Why Hurry?
“When you are not sitting quietly, you may be distracted without knowing it; but once you are aware of it, distraction itself becomes a mechanism for getting rid of distraction.”-T’ai i chin hua tsung chih If I rushed I usually …
Category: On Shooting
See Everything!
“To observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” -Krishnamurti In Practical Shooting, Beyond Fundamentals, I outlined 5 types of seeing—to call the shot—which vary with the shot’s difficulty. I wonder, however, if that caused more confusion than it helped. …
Relax… A Story from The Bianchi Cup
“Only when you can be extremely pliable and soft can you be extremely hard and strong.” -Zen Proverb I was at my first Bianchi Cup in 1981. I trashed the first three stages: The Practical, The Barricade, and The Falling …
When is “it” Right?
“Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.” What a great quote from Pema Chodron. My brother, Dennis, and I enjoyed boxing. He was three years older and quite a bit bigger, so he …
A Story… To Pick or Shoot
“Indeed, since people lack nothing, it is a pity that they wander so much in illusion once they have been deluded by their perception.”-Keizan Bill Goins and I wanted to drive what locals called a “pipeline road” in the Florence …
To Push, or Not?
“Learn to distinguish what should be done and what should not be done; the clever soul will always select his opportunity.” -Nagarjuna Until your pace is the outcome of calling every shot, there is the concept of “pushing.” Your goal should …
A Story from The Steel Challenge
“Each morning, we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.”-The Buddha We’re at the Steel Challenge, in the iron-sighted stock gun division. It was a dry, dusty day, and the sun bore down on us like …
A Story… 1983 Bianchi Cup
“When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.” -Shunryu Suzuki Whether or not to check the scoreboard, while the match is in progress, varies with the shooter’s personality. At the …
Trust Attention
“Once you realize that the road is the goal and that you are always on the road, not to reach a goal, but to enjoy its beauty and its wisdom, life ceases to be a task and becomes natural and …
Natural Point of Aim
“The mind of the beginner is empty, free of the habits of the expert, ready to accept, to doubt, and open to all the possibilities.”-Shunryu Suzuki A practical pistol shooter must develop the ability to aim the pistol without depending …