Jan 15 (edited) • Self Protection
The 80% Rule: Why Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough
"Do nothing which is of no use." - Miyamoto Musashi
Musashi's principle of eliminating the unnecessary finds perfect expression in modern defensive training through what we call the 80% rule. This counterintuitive truth challenges everything we've been taught about giving maximum effort, yet it remains one of the most critical concepts separating competent shooters from those who fail when it matters most.
The distinction is simple but profound: In training, push your boundaries and discover your limits. Accept the misses, embrace the failures, map the edges of your capability. But when lives hang in the balance - whether in competition or combat - dial back to 80% capacity. This isn't weakness; it's wisdom.
Why does trying harder make us perform worse? At 100% effort, we experience what sports psychologists call "cognitive overload." The conscious mind attempts to control every micro-movement, creating a split-mind syndrome where nothing flows naturally. Fine motor skills degrade, decision-making stutters, and that perfect technique you've drilled thousands of times suddenly falls apart. The very act of trying to be perfect destroys the performance.
Consider Andrew's target pattern - shots scattered across the acceptable zone rather than clustered in a tight group. Traditional marksmanship says this is inferior to a ragged hole in the center. Modern defensive doctrine says otherwise. Those scattered hits represent maximum sustainable speed while maintaining combat-effective accuracy. A perfect center group might impress at the range, but it reveals you're leaving speed on the table - speed that could save your life.
The 80% rule isn't about being lazy or accepting mediocrity. It's about operating within your proven capability envelope when failure isn't an option. Champions don't win by giving everything; they win by consistently delivering what they know they can achieve. In training, find your limits. When it counts, stay well within them.
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The 80% Rule: Why Perfect is the Enemy of Good Enough
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