“May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one.”


"This report is maybe 12-years-old. Parliament buried it, and it stayed buried till River dug it up. This is what they feared she knew. And they were right to fear because there's a whole universe of folk who are gonna know it, too. They're gonna see it. Somebody has to speak for these people. You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. Sure as I know anything I know this, they will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground swept clean. A year from now, 10, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people . . . better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running. I aim to misbehave." ~ Captain Malcom Reynolds

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Controlling the inner monologue

So - plenty of local cop drama this week, which has kept us stressed. But I am personally safe & alive, just busy.

Along with all this, we have a recruit academy going through their first week on the range. Today had the incredibly rare occurrence of a moment which left me at a complete loss for words.

For those who don't know - when teaching adults a new skill it helps to put it in the perspective of a skill they already have. Helps the mind process the concepts better & gives you a common point of reference. For a lot of combat shooting you can do this by relating it to athletics and martial arts - balance, poise, relaxed focus etc. are all common elements.

Well, a young lady I was helping today on the line was having problems with keeping a consistent grip on her handgun. Thinking to use an analogy like softball, golf, or whatever I asked what sports she had played in school.

"None sir." (they're still in that super-enthusiastic military bearing mode - you get used to it)

"Well, what about other athletics? What kind of stuff do you do for fun?" Still determined to find something here to relate my point on gripping the weapon firmly & consistently, ever the dedicated instructor...

"Well... I do belly dancing sir." Perfectly straight faced, and I know she's waiting for me to give her some grief or something.

"Ummmm yeah I got nothing on that one. I'll be right back."

6 comments:

Rev. Paul said...

I admire your restraint, my friend. Wow.

Daddy Hawk said...

Belly dancing is all about core muscle strength and control...or so I've been told.

Josh Kruschke said...

Hmmm.... Well Belly Dancings about tensing and relaxing muscles in conjunction with breath control; should translate just fine.

I'm more than willing to give up some of my free to help her work on it.

:-D
Josh

Wandering Soul said...

LOL! I would have opened my mouth to say something, then shut it once I realized I had no comeback....

Gladorn said...

When teaching DT's to academy students, I've found that if they have a background in dancing then I'm able to incorporate that into the lesson. Dancing incorporates precise movement, thus so does DT's.

One idea is that belly dancing involves sword dancing. Ask her how she grips the sword.

Captain Tightpants said...

I was able to use the dancing stuff for her posture and movements, as well as rhythm in shooting - so yes, that worked. She finally grasped the grip issue on her own...