I first met Dave Spaulding in the 1990s. I took his class on concealed carry at an IALEFI Annual Conference. It was frankly one of the best presentations I'd ever seen and I learned a lot from him. Always willing to help people improve, he did this piece for us on practice. The wise will heed his words. - Rich Grassi We have all heard the old adage "practice makes perfect". In the early 1990's, while attending John Shaw's Mid-South Institute for Self Defense Shooting, I was told it should really be "perfect practice make perfect". Like many, I embraced both of these, but as time goes by I have begun to question both...at least as it relates to combative pistol practice. Learning any skill starts with quality instruction that first explains the skill, then demonstrates the skill followed by physical practice of the skill. There is no way to short cut this process. After all, we retain 90% of what we DO, 30% of what we SEE, 20% of what we HEAR and only 10% of what we READ. If we undertake all of these we are more likely to truly learn the skill. Years ago while making a promotional video with the legendary Mike Plaxco, he told me he felt it was necessary to miss in practice if a shooter really wanted to improve their skills. We all realize the only person who never misses never shoot, lies or never really pushes their limits, so this makes sense. A miss is a learning opportunity and should be embraced as such. What did I do wrong and how can I correct it? Unfortunately, self-diagnosis requires a high level of skill so it is essential to train under competent instructors who have the capability to explain, demonstrate and teach in such a way that the student understands the skill's importance to them. I am leery of instructors who explain, correct (criticize?) but never demonstrate (Afraid you might "blow" the demo? Practice is the solution to this fear. Skill = confidence that overcomes fear). Once the importance is understood, the student is more likely to practice the skill. But to truly push their limits, a combative shooter must be willing to miss and understand "perfection" is not about lack of misses on target. It's about mastery of skill to the point of performing with unconscious competence . . . being able to perform and adapt the skill without processed thought while under the stress and duress of conflict. I asked Mike what he felt was an acceptable level of missing and he said 90 percent (10 percent misses) was acceptable if you are TRUELY pushing your limits. I have used this standard ever since and believe it to be sound practice. Keep in mind you "can't miss fast enough to win" a gunfight, but we are talking practice. Push yourself, but if you start to miss, slow down because in an actual gunfight every round fired hits something somewhere...only hits count, especially when fighting for your life. I try to shoot 250-300 rounds a week in practice, averaging 12,000 rounds a year. I have NO natural ability when it comes to shooting, so I spend a great deal of time analyzing human movement and trying for "physiological efficiency". Dry fire IS critical to this endeavor! I will sometimes watch myself in a mirror or use the video function on my phone to look for excessive motion and other mistakes. I spend a large percentage of my live fire practice working on trigger and recoil control as most of the other essential skills can be practiced dry. Resist the temptation to work on drills instead of skills! I see many shooters spend large amounts of ammo to successfully shoot Drill XYZ when they should be working on the skills that would allow them to successfully complete the drill. I practice in the snow, cold, rain, etc. but understand it is not conducive to a "push your limits" style of improvement due to the "misery factor", its more about understanding how to run your gear when the conditions suck...which is an essential skill in itself! I work hard at shooting and realize I will never shoot at the level of the top competitors, but then I do not have to, to defend my life. I do not fall under the illusion that all criminals are poor, un-practiced shots because they are not! Many are skilled, are gunfight veterans and have served in the military. Gunfights are often won by seeing the fight coming first, so I work on an advanced level of situational awareness as "playing catch up" in a gunfight that has already begun is the same as loosing and no master class IPSC champion would be able to catch up either. I work hard, practice often while pushing my limits, accepting misses and the educational opportunity they offer. Regular, MEANINGFUL practice is critical...essential as I like to say. If all you're doing is throwing bullets with no structure or format, then you are just plinking and while plinking is fun, it is not true combative-grade practice. -- Dave Spaulding Dave Spaulding is a retired law enforcement officer with 36 years of law enforcement and private security experience. A graduate of many of the nation's premier firearms training courses, he is also the author of over 1,000 articles that have appeared in newsstand gun magazines and law enforcement trade journals. He is the owner and chief instructor for Handgun Combatives LLC , a training concern that focuses on "the combative application of the handgun" Handgun Combatives