If the ability to maintain target focus with movement is important to you, you want to know about the vestibular system.
It is one thing to keep a target in focus when stationary but maintaining that ability with movement is a much higher skill level. This is because when stationary there is significantly less demand placed on two of our situational awareness systems- vestibular and somatosensory.
When we move these two systems have a lot more information to send to the brain to process and respond to.
A helicopter door gunner will rely on their vestibular system to keep them upright and effective with any movement of the helicopter, particularly during any turbulence and firing of their weapon. The vestibular system will initiate quick, sub-conscious responses to maintain eye, head, and trunk positioning.
Quick responses to maintain positioning and target focus directly impact the effectiveness of the door gunner. The faster and more precise vestibular capability the faster and more potent the door gunner can be.
Intentional training of the vestibular system for performance can elevate our capabilities and is particularly important for the tactical community. Not only because every millisecond of an edge matters, but because of how repeated subconcussive blast exposures can slowly chip away at the performance of the vestibular system.
Incorporating training the vestibular system for performance can allow the door gunner to perform at their highest level even under the most extreme and unpredictable conditions.
If you work with tactical athletes and want to learn how to train the vestibular system for performance check out my course Prepare for Chaos.
You’ll learn how to train the sensory systems to ensure the individual is prepared to execute under the most extreme and unpredictable conditions.