Bullseye
Allen you've just supported my earlier point of form will follow function. Your form (stance) works for you but it may not work for everyone. Genetics is involved, we all resemble our parents, so the same form that works for you likely works for your children too.
If I want to disagree with you on anything, it would be this point. As a child, I was extremely "small-boned," meaning thin as a rail. I didn't hit 100 pounds in weight until after I hit puberty. Even today, I'm still "small-boned," but my frame is heavier now, better arms due to weight training and a bit of a spare tire around the middle (thank you, Heineken!).
Both of my sons were rather short, squat and overweight during their childhoods, while I was very tall for my age and skinny as a bean-pole. Today, I'm 5'-10" and weigh about 160. My oldest son, Nick, is 6' tall and tips the scales at just under 200 lbs., and is built like Arnold Schwartzenegger. My youngest son, Bradley (the vet), is 5'-9" but weighs about 185 and has a chest like a barrel and arms that would put Popeye to shame. At no time did either of my sons resemble me in any way, shape, form or fashion.
I resemble my father only superficially in the face, but otherwise, people say I'm his clone. He used to shoot his handguns one-handed, a la the old NRA style, was never much good at it and after he saw me pop an old-fashioned oil can 9 times from a range of 25 yards out to almost 70, he spat his tobacco juice out of his mouth and said, "Damn, boy, I didn't know you could do that!" One of the proudest moments of my entire life, believe me. I never saw him shoot a handgun after that, and this was 1984 or 1985. (I was shooting a home-made 1911 I'd built.)
The Merit Optical Disk is a mechanical aid for those who cannot adapt their position to overcome a physical shortcoming. This is a temporary fix for a problem, where LASIK is a permanent solution. The problem with a medical fix is over time our bodies change, so what was once good may not be later with age. I know many folks who chose to have their eyes done and swore by the results. Unfortunately there were consequences, and now their night vision is totally gone, or they see starbursts and rainbows surrounding bright lights. If I can correct mechanically, then I'm not going for the medical option, the procedures are too new and the long term side effects are not yet known.
I agree totally about the possible consequences, which is why my optometrist strongly suggested I wait a few years before I consider it for myself. Hell, I'm 48 now, and I only complain about shooting rifles with open sights. I have a Mauser K98 and an SAR-1 AK that don't have scopes, and I love them, but can't shoot them worth a darn past 50 yards. This explains why I love my WASR-10 AK with the scope and all my other scoped rifles.
Other than the long-term side-effects of Lasik you listed, the most common is the far-sightedness that often results after the surgery, even though it often doesn't occur for many years. I already need reading glasses, which is why I have bi-focals. My night vision is already shot, too, so I avoid night driving whenever possible, especially in unfamiliar areas.
This whole Lasik thing is a result of Soviet eye surgeons back in the 1960s, '70s and '80s. At least SOMETHING good came from those Commie rat-bastards!!!
One has to develop a postion and stick with it. Then refine it slowly and carefully. Don't keep searching for the magic cure because all you'll do is constantly change things and uncontrolled change is not conducive to good shooting performance.
Most people will develop what they think works, even if it doesn't, and then stick with it, no matter what. I think the reason my kids (including my daughter) and my wife worked so well was the fact that I was working with a "clean slate." There were no bad habits to overcome.
Connie was especially easy to teach. I've seen her use the "locked elbow" thing at very long range with her .22 revolver, but at closer ranges and with rapid firing, she bends the elbows, does the isometric thing, and shoots like a machine rest.
We hold bowling pin matches at a club I belong to, and last year, she won the Women's Championship for the season, and came in 3rd in the co-ed .22 matches (I came in 5th). We will shoot until October this year, and Connie is so far in front of the other women that she's nearly got this year's Championship locked up unless she just quits shooting. She's my prize student!!!!!!! Her reloading technique isn't pretty, but she usually doesn't have to hurry!
What I see more often than anything are people with techniques that simply don't work for them, they embed them into their minds and then refuse to change. Bad habits are hard to erase and perhaps the worst of them are flinching.
I see I've ranted too much, so I'll close. I do try to keep an open mind and I enjoy your exchanges with me. You seem to be a man with some experience, so I will look forward to any replies.
Regards,
Allen