The question is whether it benefits a professional gunslinger, i.e. CFDA, to participate in an ISI event.
There is a significant number of gunslingers who believe shooting in an ISI event will lead to bad habits, defective draws such as the flail, shooting low, generally spraying wax everywhere. This is a valid concern especially when coupled with the observation that shooters that participate in these events have not shot as well in professional events as you would expect based on their quickness.
An opposing view is that it is just another opportunity to excel. Mental toughness is the most significant factor in a CFDA event. It is more important than accuracy, more important than quickness, and more important than luck of the draw. More gunfights are won or lost on mental toughness than the other three factors combined.
An ISI event can benefit the professional gunslinger when used as an event to practice mental toughness. If you can stay focused on the task at hand you will do fairly well. You are practicing that mental toughness necessary to win in professional events. If you lose your focus and begin to race your opponent you will be doomed to boot hill not only in these events but in professional events also.
If you are going to participate in these events it would be good if you had some objective standard to determine whether you are improving as a gunfighter or getting worse. There a simple way to do this. We can use a gunfighter rating. ISI stands for Individual Speed Index which is your historical average speed. Since they already compute this for you if you subtract it from one you have a speed number that is compatible with your hit ratio. To these two numbers you add the ratio of shots that qualify (faster than your ISI plus .03 nationally or in Arizona .02). This gives you a good rating of your ability. Using the ISI ratio includes the factor of whether you are erratic in your shots relative to speed.
For illustration, last Saturday my ISI was .44 so my speed number was .56. I hit 98% and 98% of my shots qualified so my ISI gunfighter rating for the event was 2.52 (.56+.98+.98). A goal to strive for would be a ISI gunfighter rating of 2.70, which would be an average time of .3 hitting 100% with 100% qualifying shots.
I will probably continue to participate in these event so long as my ISI gunfighter rating stays the same or improves.
