Plain english and back tension do not belong in the same sentence..............LOL

But I will try.........

The reason for a bt release is to take the firing mechanism out of the conscious mind. Our brains cannot do two conscious things at the same time - so if you can eleminate the fireing end and just focus on the aiming (holding) end - the game gets a bit easier.

The other aspect of a bt release is that the shot is a complete surprise. When you do not know when the shot is going to go off - you cannot anticipate it, you cannot flinch, dab,duck, punch and all the other fun things that happen with a trigger

The two major types of bt releases are the swivel and the thumb bar release.

The swivel (true backtension) release has no trigger - the release is fired as it rotates a cam around and into a dump - that fires it. The slow rotation that is used is caused by an increase in tension from your middle back muscles. This rotation is very small and when done correctly and repeatedly can become subconciuos.

The thumb bar release is fired in the same manner - but the release is rotated down into your thumb that is anchoring the bar - this rotation pushes the thumb bar down and the release fires. Its important to note that to fire this release correctly you do not push your thumb into the trigger - you rotate the release into your thumb.

There is a long learning curve to shoot these releases correctly - After 1.5 years of seriously shooting a hinge I can only now say that the release end of my sequence is truely subcinscious.

These releases are a great way to learn how to shoot well. they WILL teach you to hold and will show any form problems.

good luck