In this drill, there is a single target frame having a target with various shapes, colors, and numbers. You shoot a sequence of targets based off what is drawn from the hat. A sequence can be “odd, triangle, blue”. I am having trouble understanding what skill you are building in this drill by memorizing a sequence and then shooting. How is this better than shooting a regular row of dots?
In theory it makes you “think.” Very similar to KIMS drills. Most likely from his sniper training
fourXfour is essentially correct in that the goal is to create thinkers or to train the thought process.
In a more expanded explanation it is an attempt to work on cognition or the cognitive thought process. By attempting to increase the capacity for memory and the attention to various details we hope to increase the learning curve and speed up the thought process. This can ultimately lead to more efficiency in problem solving and ultimately lead to quicker, more efficient and more accurate decision making and quicker responses to visual stimulus being taken in as a scenario unfolds.
There is more into this obviously but that is the short technical answer. Also as mentioned the “KIMs game” is another method used especially in the sniper area. I still use it in my own curriculum when teaching new snipers / counter snipers. I put my own twist on it however.
Thanks for posting this.
There are a few different drills that make you “think” this one looks to be a very easy one with many different shapes/numbers/colors variables/variants and gives an excellent primer.
A little bit more difficult version of a “think” drill is Howe’s room full over load targets - I won’t get into the actually drill as its not easy to replicate, nor cheap and I doubt he’d want his training methods posted, its in one of his books.
this is an old drill - I shot this at my first ever IDPA back in the days of evermore.
I’m not baggin’ on it. I thought it was a wonderful drill but pointing out that there is nothing new under the sun. glad to see someone has resurrected it as I thought it had a lot of things right with it…
The concept has many forms and purposes.
Good type of a drill to run in a group/buddy setting to force yourself to be able to “think through” the shot sequence.
What I mean by that is that it is easy to shoot a few 3" circles at 5 yards by simply focusing on the fundamentals. Having to run something else through the conscious mind while shooting the sequence is something that many folks don’t do, or try to avoid while practicing marksmanship.
It’s another reason that I like competition; having to remember exactly where to setup in physical space to be perfectly aligned for a target array, remembering where to reload, how many rounds you have to play with in case of a miss or unsatisfactory hit at any given time, how much time to allocate to targets of different difficulty, how many rounds to fire at each target, and the ever present requirement to keep your muzzle within specific boundaries, all while moving as fast as you can while getting the hits you need requires that you be able to execute a plan, think, and improvise on your feet and through your sights.
Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is after me Lucky Charms!
Chris Fry from MDTS uses a similar drill and incorporates multiple targets at different angles and distances.