Training with a Champion: Lessons Beyond the Trigger

Today was one of those perfect Canadian spring days—bright sun, fresh air, and the kind of quiet intensity you only get on a live-fire range. I spent the day training with IPSC Alex (properly known as Alex Szakacs), a former world-class Canadian IPSC competitor who cut his teeth coming up the ranks alongside none other than Eric Grauffel, the reigning IPSC world champion. We met at Silverdale Gun Club in Ontario, but what I took away had little to do with split times or hit factors.

This wasn’t a day about shooting techniques. It was about mindset. About building the habits and mental discipline that separate the average from the elite.

One of the first things Alex said stuck with me:

“Practice doesn’t make perfect—practice makes permanent.”

You don’t rise to the occasion; you fall to the level of your training. And if your training is casual, unfocused, or self-congratulatory, that’s exactly what your performance will reflect.

We drilled hard. Harder than any match scenario I’ve ever faced. And that was the point. You train for chaos so that competition feels calm. You rehearse the hard stuff so the real thing feels easy. We practiced not until we got it right—but until we couldn’t get it wrong.

But the biggest takeaway?

Get out of your own head.

When you commit things to muscle memory, your conscious thoughts stop interfering. There’s no time to think your way through every movement when you’re on the clock. You need to know it. Instinctively. Reflexively. That only comes from repetition and pressure.

And pressure is key.

If you only train alone, you’re always #1. You’ll never be challenged, never be pushed, and you’ll never truly fail—which means you’ll never truly grow. Working with someone like Alex exposes you. It forces you to adapt, stay sharp, and train under pressure. Iron sharpens iron.

So if you want to develop the mindset of a champion, stop looking for comfort. Stop chasing perfection. Get uncomfortable. Get tested. And find someone who will push you beyond what you thought you were capable of.

Down range is where the work happens. But the real gains are made long before the buzzer.