Effect of verbal encouragement, ironic effect and biological feedback on the performance of air-pistol shooters

This study investigated the effects of verbal encouragement, ironic effect and biofeedback methods on the shooting performance and heart rate variability values of athletes. The study was conducted on 36 air pistol shooters (22 male, 14 female) within the Turkish Shooting and Hunting Federation. The research process was designed by instructing 15 shots at each stage, with no external stimulus in the first stage (to be used as a reference value), verbal encouragement in the second stage, creation of an ironic error zone in the third stage, and biological feedback in the last stage. Heart rate variability data recorded at each stage using the Polar H10 device were analysed using Kubios HRV software. Shooting scores were recorded on an internationally recognised electronic shooting range. According to the results of the study, verbal encouragement contributed to the improvement of the male athletes' shooting performance (p<0.001). When an ironic error zone was created, it was observed that both male and female athletes made more shots into the error zone (p<0.001). During the biofeedback process, it was observed that the athletes' shooting performance increased and the SDNN and RMSSD values improved significantly (p<0.001). Considering the individual differences of the athletes, it is believed that the verbal encouragement method can be an effective method that can be applied within the scope of improving shooting performance, giving the athlete the instructions necessary for a perfect shot instead of the instructions that should be avoided and unwanted instructions during the shooting process by the coach can significantly improve performance, and providing the athletes with instant biofeedback based on heart rate variability can have a significant positive effect on the athletes' shooting performance, SDNN and RMSSD values.