Blake Drills - explained

Recently there was a post on Brian Enos by a newer shooter, asking where he was losing time during his runs. Dr Matt prescribed to him more Blake drills, because that's my favorite thing to do and everyone needs more of them (Blake drill here if you need an explanation)

There was some discussion back and forth about how to do the drill and I weighed in with my specific thoughts. This is how we teach them in class. Remember, for every drill there should be a goal, and in this one, it's matching your splits and transitions.

When I have students do the Blake drill I have them start with the gun in hand. I want them to take time to focus on a perfect grip and what that feels like, along with a perfect stance. The draw can be worked on in any number of other drills, but for me the point of that drill is the transitions and splits being equal, and nothing else.

As a test (like the bill drill), it's fine to do it from the draw, but I don't find it necessary when training. Especially if you are new to the idea of what it is.


How to get yourself to stop confirming each hit? Dryfire the same drill from the same spot before you live fire. In dryfire there's no bullet hole to look for so it should be easier.

Also, I have a metronome app on my phone. I set it to a reasonable time to start, (167 beats per minute is a .35 split) and dry fire it to that pace. Go left to right and right to left so you don't become tied to doing it only one way in matches. I also like to tell people to use more targets than you think. Paper plates are easy to set up around the house. Put out 10 of them evently spaced alone the wall or back of the couch or whatever and just go back and forth until your grip and shoulders get tired. The fastest time on my metronome app is 310 beats per minute, which is a .19 split and should totally be doable until the targets are 6 or more feet apart.