ok, so something i think is really important is getting the correct mind set to make good shots.
this will sound obvious and basic but ,in fact, is really not done by most.
you have heard the phrase" shoot every practice shot like its a competition and every competition as a practice" this on the surface is a no duh! Every shot in practice should be executed like its the only shot you will take. and every competitive shot should be executed like its the only shot you will take.
but time and again, practice is looked at as of less importance. this is actually 100% wrong. if the thought is to make every shot the same, then do it! a practice shot is as important as the last arrow in a Vagas shoot down.
as an aside to this is that volume should not be pushed past YOUR best form execution . as soon as it breaks down stop.
another simple thing to do mental approach wise is , aim at the X.... some of the JOAD kids and even on a 3D course i see people shooting at the 10. this expands you minds ability to wiggle in a bigger area. from personal experience shooting IBO, when I started really focusing on hitting an 11 my scores went up and my hold got more steady. people often shoot at the yellow on a 3 spot, and for newer kids shooting for ROB i see why. but red or better WILL happen and happen more consistently if you are trying to hold in the very middle.
when practice sessions are planned , try and limit dedicated work for one aspect per session. so for example you are working on your floaty anchor, DO try and follow your shot sequence steps, but let everything be done as sub consciously as you can with only lazer focus on the feeling of the anchor, where it is and how it feels when you settle in and feel the touches.
the fact is if you are "training" you cant put focus on the whole process other than making sure you are following it, and still give the primary aspect of the training total focus. without total focus the mind -muscle memory will not be driven into your form as well.
sometimes the exact purpose can be affected by the exact words. i am going to step outside of archery for a real world example of different verbiage changing an outcome. I stopped smoking the day my wife told me she was pregnant. turns out i started again the night my son was born. when we realized we should still not smoke we tried quitting. failed. tried again failed.tried again and failed. we put a date of my sons second birthday to be 100% done.
in my previous attempts, i always had the mind set that i was trying to quit. this did 2 things, 1 the act of trying was not a firm decision, it allowed room to fail and flounder and 2.magnified the fact that i was a smoker.
on my sons second birthday, also the wedding day of my cousin, i had my last cigerette. i was no longer a smoker, in stead of trying to quit, i was someone who used to smoke. honestly it was that easy. trying to quit=fail to quit, i dont smoke= i dont smoke. a very slight change in approach made all the difference. it has been 22 smoke free years now.
thats it.
sorry for the lack of cohesion on these posts. i really just get started on a thought and let it go where it will.
Tuesday, November 28, 2017
Thursday, October 12, 2017
INDOOR SEASON !!!!!..release theory and of course some Trad...
So, our JOAD club has finished up the outdoor season and have started training for the long New England Indoor season that will reach its finale at the USAA Indoor Nationals. My young squad of compound shooters are looking good, and we are working hard identifying and correcting some form issues.
I have 2 at the moment working on release issues. Both are making progress. for a lot of thumb trigger shooters overcoming the issue that had them switch from a caliper i the first lace is the challenge. This issue is usually punching. A thumb button or triggerless handheld release are NOT magic. They can both be "helped" and quite frankly, explaining the feel is more difficult than you would think.
Generally the concept of expansion/ pulling/rotation of the scapula is told. Some people really get it , some need it to be demonstrated . It really is a feel thing. time after time I see people start pulling with their hand and forearm really tight and doing most of the work. The shot should be easy and breezy. No tension in the hand, and the hand relaxing through the shot. Some people do well just " pulling the bow apart" until so much tension is built it is quite aggressive and violent in the follow through. if this is working please continue! For most this is only possible with absolute alignment. too short and it will throw arrows left.
I believe the best way is to relax the hand AS you are slowly adding tension through the Rhomboid , in turn bringing the shoulder blades together.The hand is only used to hold the release with the fingers, totally engage the trigger post by wrapping your thumb around it. If your release does not allow this position of the thumb....buy a new one plain and simple.
Through the flattening and relaxation of the hand while maintaining pressure on the thumb the release will remain where it is and the thumb will be drawn into it as a result of elbow rotation. this method is repeatable and will not tire you out in your forearms. NTS is fine and a safe and repeatable system, but the best demonstration I ever had and the person who made it "click" was Coach Alexander Kirillov of PSE's shooting school. I now use his method to convey the FEEL of the hand and forearm .
If you have a decent target bow you should have a fairly solid back wall, if not .....buy a new bow. Backtenion with a release aide should be done with little movement from anchor. In order for the trigger to have pressure increased the release cannot move backwards.
This is the cause of the other students release woes. They are a wrist caliper shooter and are generally pretty consistent. Sometimes things get squirrelly, I noticed that the throat of the release was squeezed during the draw to anchor, after anchor and prior to transfer to hold this needs to be relaxed and the strap made to hold the load, and the trigger fully engaged. Then as expansion happens the hand is relaxed and drawn backwards the same as the handheld. There is 0 difference in a proper backtension shot with either release style. Anyways she relaxed this and got tighter groups.
On to Trad!! I am really trying to focus on traditional, and more specifically instinctive. Instinctive is Archery at its essence. a simple stick and string. I have been studying loads of books and video on the subject and there are some "universal truths" and they are universally universal, a consistent and repeatable shot squence(process) is the key. it doesnt matter if you are shooting a blinged out Olympic rig, a fast IBO 3D bow or a longbow. Now, for instinctive it is both harder and easier, I am following Rick Welch's method cause you really should pick one and see if it works and his suits my sensibilities. I can boil him down to a handful of concepts.
1. consistent shot cycle and set up.
2. double anchor
3. laser focus on the smallest spot you can
4. after anchor a 2 sec pause to let the bow arm settle( without looking at the bow or arrow)
5. release and follow through.
Seems easy right? It is when it is....when it isnt it isnt. This is the hard part, instinctive is really NOT instinctive, it is really subconscious programming,.
How do we program? By shooting a TON. Here is where I think people fall down, we as archers are used to going to a set line say a 20 yard bale and shooting groups. for an instinctive shooter , this is of little use. It is important to shoot groups when setting up your bow , because you cant tune until you can shoot groups.
After the bow is tuned to shoot where you are looking, groups should NOT be shot . instead shoot an arrow at a random spot, go retrieve it and walk either past or ahead of where the last shot was. Side angle even. Better yet go stumping. This is my favorite way to train. it gets me in the woods, I have many shots that all look different and with every shot I am practicing my sequence and running the whet stone over my skills edge.
Now, does this mean I never train on a static line? No, sometimes I do if I am working on a specific aspect like my follow through. Even when I do this I will try and not stand at the same spot, or I will put a paper cup on the bale and try and get all my arrows in it.
I recently watched a YouTube video by a German guy named Greyarcher, he discussed "calibration" before heading out to the range, he puts a tiny dot on the bale and takes some shots trying to hit it subconsciously. Once you are hitting the spot all the other distances should be sighted in.
I am going to shoot in the barebow division at Pioneers fall Fling event this weekend, with my 45# PSE Ghost and instinctively...no gap or sting walking for me!
This is really the most fun I have had shooting. Trad is the poop!
lastly, one of our JOAD Archers and a former club member shot some big matches. one was Kelly Davis, she shot in the Texas Shootout and tied for first! lost on 10 count...but she is a great shooter and deserves everything she gets, a hard worker and devoted to her shot.
Next is Ethan Merrill, he was part of the USAT youth team competing at the youth worlds in Argentina, he made it to the gold medal match and it came down to a shoot off, after a nice 10, the other archer hit a hair closer. Even though I can take 0 credit for his career I am very proud of him and will always be in his corner.
cheers
I have 2 at the moment working on release issues. Both are making progress. for a lot of thumb trigger shooters overcoming the issue that had them switch from a caliper i the first lace is the challenge. This issue is usually punching. A thumb button or triggerless handheld release are NOT magic. They can both be "helped" and quite frankly, explaining the feel is more difficult than you would think.
Generally the concept of expansion/ pulling/rotation of the scapula is told. Some people really get it , some need it to be demonstrated . It really is a feel thing. time after time I see people start pulling with their hand and forearm really tight and doing most of the work. The shot should be easy and breezy. No tension in the hand, and the hand relaxing through the shot. Some people do well just " pulling the bow apart" until so much tension is built it is quite aggressive and violent in the follow through. if this is working please continue! For most this is only possible with absolute alignment. too short and it will throw arrows left.
I believe the best way is to relax the hand AS you are slowly adding tension through the Rhomboid , in turn bringing the shoulder blades together.The hand is only used to hold the release with the fingers, totally engage the trigger post by wrapping your thumb around it. If your release does not allow this position of the thumb....buy a new one plain and simple.
Through the flattening and relaxation of the hand while maintaining pressure on the thumb the release will remain where it is and the thumb will be drawn into it as a result of elbow rotation. this method is repeatable and will not tire you out in your forearms. NTS is fine and a safe and repeatable system, but the best demonstration I ever had and the person who made it "click" was Coach Alexander Kirillov of PSE's shooting school. I now use his method to convey the FEEL of the hand and forearm .
If you have a decent target bow you should have a fairly solid back wall, if not .....buy a new bow. Backtenion with a release aide should be done with little movement from anchor. In order for the trigger to have pressure increased the release cannot move backwards.
This is the cause of the other students release woes. They are a wrist caliper shooter and are generally pretty consistent. Sometimes things get squirrelly, I noticed that the throat of the release was squeezed during the draw to anchor, after anchor and prior to transfer to hold this needs to be relaxed and the strap made to hold the load, and the trigger fully engaged. Then as expansion happens the hand is relaxed and drawn backwards the same as the handheld. There is 0 difference in a proper backtension shot with either release style. Anyways she relaxed this and got tighter groups.
On to Trad!! I am really trying to focus on traditional, and more specifically instinctive. Instinctive is Archery at its essence. a simple stick and string. I have been studying loads of books and video on the subject and there are some "universal truths" and they are universally universal, a consistent and repeatable shot squence(process) is the key. it doesnt matter if you are shooting a blinged out Olympic rig, a fast IBO 3D bow or a longbow. Now, for instinctive it is both harder and easier, I am following Rick Welch's method cause you really should pick one and see if it works and his suits my sensibilities. I can boil him down to a handful of concepts.
1. consistent shot cycle and set up.
2. double anchor
3. laser focus on the smallest spot you can
4. after anchor a 2 sec pause to let the bow arm settle( without looking at the bow or arrow)
5. release and follow through.
Seems easy right? It is when it is....when it isnt it isnt. This is the hard part, instinctive is really NOT instinctive, it is really subconscious programming,.
How do we program? By shooting a TON. Here is where I think people fall down, we as archers are used to going to a set line say a 20 yard bale and shooting groups. for an instinctive shooter , this is of little use. It is important to shoot groups when setting up your bow , because you cant tune until you can shoot groups.
After the bow is tuned to shoot where you are looking, groups should NOT be shot . instead shoot an arrow at a random spot, go retrieve it and walk either past or ahead of where the last shot was. Side angle even. Better yet go stumping. This is my favorite way to train. it gets me in the woods, I have many shots that all look different and with every shot I am practicing my sequence and running the whet stone over my skills edge.
Now, does this mean I never train on a static line? No, sometimes I do if I am working on a specific aspect like my follow through. Even when I do this I will try and not stand at the same spot, or I will put a paper cup on the bale and try and get all my arrows in it.
I recently watched a YouTube video by a German guy named Greyarcher, he discussed "calibration" before heading out to the range, he puts a tiny dot on the bale and takes some shots trying to hit it subconsciously. Once you are hitting the spot all the other distances should be sighted in.
I am going to shoot in the barebow division at Pioneers fall Fling event this weekend, with my 45# PSE Ghost and instinctively...no gap or sting walking for me!
This is really the most fun I have had shooting. Trad is the poop!
lastly, one of our JOAD Archers and a former club member shot some big matches. one was Kelly Davis, she shot in the Texas Shootout and tied for first! lost on 10 count...but she is a great shooter and deserves everything she gets, a hard worker and devoted to her shot.
Next is Ethan Merrill, he was part of the USAT youth team competing at the youth worlds in Argentina, he made it to the gold medal match and it came down to a shoot off, after a nice 10, the other archer hit a hair closer. Even though I can take 0 credit for his career I am very proud of him and will always be in his corner.
cheers
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Traditional Archery
So......I am having a real urge to try my recurve's for still hunting, maybe some tracking when we get some snow.
A few things have changes since last year when I declared I would not hunt anymore. One is I had a nagging cough , possibly from some mold issues in the house. That seems to be gone for a few months now. Second is the apples in the orchard adjacent to my hunting patch is looking decent this year.
I had put up a double stand near a trail when I first started hunting this area, mostly for my wife to feel secure. It was on a leaning tree and over a few years it has gotten to the point of having a down angled bench, no beuno! So last year I knocked it over but couldn't find the key to the lock. I recently cut the lock and moved it to a better spot about 80 yards from where it was , it now is on a well worn path from a swamp to the apples.
This will still be a stand for Kim. In the years since setting up the double I hung a fixed about 50 yards from it on a junction of 3 trails that pass thru a stone wall. until last year I had only been in that stand a hand full of times that I haven't seen deer, at least within gun range. Last year I only went 4 times before the cough got uncontrollable. Never saw a deer that season, apples were non existent so feeding trails were different.
I did recently get a new hunting compound a PSE Decree, it is wicked fast and holds surprisingly well. I got it used for a steal, it took all of 3 shots at 20-30-40-50 to get my Easton Da-Torch's hammering! I plan on using this rig when in the stand, I have potentially 30 yard shots and my instinctive recurve skills are only trust-able to 25 y at the moment.Shooting Swhackers out of the Decree,they are the best flying broadheads I have ever used.
I have a hard time sitting in the stand and have always enjoyed still hunting the swamps with rifles, this season I will do it with a PSE Nighthawk 40# with a 3 arrow Quickee quiver and Easton Traditional Axis and 100g Muzzy's
I can consistently hit an 8" circle at 20 and would push to 25 if conditions are right. Really, I dont expect to see anything more than 20 anyways due to the thickness of this swamp. I used to live at a farm in Mont Vernon NH and was jumping deer when getting to my stand fairly regularly, twice having deer giving me the eyeball at 15 yards. Had I been using a recurve with a nocked arrow a shot would have presented itself. this experience is what got me thinking about recurves.
I do intend to mess around with a fixed crawl to try and get point on at 23 yards or so. If this occurs I should be good for point on from 15 to 25. then perhaps sit a stand with the 'curve. We will see.
You may be thinking ...PSE Nighthawk? I thought you were shooting a Ghost! I am and I love the feel of that bow, but it is not drilled for a bow quiver, and a trad version or cat quiver cost as much as the Nighthawk, which also shoots awesome, has a good feeling grip and accepts a Quickee!
Since I am still building my student bow stable, any bows I get are multi purpose , should I get a nice quiver for the Ghost, the Nighthawk will still get shot by someone at some point.
Anyways.....have a great day.
I am please to say I will be at OBX trying to slay some Spanish mackerel next week...wish me luck!
A few things have changes since last year when I declared I would not hunt anymore. One is I had a nagging cough , possibly from some mold issues in the house. That seems to be gone for a few months now. Second is the apples in the orchard adjacent to my hunting patch is looking decent this year.
I had put up a double stand near a trail when I first started hunting this area, mostly for my wife to feel secure. It was on a leaning tree and over a few years it has gotten to the point of having a down angled bench, no beuno! So last year I knocked it over but couldn't find the key to the lock. I recently cut the lock and moved it to a better spot about 80 yards from where it was , it now is on a well worn path from a swamp to the apples.
This will still be a stand for Kim. In the years since setting up the double I hung a fixed about 50 yards from it on a junction of 3 trails that pass thru a stone wall. until last year I had only been in that stand a hand full of times that I haven't seen deer, at least within gun range. Last year I only went 4 times before the cough got uncontrollable. Never saw a deer that season, apples were non existent so feeding trails were different.
I did recently get a new hunting compound a PSE Decree, it is wicked fast and holds surprisingly well. I got it used for a steal, it took all of 3 shots at 20-30-40-50 to get my Easton Da-Torch's hammering! I plan on using this rig when in the stand, I have potentially 30 yard shots and my instinctive recurve skills are only trust-able to 25 y at the moment.Shooting Swhackers out of the Decree,they are the best flying broadheads I have ever used.
I have a hard time sitting in the stand and have always enjoyed still hunting the swamps with rifles, this season I will do it with a PSE Nighthawk 40# with a 3 arrow Quickee quiver and Easton Traditional Axis and 100g Muzzy's
I can consistently hit an 8" circle at 20 and would push to 25 if conditions are right. Really, I dont expect to see anything more than 20 anyways due to the thickness of this swamp. I used to live at a farm in Mont Vernon NH and was jumping deer when getting to my stand fairly regularly, twice having deer giving me the eyeball at 15 yards. Had I been using a recurve with a nocked arrow a shot would have presented itself. this experience is what got me thinking about recurves.
I do intend to mess around with a fixed crawl to try and get point on at 23 yards or so. If this occurs I should be good for point on from 15 to 25. then perhaps sit a stand with the 'curve. We will see.
You may be thinking ...PSE Nighthawk? I thought you were shooting a Ghost! I am and I love the feel of that bow, but it is not drilled for a bow quiver, and a trad version or cat quiver cost as much as the Nighthawk, which also shoots awesome, has a good feeling grip and accepts a Quickee!
Since I am still building my student bow stable, any bows I get are multi purpose , should I get a nice quiver for the Ghost, the Nighthawk will still get shot by someone at some point.
Anyways.....have a great day.
I am please to say I will be at OBX trying to slay some Spanish mackerel next week...wish me luck!
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Field Archery....best of both worlds!
I have been loosing arrows for over 25 years , in that time I have shot many styles and formats. My favorite is a Field Round, NFAA to be exact.
In my 30's I was all about 3D, making SOYT points etc. in my NH league, IBO qualifiers and the like. All 3 D with a little indoor. I discovered Field at my current club many years ago. It was a situation of one of the indoor regulars said, "well you like 3D you should try it" I did and WOW!
I think field has all the good bits of all the other formats.
It is generally Known distance and has a uniform distance and face size anywhere in the country. Generally it is shot on a trail through the woods. This doesn't mean it is boring or the same. Up hill /down hill can cause you to cut a few yards off. Distance is measured with a string or tape, so a severe angle cuts horizontal distance. This adds challenge and separates the greats from the goods. Also,some are open some are tunneled, some brightly lit some dark. so every Fields round will have the same distance and target face combos making up the 28 (usually 2x14)stations.
In 3D, sometimes it takes the better part of the day to shoot 30 targets, one arrow each. For those who like to shoot lots of shots, Field is a no brainer. 28 targets 4 arrows each 112 arrows! not quite a full FITA outdoor match but a bunch!
Full outdoor FITA is precision repetition, but not a lot of variety for a Compounder. With Field you have from 20 feet to 80 yards (240 feet) and the 80 could be down a hill up a hill, side hill or flat, as could the bunny (20ft).
One of the things I like best about field is it is social like 3D or Golf, you really get to know the other shooters in the group. There just is not much time for that in FITA.
In theory, if you had 80 yards, you could set up a practice course with every target/distance combo with only 4 buts and some different colored steaks for each station.
Some stations will be straight up shoot 4 arrows from X distance. Some will be fans, a fan is 4 markers at a said distance and you shoot one arrow from each. walk ups are the last type of station. a walk up is 4 arrows with one shoot from the furthest distance with the next 3 shots being progressively closer. the bunny is a walk up IIRC its 35' 30' 25'20' and then the 80 is a walk up too.
I fully believe that Field could have a resurgence in the North East , it was once much more popular. It is still popular in the Mid thru Coastal West. 3D sadly has reduced the amount of available shooters to fill a Sunday match. Entry, at even the state Championships, has been in the low teens the last few years. there are only 2 current NFAA Field clubs in NH Pioneer and North Branch Bowmen. for years i have been saying" its a shame more people dont shoot Field, its the best" then for what ever reason I don't go......looks like part of the problem is me.
TRY FIELD!!!!!! I think you will enjoy the trail aspects if you are usually a Target Archer, and the volume of shooting if you are a 3D person.
best to you all,
Handsome
PS
the NH NFAA State Championship is this week at North Branch Bowmen in Keene/Sullivan.i hope to see you there!
NFAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP
The NH Bowmen Outdoor State Championship is next weekend. You may shoot either on Saturday or Sunday. Each day you will shoot a 14 target field round, and a 14 target hunter round, for a 28 target score. You may shoot just one day and take that day's combined score, or you can shoot both days (no additional charge for the second day), and count your best field round score of the two days, and add that to your best hunter round score of the two days.
To qualify for a State Championship award, you must be a New Hampshire resident, and be a current NFAA member. If you are not both of these, you are welcome to shoot as a guest. Here is the link to get your yardages: https://www.nfaausa.com/wp-content/uploads/Range-and-Target-Guidelines-for-NFAA-Rounds.pdf
WHAT: NFAA Outdoor State Championship, scoring (1) (14) target field round and (1) (14) target hunter round
WHEN: Saturday and/or Sunday, August 12 & 13, start time: 0800-1030 am each day.
WHERE: North Branch Bowmen, located at: 19 Ferry Brook Rd, Keene, NH (right on the town line) GPS Lat./Long. 42 58.874' N 72 14.604' W
COST: $20.00 for shooters 15 and older, and $10.00 for shooters 14 and younger
CONTACT: Dan Deyo at: 603-209-6721, orbarebowdan@yahoo.com, or Mike Wright at: 603-209-8007, orbarebownh@aol.com
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Coming soon to Pioneer Sportsmen....3D!!!!!
the Archery Chair at Pioneer Sportsmen is actively trying to grow the archery aspects of the Club.
we now have a 15 target 3D practice course set up
we will be hosting a IBO NE known distance event next year! of course , club membership involvement is required . we need to spread out the practice course and set stakes. we are bidding on a range from IBO worlds, hopefully we get some nice targets!!! if not we only need to but 15 and replace some cores. if you are a NFAA shooter and have not tried 3D due to not wanting to guess yardage this event will be for you.
we now have a 15 target 3D practice course set up
we will be hosting a IBO NE known distance event next year! of course , club membership involvement is required . we need to spread out the practice course and set stakes. we are bidding on a range from IBO worlds, hopefully we get some nice targets!!! if not we only need to but 15 and replace some cores. if you are a NFAA shooter and have not tried 3D due to not wanting to guess yardage this event will be for you.
the IBO worlds are this weekend, I qualified but will not be there, time and schedule are a bear to manage. i will be shooting the NH Field /Hunter State championships hosed this year by North Branch Bowmen. my goal for the shoot is to relax into my shot and not "help" my release.
have a great day
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Why be tentative? get aggressive!!!!
I have noticed a couple things while coaching the JOAD Tournament Team last couple of weeks.
Several archers are approaching the shot timidly, by this I mean they are either getting to anchor, getting the thumb post engaged or actually drawing their bows (Recurves) very cautiously .
This is problematic for several reasons.
First, it means they are aiming before they are at full draw position. all of them are focused on keeping the pin in the middle through out the cycle. This alone will fertilize any punching or other shot anticipation issues you may have. the facts are , if we want to shoot a good execution then we must be set at anchor and transferred to hold before we aim. if we aim first we waste all that holding time. hold is finite, it gets worse the longer you hold. so why waste precious energy before we are even at full draw?
So for compounds, pull the bow back, get to your anchor fast, get the trigger engaged fast, nose on string fast etc. then transfer to hold, this is a separate and feelable transfer, like a half a beat in the process. but it is vital, as Coach Frank says....HOLD FOR GOLD. any time trying to hold the pin in the middle before you are in hold/aiming is not only not helping...it is hurting.
The next tentative action noticed is once we are at full draw we ease the pin to the middle. this too should be on the quicker side. this IS an understandable trait.it is a throw back to when we start to get better as new archers, and a building block of target panic. when new we shoot command style most likely. then as we try and get better we try and hold middle and punch. the shoot /center is ingrained in our subconscious. what moving slowly into the middle means is you are not ready to shoot the shot yet. this alone illustrates why it is wrong, we should hold center and let the shot happen, we should never MAKE the shot happen. so get to the middle, settle in for expansion to shoot when it will.
To touch on trigger engagement, it should be part of getting to anchor,it should be separate and prior to hold and expansion. for some of the same reasons as getting slowly to full draw position, you are increasing movement the longer you take to get the thumb engaged. also by aiming before you get the thumb on you are begging to punch it. the mind centers the pin then as you move the thumb to peg it says "we are ready" PUNCH. beyond the punch its self, beyond the waste time/energy, if you are moving your thumb and applying quick violent trigger you are moving your anchor. Imagine wiggling your release all over your jawbone as you are expanding....unlikely to have any consistency.
For the recurve side of things, and this is for target style archery not instinctive, slowly drawing your bow increases the intensity of the draw cycle, reduces the muscle memory aspects, makes it much less subconsciously repeatable, and reduces the likelihood of a good transfer to hold. drawing your bow is actually one of the less critical steps, if set /set up hook and grip are OK you should be able to just draw to anchor, if you pull to anchor slowly you are actually less likely to come to the same spot. Also, you are going to get tired a lot faster. Draw should be the easiest step to do subconsciously.
These thoughts are all on the pre release portion of the shot, you should be aggressive in the shot as well.....that is for another time.
Friday, July 28, 2017
A strategy for overcoming Target Panic
Target Panic....that cancerous affliction, we will likely all have to deal with it at some point.Target Panic, will for this blog, be shortened to TP. TP for target panic and that your shot goes down the toilet.
My biggest bout came after some back and forth on a 3D forum that made me hyper self aware if anyone was watching me. I had been shooting well and felt like I had to make a perfect shot when I was on a GSB 3D course. This of course is the crux of TP, I became outcome based instead of process based. I started punching the wrist caliper very badly, with gyrations and spasms both before and during my punch.one of these flinches was so bad I missed a relatively easy shot by about 3 feet high and 11 feet left. the TP was just when people were around, then as I was trying to fix it, it insidiously infected every shot, no matter if I was alone or not.
I came very close to not shooting at all but decided to do some looking into how to fix this mental collapse. First I bought a 2 finger Stanislawski release, but at the time no one was shooting hinges in my circle . After a couple near face punches I bought a 2 finger Zenith Back Tension kit. the video was great and so was the release. Now I had 2 BT releases set at slightly different travels. This actually fixed the shot because I was hyper focused on getting it to fire. that 2 finger Stan won me my first and only MBO shoot off for first, not even a full year after almost quitting.
I got lucky, this does not fix TP for most and many who switch just cheat the hinge and actuate it on command like a trigger.
I was thinking about this sickness a couple days ago. over the years I have read and watched many items on the curing of TP, through all of them 2 recurring themes come up.
1. you have to learn to aim without shooting......
2. you have to learn to shoot without aiming......
I am actually working through a students TP this JOAD cycle, and my wife has it bad. Both need to commit to fixing it if this is going to work.It is frustrating to hear a student hadn't picked up their bow since last JOAD.
Anyways. how I will be working through Kim's ( my bestie and best half) issue is,
Step 1......
I am going to place a one inch circle on my rolling target stand and put her 3 feet away. I am going to have her go through the shot process steps until she gets to anchor. Then I will have her apply light pressure to the thumb trigger, hold until the hold gets unstable then let down. Right now as soon as she gets the pin in the yellow she jerks and flinches. so we need to retrain her subconscious to aim with out expectation of the shot being shot. I expect we will do this for 2 weeks or so, never shooting an arrow.
Setp 2..... I then will have her follow the steps until she gets her thumb contact, then shut here eyes and shoot with her eyes closed for another 2 weeks or so to retrain her subconscious to fire independently from what she is seeing,with extra focus on the feel of the expansion.by this time she should not be hammering the trigger but be conditioned to engage the peg and wait. so if she closes her eyes now she can just squeeze her rhomboids in and the shot should go.
Step 3. After this I will have her shoot 15 arrows with deliberate focus on each step of her shot process. AT A TARGET .In the 15 shots I will likely count her down, tell her to shoot or let down.If we back slide we will go back to aiming only, then back through blind bale.
This is not entirely my cure, it was distilled from many other approaches. Levi Morgan is a big believer in aiming without shooting as a cure. Others think blank bale is the biggest benefit to a cure. Reo Wilde suggests blank bale first, but as I said, I have reasons against this sequence.
I think both are equally important. I do ,however, feel that aiming without shooting should be done first. Most of the issue is in regards to aiming initiating a shot. So blank bale does not fix this. I have seen it time and again, people make a thousand good blank bale executions then as soon as that pin touches yellow BAM! the feel of the shot absent of a target should be done after learning not to jump on the trigger.It is very important to get this feel overall, but not as important in the cure.
Once you can get on target and let it sit ,you have programmed your mind to wait for the shot to go off, not make the shot go off.
I hope those ideas can help those afflicted .
My biggest bout came after some back and forth on a 3D forum that made me hyper self aware if anyone was watching me. I had been shooting well and felt like I had to make a perfect shot when I was on a GSB 3D course. This of course is the crux of TP, I became outcome based instead of process based. I started punching the wrist caliper very badly, with gyrations and spasms both before and during my punch.one of these flinches was so bad I missed a relatively easy shot by about 3 feet high and 11 feet left. the TP was just when people were around, then as I was trying to fix it, it insidiously infected every shot, no matter if I was alone or not.
I came very close to not shooting at all but decided to do some looking into how to fix this mental collapse. First I bought a 2 finger Stanislawski release, but at the time no one was shooting hinges in my circle . After a couple near face punches I bought a 2 finger Zenith Back Tension kit. the video was great and so was the release. Now I had 2 BT releases set at slightly different travels. This actually fixed the shot because I was hyper focused on getting it to fire. that 2 finger Stan won me my first and only MBO shoot off for first, not even a full year after almost quitting.
I got lucky, this does not fix TP for most and many who switch just cheat the hinge and actuate it on command like a trigger.
I was thinking about this sickness a couple days ago. over the years I have read and watched many items on the curing of TP, through all of them 2 recurring themes come up.
1. you have to learn to aim without shooting......
2. you have to learn to shoot without aiming......
I am actually working through a students TP this JOAD cycle, and my wife has it bad. Both need to commit to fixing it if this is going to work.It is frustrating to hear a student hadn't picked up their bow since last JOAD.
Anyways. how I will be working through Kim's ( my bestie and best half) issue is,
Step 1......
I am going to place a one inch circle on my rolling target stand and put her 3 feet away. I am going to have her go through the shot process steps until she gets to anchor. Then I will have her apply light pressure to the thumb trigger, hold until the hold gets unstable then let down. Right now as soon as she gets the pin in the yellow she jerks and flinches. so we need to retrain her subconscious to aim with out expectation of the shot being shot. I expect we will do this for 2 weeks or so, never shooting an arrow.
Setp 2..... I then will have her follow the steps until she gets her thumb contact, then shut here eyes and shoot with her eyes closed for another 2 weeks or so to retrain her subconscious to fire independently from what she is seeing,with extra focus on the feel of the expansion.by this time she should not be hammering the trigger but be conditioned to engage the peg and wait. so if she closes her eyes now she can just squeeze her rhomboids in and the shot should go.
Step 3. After this I will have her shoot 15 arrows with deliberate focus on each step of her shot process. AT A TARGET .In the 15 shots I will likely count her down, tell her to shoot or let down.If we back slide we will go back to aiming only, then back through blind bale.
This is not entirely my cure, it was distilled from many other approaches. Levi Morgan is a big believer in aiming without shooting as a cure. Others think blank bale is the biggest benefit to a cure. Reo Wilde suggests blank bale first, but as I said, I have reasons against this sequence.
I think both are equally important. I do ,however, feel that aiming without shooting should be done first. Most of the issue is in regards to aiming initiating a shot. So blank bale does not fix this. I have seen it time and again, people make a thousand good blank bale executions then as soon as that pin touches yellow BAM! the feel of the shot absent of a target should be done after learning not to jump on the trigger.It is very important to get this feel overall, but not as important in the cure.
Once you can get on target and let it sit ,you have programmed your mind to wait for the shot to go off, not make the shot go off.
I hope those ideas can help those afflicted .
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