Due to the generosity and foresight of Sydney shooter, Colin Sim, Todd Bender was able to attend the ACTA Skeet Nationals held in May (2008). I was fortunate to be able to attend the competition on one day for the purpose of interviewing Todd Bender.
Whilst I enjoyed shooting the odd round of skeet, having the opportunity to meet with Todd was certainly the highlight of the day. The interesting thing was, that before I had met with him, I felt that I already knew him. I have read all the articles that he has written for the English Clay Shooting Magazine. I have listened to CD's in the car which was a discussion between Todd Bender and Lanny Basham, I have watched his DVD's and I have visited his website www.bendershima.com, so when I met him, I already had a picture in my mind what he would be like and for most parts I was right. What I didn't expect was that the man you see in the video's, in print, and on CD is exactly how he is in real life; with exception that in real life he projects what psychologist would refer to as "unconditional positive regard". Unconditional positive regard is what most of us get from our mothers: it the understanding that people are nice to you just because you are you. Unconditional positive regard is the main ingredient for effective teaching, coaching and therapy. Todd makes you feel good just by being in his presence. Bender described himself as a teacher and makes his living primarily from teaching.
Todd made some interesting observations about competing in Australia, and for someone who has not experienced shooting overseas I found his comments interesting. Firstly, he felt that here in Australia you are part of the competition all day: in the States the 100 targets would be shot in one visit and because they employ professional referees there is no requirement to stay on the ground. Todd said that he would have normally gone back to his motel room and had a rest before the shoot-off. He stated that what he saw as the problem with staying on the ground was the continual opportunity to interact with others, and talk about scores, missed targets, problem microphones, guns, etc. He understood that in Australia, because of the population, the carnival could not ran any other way and in his own style he gave this a positive reframe by saying that "well I'll use the problems with the microphones to my advantage and let the problem bother the other shooters. I'll stay focused on the target."
The positive psychology movement is very big in America and is starting to gain momentum here. Being confident, composed and feeling competent in your ability are essential aspects to remaining positive. Regular readers will also remember that these are also essential characteristics for mental toughness. After talking with Todd, I was wondering is there a difference to being positive and being mentally tough? There is and it is very important: if you are just positive because you believe it is a good thing to be, then you will find failure difficult to deal with. However if being positive is a component of a wider mental state of being mentally tough then you will be able to bounce back when you have failures or setbacks. A good example of this was a comment Todd made about missing a target (actually it was the first target he had missed since the previous My). Todd's comment was that he was continually asked about this target, when in his mind the 100 targets that he shot in qualifying and the further hundred or so in the shoot off were more important. He saw the missed target as nothing more than a lapse of concentration and that it shouldn't be given any more importance than that.
What we were able to talk at length about was the use of mental skills as a necessary tool for being a good shot. Bender epitomized appropriate use of mental skills both in and out of competition. Regular readers of his columns in Clay Shooting will have a good understanding of the importance that he places on mental skills development. Having adequate technical skills, physical skills and mental skills are a necessary for success in any sport. His association
with Lanny Basham, and the importance he places on mental skills was a very welcome testimony and an acknowledgment of the importance of mental skills training in sport.
One of the topics we covered was the use of visualization and mental rehearsal. Earlier this year I wrote an account of a tape I listened to by Bender and Basham: Bender talked about his use of imagery and mental rehearsal when shooting; he explained that before he walked onto the station, he relived the shot that he has done thousands of times before. When he steps onto the pad and settles himself, he then shoots the target(s) in Ms mind. Using visualization he hits the targets and therefore, his mind is already believing that he has done it. Leaving no time to develop self- doubt, he calls pull and shoots the target just as he did in his mind's eye seconds before.
Now the above is a good example of using mental rehearsal in shooting but Bender didn't stop there. He then explained that before he walks off the pad, he sees himself shoot the target again (just as he did in real life) to reinforce what he needs to do next time. This evaluation of his performance reinforces success and best practise and primes Mm up for further success. So armed with this knowledge and having watched him shoot a round, I asked him about the triggers that I had noticed as he was waiting to shoot, about to shoot and after he had shot. He looked surprised and asked, "What triggers?" What was interesting was that as I listed the things that I had noticed he would respond by saying; "no that was subconscious or that was conscious" There were clearly some things he was not sure that he was doing. What he did say was that these triggers were his way of bringing Ms confidence up to a level that would ensure success. This was necessary because to see the target (and thereby shoot it) everything else had to shut down. For Bender, getting control over that mental process, was essential for success.
When I asked about his visualization process, he directed me back to the work of Basham, whom through his mental management skills program, and stated that the before, during and after visualization/ mental rehearsal components helped stay in control, because it compartmentalized the sequence into a pre-load, action and post-load/ reinforcement phases. This reinforcement phase was essential in developing confidence and keeping him focused on the here and now. When asked, "How did you go from being a good club shot to being the current world leader?", he looked a bit taken surprised but after some thought felt that it was a combination of desire, dedication and sacrifice.
When I left Todd to go back out to shoot, I felt warm and satisfied and shot two rounds of 24/25, quite content in the knowledge that I was able to concentrate for 48/50 targets, in a discipline I rarely shoot. I still read Bender's articles and from time to time visit his website: www.bendersMrma.com , and with his permission will bring you some of Ms valuable insights from time to time, but now when I read his articles I feel that he is talking to me personally.
Again, I would like to thank Colin Sim for organising this opportunity for me as well as acknowledge Todd Bender's sponsors; Krieghoff and Briley.
I would encourage readers to visit his website; www.bendershima.com and read more from this exceptional man.
