00:09:00.351 Yeah, well, and I agree with your assessment on that because, 00:09:00.611 --> 00:09:05.271 I mean, I know a number of people that have similar backgrounds. 00:09:05.271 --> 00:09:10.371 But as you said, to have full careers in military, 00:09:11.131 --> 00:09:16.251 especially, you know, special forces and police and competitive shooting, 00:09:16.251 --> 00:09:23.051 as you said, you see kind of all the different sides that most people typically see. 00:09:23.291 --> 00:09:28.031 And of course, now you've been living as a cop, you're kind of also in that 00:09:28.031 --> 00:09:29.551 civilian world space, too. 00:09:29.731 --> 00:09:32.451 But you've been retired now for how many years? 00:09:33.531 --> 00:09:40.631 Since uh the beginning of 2019 so five-ish six-ish years yeah so. 00:09:40.631 --> 00:09:41.051 I mean you 00:09:42.143 --> 00:09:44.943 to what i'm saying you you see all the kind of 00:09:44.943 --> 00:09:47.823 main sides of the coin so to speak or the 00:09:47.823 --> 00:09:50.443 whatever of you know 00:09:50.443 --> 00:09:54.583 the different worlds people live in that care about fighting 00:09:54.583 --> 00:09:57.563 about martial arts and i'm 00:09:57.563 --> 00:10:00.803 being very broad as i use that term and uh 00:10:00.803 --> 00:10:05.903 you know people that carry guns or other defensive tools so there you go there's 00:10:05.903 --> 00:10:09.303 there's matt's background uh we could go deeper than that but You can go catch 00:10:09.303 --> 00:10:15.463 other episodes of ours and hear more about Matt and some things I'm sure will 00:10:15.463 --> 00:10:17.883 come up in the course of this discussion. 00:10:18.363 --> 00:10:21.863 But back to you throwing the question back to me about, you know, 00:10:21.903 --> 00:10:23.583 what do you think about training like a fight? 00:10:24.623 --> 00:10:28.583 And, you know, I see this get used. I agree. 00:10:28.723 --> 00:10:32.503 Like sometimes people will throw on all their kit, all their gear because, 00:10:32.763 --> 00:10:35.803 well, that's how I'm going to fight. So that's how I should train. 00:10:35.803 --> 00:10:39.323 And I think it's important to... 00:10:41.531 --> 00:10:45.091 I mean, that's why I brought up the different types of drills, 00:10:45.491 --> 00:10:49.371 you know, like experimentation drills, isolation drills, combination drills, 00:10:49.371 --> 00:11:02.411 because those are specific and unique and individual ways of training specific skills. 00:11:02.951 --> 00:11:08.331 And we could say in shooting but you could use a similar approach in martial 00:11:08.331 --> 00:11:13.931 arts in combat sports in you know any number of things that are skill oriented 00:11:13.931 --> 00:11:15.471 and you could break those into 00:11:16.331 --> 00:11:20.491 similar categories of well i'm doing you know this mode of practice right now 00:11:20.491 --> 00:11:25.151 it's more experimentation or now i'm isolating into a very specific thing because 00:11:25.151 --> 00:11:29.231 i want to really work on that one thing and then okay now i want to put it in 00:11:29.231 --> 00:11:32.711 combination with other things and see if it It still holds up when we start 00:11:32.711 --> 00:11:34.711 adding some pressure and some, you know, 00:11:34.811 --> 00:11:37.191 more dynamic and, you know, 00:11:37.611 --> 00:11:39.691 just more variables, you know, at play here. 00:11:41.391 --> 00:11:48.291 And I'm using that as an avenue to answer your question to suggest that if you 00:11:48.291 --> 00:11:52.431 think, like you said, you brought up, you know, football scrimmaging or whatever. 00:11:52.431 --> 00:11:55.991 If you think training should be done, you know, full contact, 00:11:56.471 --> 00:12:01.891 full speed, full everything all the time, then you're probably not taking advantage 00:12:01.891 --> 00:12:06.451 of some of those other opportunities, some of those other maybe modes of practice 00:12:06.451 --> 00:12:11.311 that actually help you develop skill the most effectively. 00:12:13.156 --> 00:12:17.756 You know, I'm going to, if you don't mind, I'm going to quote a friend of mine, Bryce Frank. 00:12:17.996 --> 00:12:23.956 Bryce is a really good dude, former pro kickboxer. He's a SWAT boss in an Illinois department. 00:12:25.536 --> 00:12:30.516 Does BJJ now. And he said something that I really love. 00:12:30.676 --> 00:12:33.636 He said, you know, Matt, nobody ever paid me to win a round of sparring. 00:12:35.256 --> 00:12:38.896 You know, sparring for him was technical development. And it was closer to the 00:12:38.896 --> 00:12:42.616 real fight than, you know, drill work or hitting the heavy bag or pad work. 00:12:43.156 --> 00:12:45.196 But it's still learning. It's still a learning process. 00:12:46.420 --> 00:12:50.900 And I think that like really validation drills, you know, testing is the time 00:12:50.900 --> 00:12:54.200 to actually make it as close to a fight as you can and do that pressure testing 00:12:54.200 --> 00:12:55.820 to see what's working, what's not working. 00:12:56.100 --> 00:12:58.260 And that's vital. That's absolutely important. 00:12:58.820 --> 00:13:03.000 But if you treat everything like it's pressure testing, you'll never try anything 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:06.520 you're not confident or comfortable with, which means you won't get better. 00:13:07.040 --> 00:13:11.280 So like to use a martial arts analogy, if I'm treating my sparring like a fight, I have to win. 00:13:11.440 --> 00:13:15.080 If I'm treating my roles at the BJJ gym, like something I have to win, 00:13:15.580 --> 00:13:20.420 that I'm not going to try something I'm not good at yet. Yeah. Does that make sense? 00:13:21.000 --> 00:13:24.080 And even if you do, it's probably not going to work very well. 00:13:24.840 --> 00:13:29.020 Right? True. True. Because you just will not have, I mean, like, 00:13:29.120 --> 00:13:32.560 if you try to take something into the fight for the first time ever that you've 00:13:32.560 --> 00:13:35.420 never actually practiced, you're probably going to fail. 00:13:36.820 --> 00:13:41.080 Yeah. And, like, to put it back into shooting, I know that I'm sure everybody 00:13:41.080 --> 00:13:43.820 else has had this experience that shoots competitively, 00:13:43.860 --> 00:13:46.740 but I know I have, where i'll be in a match 00:13:46.740 --> 00:13:49.360 and i mean to be fair locals should kind of 00:13:49.360 --> 00:13:52.080 be treated like sparring sessions really you know what i mean that's the 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:55.000 time to try new things but i've gone 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:59.000 up to stages and i've gone like well you know i'm going to try this and under 00:13:59.000 --> 00:14:03.280 the stress of competing it never seems to go like it would if you if you practice 00:14:03.280 --> 00:14:09.320 at first right you know it's uh hollywood loves to show people pulling things 00:14:09.320 --> 00:14:12.380 through because they're pure of heart in the end and doing better than they 00:14:12.380 --> 00:14:16.860 did training but it's a myth it's a hollywood lie it doesn't happen in real life. 00:14:17.880 --> 00:14:20.820 Yeah well as we've established 00:14:20.820 --> 00:14:25.180 with your background and experience uh you would you would know i would think 00:14:25.180 --> 00:14:34.160 so um train like you fight you know so here's another one like in in that same 00:14:34.160 --> 00:14:38.200 vein i've i've heard people say things like uh 00:14:39.236 --> 00:14:43.516 you know, well, if it ain't raining, you ain't training kind of thing. 00:14:43.936 --> 00:14:46.776 And, you know, it's like, I get that. 00:14:47.036 --> 00:14:54.236 In fact, I just spent the weekend teaching a small private class and a few hours west of here. 00:14:55.816 --> 00:14:59.796 And it was, it was crappy weather all weekend. I mean, it rained on us every day. 00:15:00.556 --> 00:15:03.496 You know, it was cold, it was wet, it was not ideal. 00:15:03.816 --> 00:15:07.056 And so that quote, that quote, that phrase definitely was 00:15:07.056 --> 00:15:10.156 brought up if it ain't raining you ain't training and and and 00:15:10.156 --> 00:15:12.956 so that's that's that's okay like i get it like you 00:15:12.956 --> 00:15:15.716 know whatever the conditions are we're going to go out and 00:15:15.716 --> 00:15:18.996 do the thing uh and i'm not i'm not 00:15:18.996 --> 00:15:21.676 you know throwing shade at that at all okay just so 00:15:21.676 --> 00:15:25.156 you know you know who you are uh out there 00:15:25.156 --> 00:15:28.716 because he listens to the podcast uh regular regularly 00:15:28.716 --> 00:15:31.496 uh but you know there's something we said 00:15:31.496 --> 00:15:35.216 about that that it's okay to like it's 00:15:35.216 --> 00:15:38.836 good to have those opportunities when conditions are less than ideal to 00:15:38.836 --> 00:15:41.536 get out and get some training in and sometimes you have 00:15:41.536 --> 00:15:46.996 no other choice but that but i will say this uh in this i think ties back to 00:15:46.996 --> 00:15:54.096 the train like you fight phrase is that if there's times when if conditions 00:15:54.096 --> 00:15:59.116 are less than ideal and you really are trying to focus on a specific skill 00:16:00.689 --> 00:16:03.829 In other words, when it's more like an isolation drill, let's say, 00:16:03.909 --> 00:16:05.449 that you're really wanting to focus on, 00:16:05.609 --> 00:16:09.369 if you've got a bunch of other things that are complicating matters, 00:16:09.369 --> 00:16:14.849 then it'll take away from your ability to drill down and really isolate that 00:16:14.849 --> 00:16:17.809 thing that you're trying to work on. Does that make sense? 00:16:18.489 --> 00:16:23.449 Yeah. No, I have really strong beliefs on this one, too, because I kind of look 00:16:23.449 --> 00:16:24.749 at those as training distractors. 00:16:24.909 --> 00:16:25.329 Exactly. 00:16:25.549 --> 00:16:28.489 And the idea is when you're trying to build skill, you want to remove as many 00:16:28.489 --> 00:16:29.609 distractors as possible. 00:16:29.669 --> 00:16:32.389 Yep. and then you layer them back on to test the skill 00:16:32.389 --> 00:16:35.109 right so like a certain amount of training when you're 00:16:35.109 --> 00:16:38.029 miserable is really valuable because you need to know you can perform 00:16:38.029 --> 00:16:41.549 when you're miserable yeah like you need to know that right yep but it's 00:16:41.549 --> 00:16:44.409 not the time you're going to develop skill what you're doing then is you're just 00:16:44.409 --> 00:16:48.149 kind of hanging on through the misery yep and trying to do as well as you can 00:16:48.149 --> 00:16:52.069 and if you do too much of that you're not getting skill development because 00:16:52.069 --> 00:16:55.209 that's really not skill development like it's kind of a question of what are 00:16:55.209 --> 00:16:59.589 you training yep You're training the ability to perform while miserable for 00:16:59.589 --> 00:17:02.049 environmental reasons or because of kit reasons, 00:17:02.209 --> 00:17:04.369 gear reasons, contextual reasons. 00:17:05.429 --> 00:17:09.629 You're trying to perform as close as you can to your best given those distractors. 00:17:09.789 --> 00:17:13.329 But you're not going to improve your best doing that, if that makes sense. 00:17:13.489 --> 00:17:19.769 That's exactly what I'm saying. And so it's a tricky thing sometimes because, 00:17:20.049 --> 00:17:22.149 I mean, especially when you have a class that's on the schedule, 00:17:22.329 --> 00:17:24.629 you're going to do the class, right? 00:17:24.629 --> 00:17:29.089 So even if conditions are less than ideal, there's times that I had to remind 00:17:29.089 --> 00:17:35.769 students of mine that, hey, I know you didn't do as well as you thought you could. 00:17:35.969 --> 00:17:38.529 You didn't do as well as you probably actually could. 00:17:38.969 --> 00:17:45.189 You did not deliver just now your actual baseline level of skill. 00:17:46.708 --> 00:17:51.688 And that's okay because there's all these other factors. Like you can't feel your hands right now. 00:17:51.988 --> 00:17:54.988 Things are wet. You're a little bit cold and miserable. 00:17:55.368 --> 00:17:58.468 Guess what? Those are going to be factors. And I know some people are like, 00:17:58.528 --> 00:18:02.768 well, yeah, but that's, you know, we don't get to pick and choose our time of 00:18:02.768 --> 00:18:07.248 or day or weather condition of fight. It's like, I know, I get that. 00:18:07.948 --> 00:18:15.288 That's okay. But the distinction here is there is like training and validation, 00:18:15.288 --> 00:18:19.588 which you mentioned a bit ago, and those things are valid. 00:18:19.828 --> 00:18:24.648 But there's also skill development, and I find that skill development happens 00:18:24.648 --> 00:18:29.588 best when we can actually focus on the skill development, right? 00:18:30.268 --> 00:18:34.588 I think it becomes a question of what are you training? 00:18:34.728 --> 00:18:39.248 What are you working on improving? because some things are skills and some things are attributes, right? 00:18:39.788 --> 00:18:44.268 And the ability to put up with physical discomfort, psychological discomfort, 00:18:44.568 --> 00:18:50.208 stress, that's an attribute that you do need to train, but it's separate from training the skill. 00:18:50.648 --> 00:18:53.768 The skill needs to be trained without that, and then you can add that in and 00:18:53.768 --> 00:18:58.068 train those things while maintaining the skill at as high a level as possible. 00:18:58.188 --> 00:19:01.168 That's a perfect distinction right there. Yeah, I like that. 00:19:01.568 --> 00:19:06.108 Hey, just recognizing a couple other comments here, uh brian saying on youtube 00:19:06.108 --> 00:19:08.688 this is a texas howdy from a born and raised texan 00:19:09.688 --> 00:19:17.008 texas a&m grad uh project 1868 says if it's snowing i ain't going 00:19:19.048 --> 00:19:24.328 and then uh i like that variation that's fun uh messy rides commenting would 00:19:24.328 --> 00:19:29.588 you say it's okay to train till failure i know that's broad but could you could 00:19:29.588 --> 00:19:34.008 say start slow speed up reps until you finally fail and then dial it back. 00:19:34.508 --> 00:19:35.588 I think this might be a good... 00:19:35.588 --> 00:19:38.868 Can I... Yeah, I want to address that one because I have some thoughts on that 00:19:38.868 --> 00:19:42.528 because I think the way people look at this a lot of times, especially more 00:19:42.528 --> 00:19:47.088 defensive-minded shooters, is kind of an error, right? And it's not their fault. 00:19:47.088 --> 00:19:47.968 It's the way they've been taught. 00:19:49.283 --> 00:19:53.543 But yes, you absolutely go until you fail. But the problem is if you dial it 00:19:53.543 --> 00:19:57.423 back, if you, here's my next phrase, if you slow down and get your hits, 00:19:57.423 --> 00:19:59.483 you're not actually improving. 00:19:59.483 --> 00:20:02.303 What you're doing is going back to your comfort zone, right? 00:20:02.303 --> 00:20:05.903 So what you wind up with is kind of this sine wave effect where you go faster 00:20:05.903 --> 00:20:06.843 and make it more difficult. 00:20:07.323 --> 00:20:10.703 Then once it starts to break, you dial it back down to where you can get all 00:20:10.703 --> 00:20:12.403 the hits back into your comfort zone. 00:20:12.923 --> 00:20:16.423 So the sine waves aren't actually increasing in skill. They're just kind of 00:20:16.423 --> 00:20:18.623 going up and down in place, if that makes sense. 00:20:20.023 --> 00:20:23.543 I think a better way to look at it, and this is specifically for like isolation 00:20:23.543 --> 00:20:25.463 work, right? Trying to build speed and accuracy. 00:20:26.523 --> 00:20:30.423 Push it till it breaks. It starts to break. Not completely off the rails, 00:20:30.623 --> 00:20:33.723 not driving off the cliff, but until it starts to break. 00:20:34.143 --> 00:20:38.883 And then rather than dialing it back down, stay right there and try to figure it out. 00:20:39.223 --> 00:20:42.123 And then once you figure it out at that pace, at that difficulty, 00:20:42.563 --> 00:20:44.783 turn it up a little bit more until it breaks a little bit again. 00:20:45.083 --> 00:20:48.003 And then stay there until you figure that out. That's kind of the way I like 00:20:48.003 --> 00:20:50.403 to look at it for isolation. What do you think, Riley? 00:20:50.743 --> 00:20:55.583 I agree. I think that is how it works, how it should work, especially if we're 00:20:55.583 --> 00:20:59.563 talking in the context of shooting, because that's what I know the most. 00:20:59.703 --> 00:21:01.943 Although I imagine it can be applied elsewhere, too. 00:21:02.103 --> 00:21:09.083 But usually what happens is, especially once a shooter has a pretty solid base, 00:21:09.723 --> 00:21:11.943 meaning like their grip is pretty solid. 00:21:12.603 --> 00:21:16.623 They don't have any major issues with, say, stance. Just overall, 00:21:16.843 --> 00:21:19.503 like their fundamentals are pretty solid. 00:21:21.331 --> 00:21:27.671 Usually what is not quite there yet matching the biomechanical or the physical 00:21:27.671 --> 00:21:31.231 or the technical skill is things like their vision. 00:21:31.831 --> 00:21:36.611 It's like what you're describing is you start, you know, picking up the pace 00:21:36.611 --> 00:21:40.331 or the speed and then the wheels start to fall off. 00:21:41.071 --> 00:21:44.671 That may not be because of a technical reason. 00:21:45.031 --> 00:21:47.931 Like the grip may still be there. Stance may still be there. 00:21:48.071 --> 00:21:51.151 All that may still be fine. but it's like but 00:21:51.151 --> 00:21:55.191 what else is missing that's usually that vision visual piece and 00:21:55.191 --> 00:21:59.231 vision slash the brain requires some 00:21:59.231 --> 00:22:02.351 amount of exposure to a thing to start picking up 00:22:02.351 --> 00:22:05.651 on patterns and cues right and 00:22:05.651 --> 00:22:08.551 so you're like well how come i'm not seeing that how 00:22:08.551 --> 00:22:11.211 come i'm not able to keep that in the a zone on the 00:22:11.211 --> 00:22:14.651 target when i'm going at this pace and i'm trying to transition you 00:22:14.651 --> 00:22:17.891 know trying to do all these transitions across the target array maybe there's 00:22:17.891 --> 00:22:20.751 movement involved like whatever you're trying to do all these different things 00:22:20.751 --> 00:22:23.891 let's say like you need some amount of 00:22:23.891 --> 00:22:26.911 exposure to the to that 00:22:26.911 --> 00:22:29.851 higher rate of speed before your 00:22:29.851 --> 00:22:32.551 brain goes oh there's there 00:22:32.551 --> 00:22:35.331 is something here and there's things 00:22:35.331 --> 00:22:38.191 we can do visual you know training wise to help speed up 00:22:38.191 --> 00:22:42.731 that process but for sure at the end of the day like what has to happen ultimately 00:22:42.731 --> 00:22:48.191 is we push ourselves to this newer threshold and hang out there and see if we 00:22:48.191 --> 00:22:51.431 can't start like you said figuring it out and that i think is usually more of 00:22:51.431 --> 00:22:55.811 a a vision catching up to the speed of the gun the speed of what you're doing 00:22:55.811 --> 00:22:57.771 you know everything else what do you think 00:22:58.871 --> 00:23:03.171 Yeah. And I think it's, people misunderstand, I think, especially like newer shooters. 00:23:03.931 --> 00:23:08.831 When we talk about vision, they start thinking that we're talking about visual 00:23:08.831 --> 00:23:13.711 acuity and that's not it at all. It's the speed of visual perception. 00:23:13.931 --> 00:23:15.731 It really is more a brain thing than an eye thing. 00:23:15.831 --> 00:23:16.411 Yeah, exactly. 00:23:16.871 --> 00:23:17.871 Long as you're moving the eyes 00:23:17.871 --> 00:23:20.651 to the right place, it's how quickly can my brain pick up on the input? 00:23:21.011 --> 00:23:21.151 Yep. 00:23:21.531 --> 00:23:26.271 And it's like when I teach shot calling to newer shooters, invariably there's 00:23:26.271 --> 00:23:29.131 at least part of the class that looks at me like I'm talking about some kind 00:23:29.131 --> 00:23:32.451 of black magic, like they can't even comprehend it yet. 00:23:32.991 --> 00:23:35.951 And that's because they're not seeing what the sites are doing in recoil yet. 00:23:35.951 --> 00:23:37.091 And it's not their fault. 00:23:39.311 --> 00:23:44.411 They haven't been exposed to that enough times trying to see it to get that 00:23:44.411 --> 00:23:47.691 visual speed, that perceptual speed built up, I think. 00:23:48.891 --> 00:23:52.331 An analogy from martial arts, one of the things I really like about the Filipino 00:23:52.331 --> 00:23:55.871 martial arts is they start with weapons. 00:23:56.531 --> 00:24:00.931 It's technically a stick, but it's really meant to be a stand-in for a blade first. 00:24:01.371 --> 00:24:06.551 And the tip of that stick is moving way faster than somebody's punch or kick, right? 00:24:07.171 --> 00:24:10.791 So after a year or two of working with those, when you go back to an empty hand 00:24:10.791 --> 00:24:13.311 encounter, it seems very slow. 00:24:14.171 --> 00:24:16.591 Or like CQB when I was still at work. 00:24:18.235 --> 00:24:23.935 When I made master in USPSA, all of a sudden CQB felt much slower to me than 00:24:23.935 --> 00:24:26.415 it had before because I was used to operating at a faster pace. 00:24:26.715 --> 00:24:29.735 My brain was picking things up at a faster pace and I could be more aware. 00:24:30.195 --> 00:24:33.555 And it was like kind of a secret sauce, even though I didn't need to go any 00:24:33.555 --> 00:24:35.475 faster in CQB than I was already going. 00:24:35.635 --> 00:24:39.455 But I could see more at the same speed, if that makes sense. 00:24:39.815 --> 00:24:44.435 Yeah, absolutely. I appreciate the example, too. I mean, as you brought in, 00:24:44.635 --> 00:24:49.255 I assume you're referring to like Kali or Screema, right? 00:24:49.675 --> 00:24:53.655 Like with the sticks, especially because like that's, that's a, that's a, 00:24:53.755 --> 00:24:57.295 I think that's a really cool connection there talking about how it's like, 00:24:57.395 --> 00:25:02.535 well, if I can start picking up what's happening with this stick or this weapon, 00:25:02.535 --> 00:25:07.315 then hands are much easier, much easier. 00:25:07.435 --> 00:25:10.475 It's sort of like the opposite of training wheels almost in a way, 00:25:10.715 --> 00:25:16.075 you know, like there's, There's a place for training wheels, but yeah, 00:25:16.255 --> 00:25:23.395 if you can make riding a bike, if you can start there, I know that's hard to 00:25:23.395 --> 00:25:25.755 do, then when you go to training wheels, it's like, oh, 00:25:26.055 --> 00:25:28.075 it's like slow motion. 00:25:28.735 --> 00:25:33.235 I kind of think of it like as overspeed training for a sprinter or a swimmer. 00:25:33.335 --> 00:25:36.715 Right. Like when the swimmer swims with the artificial current at their back, 00:25:36.775 --> 00:25:38.535 so they're going faster than they normally would. Yep. 00:25:38.735 --> 00:25:41.355 You know, or the sprinter gets pulled along with the bungee cord. 00:25:42.035 --> 00:25:45.255 Because they're forced to work faster than they're comfortable working, right? 00:25:45.495 --> 00:25:45.675 Yep. 00:25:46.815 --> 00:25:49.975 And like, for instance, this is the way I do a Blake drill. 00:25:50.235 --> 00:25:53.915 Like, I don't treat a Blake drill like a target array that I would shoot, 00:25:54.095 --> 00:25:57.915 the way I would shoot a target array in a match or in real life. Right. Right? Right. 00:25:58.934 --> 00:26:03.754 For a blake drill, I'm going to set the artificial pace and try to make the sights be there. 00:26:04.394 --> 00:26:07.494 And they won't always be there because I'm setting a pace faster than I'm comfortable 00:26:07.494 --> 00:26:11.874 with. But that's the way to increase that pace, that visual perception, I think. 00:26:12.034 --> 00:26:18.554 Yeah, I agree. And that's where we need to spend our time at in practice. 00:26:21.554 --> 00:26:25.654 I had it here on the screen, but I just turned it off. But Messi rides following 00:26:25.654 --> 00:26:27.594 up to his question about training to failure. 00:26:29.414 --> 00:26:32.394 And then he commented almost sitting in the discomfort 00:26:32.394 --> 00:26:35.654 or failure for a bit and working it out and 00:26:35.654 --> 00:26:41.194 that that's what we're talking about here uh and so like let's say you really 00:26:41.194 --> 00:26:45.434 want to improve the speed and efficiency of transitions you brought up a blake 00:26:45.434 --> 00:26:49.414 drill uh matt which not everybody listening or watching maybe knows what a blake 00:26:49.414 --> 00:26:54.434 drill is but just just to well why don't you explain it rather than me so 00:26:54.434 --> 00:26:57.574