Preventing Tunnel Vision

[ghentry]

In another thread mojo mentioned

... in a high stress situation "Tunnel Vision" takes over and we only see a small part of the picture...

To not hijack that thread, I started a new one.

My question is this... Is there any way to train to teach yourself to not have tunnel vision?

I know that as mojo stated, my TV takes over whenever my adrenaline starts pumping. This worries me as there may be more than one attacker. Has anyone learned any techniques to help keep as wide of a field of view as possible?

[stevie_d_64]

Of course I have never been in a stressfire situation...I have read about it in some writings, but never really thought about it much more than that...

Because I think you naturally want to place your shots as well as you can, because you want to maintain a good site picture, and that naturally requires a very narrow view at things "downrange"...

The only thing I can imagine that "might" take you out of a "tunnel vision" situation is to literally take the firearm that you have up and ready in a firing position, (stance), and get it down to a (non-shooting), low ready, position...But thats just me...

I usually think pulling the firearm into your chest area, close to your body, but pointed away from you (naturally) and held with your normal shooting "grip", will help you get out of a tunnel vision mode, and get your head and "eyes" all "up" an around the area scanning everything and accessing the situation...But always ready to instantly get back into a firing mode if need be...

I don't think its good to have the pistols pointed way up vertically, or down by your side in a really "low" position...Tight up and pointed out from your chest, tends to be the best I think, because you can bring it to bear faster from there than from other "ready" positions...

I think it also requires a mindset that possibly helps you look for a way to get out of a shooting situation...Even if it has already started...

Don't look to maintain your situation of wanting to be the "last man standing", but be somewhere else alive and ready to act again if you need to...

I'm just thinking aloud...And I hope some don't think I am a reluctant shooting enthusiast...I just happen to have a philisophical (sp? echhh) bend to my mindset...

One that doesn't create a hesitant reactive tendency, but one that (while I am at calm, and at rest) I can think clearly and slow down what I might do in a situation, so that my quick reaction is decisive in real life...

I happen to read a lot of Ayoob's stuff, and apply that knowledge and experience to my own way of looking and reacting to situations...

[humblebyday]

I also have never been in a stressful situation like that, but from the IDPA matches, we are taught to "scan" the area. Of course these are mostly stationary targets. One thing I can say, if you have never shot an IDPA match, you should go. One of the best things I have learned & practiced (due to multiple targets) is target acquision. The pace helps with getting on target and using your periferal vision to see the next target. I hope this may help.

[Paladin]

My question is this... Is there any way to train to teach yourself to not have tunnel vision?

First step is to be aware of it.

It's real. If something happens you most likely will be focused on the threat to a significant extent.

You also have to be aware that that threat may not be the only threat.

I try to remember to look around (left, right, 6 o'clock) when there's a chance.

Getting some training (on the range, IDPA, or preferrably a tactical course) should help, because you can fall back on your training.

[Charles L. Cotton]

I try to remember to look around (left, right, 6 o'clock) when there's a chance.

As simple as it sounds, this seems to be the key. My wife and I have been to Thunder Ranch more times than I can remember. I can still hear Clint saying "look left, look right, look behind you . . . Wolves travel in [packs] . . . get your head on a swivel . . ." and so on. Learning this tactic, if we can call it one, is like tactical training as a whole; you'll do in a fight what you do in training, only worse.

We also have to keep in mind there are at least two relevant time frames when we need to be concerned about tunnel vision. One is when we are actually shooting, the other is immediately after engaging. (Tunnel vision v. search & scan is not so much of a problem when responding to a possible threat, such as house clearing, or one of the common target indicators.)

Any good tactical school will teach that you have to see the potential threats' hands. This means the pistol has to be held low enough in the low ready position to allow you to do this and the angle required will vary with your height and the height of the threat. (My wife is 5' tall, so it's a very shallow angle for her!) When the potential threat becomes an actual threat, it is all to common for them to be shot in the gun hand or arm, or the area of the torso immediately behind the gun, wherever it is being held. This phenomenon is reported in police shootings and it's very common on the range (during training, but not so much during IDPA matches) when there is a gun or knife painted on the targets.

Remember, seeing a weapon is the "trigger" to start shooting, not the target. There is another thread on where you should try to hit and I won't go into that issue. Suffice it to say that the target area shouldn't simply be whatever is behind the pistol.

Regards,
Chas.

[stevie_d_64]

Charles...

I have not shot an IDPA match at PSC...Would a senario like that be an interesting surprise, in a course of fire (keeping the image of a gun on one or more targets a secret)...

Just to see what kind of effect that would have on accuracy, etc etc...

Is there a rule, or overall discussion within IDPA community that addresses this idea if you know???

I'm going to do my first match at PSC next month...I think it'll be fun to participate, finally...

[Charles L. Cotton]

Steve, I'm glad you're coming to PSC for the match. We're going to keep the August match a simple one, so we can get finished before it gets seriously hot! We usually try to use a good number of props and mechanical targets, but not during July and August.

We can't use surprise targets or scenarios for the Texas State IDPA Championship, as it's a sanctioned match. However, we've done something similar in monthly matches. We have color codes or scarfs that we move between targets in a scenario, while the shooter's back is turned. On the buzzer, the shooter turns and engages the proper targets. We're going to use a Glock to make some cut-outs to put on strings and hang around the necks of targets, to take the place of color-codes and scarfs.

Again, shooting the gun hand is not much of an issue in IDPA matches, just in training. I'm playing amateur shrink, but my guess is that it has something to do with the different mindset in a match v. tactical training. In training, you're focusing on the area of the target where the hands would be, while in an IDPA match, you're just waiting for the buzzer and you know you're going to shoot COM.

Regards,
Chas.

[therooster]

In another thread mojo mentioned

... in a high stress situation "Tunnel Vision" takes over and we only see a small part of the picture...

To not hijack that thread, I started a new one.

My question is this... Is there any way to train to teach yourself to not have tunnel vision?

in my study, and my experience, i would have to say No.

tunnel vision will happen, the only way around it is to train yourself to come out of tunnel vision on command, or after a certain action.

when the a problem arises, so to speak, you will hopefully go into condition Red (as opposed to condition Black). when you go into condition red you start to lose complex motor skills due to vasoconstriction from the introduction of adrenaline(one of the main reasons you get tunnel vision), but your visual reaction time and your cognitive reaction time increase. at any time in condition red you can experience one or several of these:
tunnel vision
visual clarity
intensified sound
diminished sound
slow motion time
fast motion time
memory loss of parts of the event
memory loss of some of your actions
dissociation
intrusive distracting thoughts
memory distortions
distance distortions
it only takes your body a millisecond to transfer from one to the other, and you can experience more than one at one time.

in this condition your brain stops using its frontal lobes and starts using its midbrain (the "animal" part), this is where training pays off. your midbrain will revert to your "unconscious competence" stage, the highest level of Abraham Maslow's 4 levels of mastery, as Bruce Lee put it "learn it until you forget it". basically learn it/train untill it becomes a programmed response, a natural reaction.

so...you cannot get rid of Tunnel vison, but you can train yourself to controll it. in Brian Enos's book, he talks briefly about it and makes it very easy to understand. i can tell you from my experience that competition helped me learn to controll tunnel vision, and it made me shoot faster and more accurate too.

Mr. Cotton mentiond Clint Smith saying ""look left, look right, look behind you . . . Wolves travel in [packs] . . . get your head on a swivel . . .". he would say this right after you engage a target or multiple targets. the idea behind it is to get you out of the tunnel vision that you experience while your shooting and into a state of awareness asap. this teaches you to controll tunnel vision, by comming out of it when you dont need it and looking around.

any of this make sense to you? its very hard to explain an experience through typing.

[XD_Dan]

^--- Good post, Jason. Interesting read.

[MoJo]

I have never been involved in a face to face one on one gunfight but, in my younger days I was a soldier in Vietnam and was involved in a few firefights. You want tunnel vision when engaging a threat afterward, you have to be constantly scanning for other threats.

Analogous to a gunfight is an automobile accident or near miss. During the actual crash or near miss you are focused on the other vehicle afterward, you should be scanning for other vehicles (threats) and checking for injuries, etc.

I don't think you can turn off tunnel vision because it is part of our survival instincts. You can control what you do in the aftermath of a traumatic event.