I hear a lot about back tension. What is it? What does it do for you? Thanks

Back tension is the use of your back muscles to squeeze off the release.

When one becomes practiced at it - it is a routine that allows you to concentrate only on the target - and the release of the arrow is a complete surprise.

All top Pro Archers use back tension - as it is the most accurate way to shoot.

Rack-attack:
is there a way to practice this or something to explain it?

You really need a back tension release to effectively practice it. They are available at any archery pro shop that caters to the target crowd. The release should come with instructions though there are also several good books that have chapters devoted to it.

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I use back tension with my TRU Ball Chappy Boss, and it has a thumb trigger.

Oh, I am sure you do Navy. Most folks I have seen though prefer to go with a release designed for that function rather than try to set or modify an existing style not currently designed for it.

Heck, I do the same thing as you at times when I want to work on my form and my release is not designed for it either.

Zak, this may help you a little: try to mimic yourself holding your bow at full draw ......without the bow, just using your arms. Now try and imagine a pencil or something laying vertically right between you shoulder blades. Now for your shot/release, your gonna try and pinch that imaginary pencil between your shoulder blades by squeezing them together using you back muscles, almost trying to make them touch. Your basically pulling the release off the string, using your back, not your arms. What does it do for you? It teaches you not to "punch" the trigger on your release along with proper follow through and learning to hold that sight on the target until the release goes off itself, not when you punch it. When you learn to shoot a back tension properly and the release goes off naturally, you will "explode" out of your shot, right into a good follow through. Accuracy will come later on with practice.... your form, technique, grip and follow through are what comes first.