Ben Stoeger Training Video

[IVC]

I normally don't start many threads, but I've run into a really good video of Ben Stoeger teaching a class. It's from May 2020, so fairly recent and a good chance that many of you haven't seen it.



There are some key points that he emphasizes, for example "reactive" vs. "predictive" shooting. And many more... A lot of good information and some smaller bloopers if you pay attention.

Feel free to comment (with time stamp) if you found some parts of the video enlightening...

[Rez805]

I've been meaning to watch this.

Thanks for posting it.

[rodralig]

@NorthBayShooter shared this to me several weeks back... I had a slight headache due to information overload...


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[IVC]

Oops, didn't realize it was a dupe... Still, it contains very good information and it's worth sharing.

[rodralig]

Oops, didn't realize it was a dupe... Still, it contains very good information and it's worth sharing.

Absolutely! It contains very good information and definitely worth sharing and re-sharing... Am not saying it is not...

My only point for my response was the information overload...


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[NorthBay Shooter]

Ben is really pushing the practical training group right now so he is posting a lot of his match video with analysis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1JfUVRPp7M There is some really good stuff there. He spends a lot of time talking about the "why" of his stage plans. I learned some really good stuff about sequencing from his last video. The dude never stops amazing me. His actual shooting is on par with most GM's, however the time between is what makes him so awesome. Movement, transitions, being ready to shoot when the appropriate sight picture and so forth. If you ever see him in the Super Grand Champ videos where they overlay shooters, he is just so much faster getting from place to place than the other members of the super squad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvsR9aFbWQo Training with him is worth every dollar.

[IVC]

Ben is really pushing the practical training group right now so he is posting a lot of his match video with analysis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1JfUVRPp7M There is some really good stuff there.

Thanks for sharing - I have just watched it and it's interesting to see his plans.

One thing that is different from the rest of us planing a stage is that he doesn't take into consideration how difficult a shot is, because at his level of physical and mental preparedness it's just a matter of "seeing the sight picture even if it takes a bit longer." In reality, there is a mental aspect of trying to make a difficult shot under match pressure and it goes beyond just waiting for sights to settle down. That's what the training is for...

[IVC]

My only point for my response was the information overload...

Did you notice the sequence that starts at 17:45 when he demonstrates "the doubles?"

The drill is to "draw and fire 4 pairs." He does the first one, then he goes for one more run, but fumbles the reload after 3 pairs at 18:00 and chooses to holster instead (the drill calls for 4 pairs), which he also slightly fumbles. Then, at 18:09 he has a trigger freeze after 3 pairs and dips the gun down, before firing the last pair.

The point is of course not to bash him or anything silly like that, but to point out that there is a lot to be learned both from what he teaches and how it works out in practice. There is some amount of driving the gun that will happen as you want to go fast no matter how much everyone tries to pretend there isn't. The same happens when you have a trigger freeze and don't reset it, then you keep squeezing and nothing happens, but the gun dips because it's too much pressure for the grip you're used to having...

Seeing small details like that and learning puts a lot of things into perspective...

[broadside]

Thanks for sharing - I have just watched it and it's interesting to see his plans.

One thing that is different from the rest of us planing a stage is that he doesn't take into consideration how difficult a shot is, because at his level of physical and mental preparedness it's just a matter of "seeing the sight picture even if it takes a bit longer." In reality, there is a mental aspect of trying to make a difficult shot under match pressure and it goes beyond just waiting for sights to settle down. That's what the training is for...

Yes there is a big mental aspect to this game. One needs to build the trust in themselves to make the shot. That is the mental aspect of it. Most people in this game can make the shot standing there and aiming with no timer. The A zone is a big target.

I have been working on going all out speed wise and finding that sweet spot for the mid and long distance shots. You know, when to slow down (or stop) and aim for real, even possibly squinting my non-dominant eye.

What most people don't think about is the HF for a stage. Its very hard to learn to estimate a HF and then do the mental math to decide where you can and should take risks and when you shouldn't. I am terrible at it and have nearly given up on that sort of thing. But, if you can figure it out, as Ben has, you can make more informed decisions and time vs score, which is important with distant shots.

[NorthBay Shooter]

Yes there is a big mental aspect to this game. One needs to build the trust in themselves to make the shot. That is the mental aspect of it. Most people in this game can make the shot standing there and aiming with no timer. The A zone is a big target.

I have been working on going all out speed wise and finding that sweet spot for the mid and long distance shots. You know, when to slow down (or stop) and aim for real, even possibly squinting my non-dominant eye.

What most people don't think about is the HF for a stage. Its very hard to learn to estimate a HF and then do the mental math to decide where you can and should take risks and when you shouldn't. I am terrible at it and have nearly given up on that sort of thing. But, if you can figure it out, as Ben has, you can make more informed decisions and time vs score, which is important with distant shots.

This is exactly it. My continued question to shooters better than myself is how do you know when to let it loose and when to pull back. I also tried to look at a stage and figure out the approximate time it would take to shoot and then guess at a HF. I listen to other shooters times that are before me and decide if I thought it was a good run or not (regardless of points) just to try and gauge the speed.

An example from last weekend's match. There was a position where you went down between two walls. On the left, through a port was a 18 yard head shot covered by a no-shoot. On the right with a pretty hard lean was a 15 yard 3 target array with an open target, a tux target and a partial target with no-shoot. My plan was to come in on the open target to the right, shoot those 3 then transition to the left head shot, then leave the position. The GM's all went the other way. Head shot, transition right to partial, tux and leave on the open. The reason, come in, post up to a stable stance, for the hardest of the shots, then transition and leave. I ended up doing the GM plan and it worked perfect. Some of the other shooters did my original plan and all shot the no shoot on the head target since the transition had them moving a little and they didn't settle before the hard shot.