AAR: The Inner Game of Shooting, with Brian Hill

Goals:

An homage to “The Inner Game of Tennis” by W. Timothy Gallwey, this class is geared towards understanding the mental processes involved in pistol shooting and practical performance from concealment.

Several instructors attended as well, and there is no better way to learn a coaches processes than to watch the master work with beginners. My goal was simply to learn as much about how Brian coaches…

…and that’s a lot.

He looks at EVERYTHING. It’s a skill he’s honed from coaching MMA fighters. Where you are mentally, physically, and technically, all of it becomes part of his diagnosis. However instead of giving you a list of symptoms, he simply treats the disease. My goal was to learn more of that.

Requirements:

Of course the normal range gear and attire, but you need to be able to safely draw, hit an A-Zone from 7 yards, and safely holster. We spent roughly 500 rounds over the two days. The class scales to your skill level, so this lowers the bar for entry, while raising the bar of potential.

Acclaim:

I took the class last year, and it’s one of those classes I want to take every year. Even so, I’ve heard great things about this class, year after year. Many have told me that Brian has helped them make breakthroughs that other coaches missed.

I have some clients that excel one-on-one but they struggle in classes. That wasn’t true for this class. Many folks excelled where they were left behind in previous classes. Most students told me it felt like more of a private lesson than a class with other participants.

Difficulty:

Technically the bar is very low. Brian is very good at meeting students where they are, whether you’re an IDPA Master or a USPSA A-Class or you just bought your first gun this week. We had them all on this line.

The only difficulty is to manage one’s own emotions. There will be times that Brian challenges you to walk outside your comfort zone, and we have to be ok with the results of that.

For example, one student really REALLY wanted to maintain a single ragged hole in the center of the target. Once a shot fell outside that tight group, their confidence eroded in spite of it still being an A-Zone hit. Brian sensed this, reeled the student back in, and allowed the student to accept those hits that weren’t as neatly organized. A hit is a hit. We just need to be present and process-focused.

Efficacy:

This class rocked. It’s going to be on my list of classes I take year after year. I had a ton of fun and literally everyone saw a degree of growth. Brian Hill is the most intuitive and accurate diagnosticians I’ve ever encountered, and if I can be 1/10th the coach he is, I’m going alright.