tribalscream

I do believe I am my own worst enemy. The problem: stress & competitiveness getting in the way of my shooting form. My entire life, I have thrived on these two things. When it comes to shooting spots, these things become my biggest problem. I try to control my bow too much, drop my bow arm too soon, blow my mental game completely. Does anyone have any tips, tricks, techniques etc. for holding your mental game in check and letting the bow do all the work? Having the best equipment in the world can't solve this one. How do you relax so you can do your best shooting?

Black Frog

TS-

Once you have form and ability down fairly well- the biggest obstacle to competitive archery is mostly the mental game.

A great book for this sort of thing is "With Winning In Mind" by Lanny Bassham. He was an Olympic and World champion shooter (rifle). You can find used copies around (even used ones on Amazon.com) for under $10. It's a short read book, but meant to be that way to get to the main points with no fluff.

I gets you into a mental routine and way of thinking about your game that is consistent and repetitive so that when you get into competition you don't feel so overwhelmed.

Great book- simple in nature but very helpful.



Edited by - Black Frog on 01/18/2002 10:06:44

SuperX

Ami, I am no expert as you know, but I think I have stumbled on a routine that works for me... your mileage may vary and I know this isn't a purely "mental" tip, but it puts me in the right mind.

I think PBR. Posture (balanced comfortable stance) Breathing (one when I nock the arrow, one when I focus on my target, one when I draw) and Relax (start relaxed to end relaxed... bow arm is totally relaxed when standing, lifts straight up to position relaxed, and stays relaxed but locked throughout the draw/aim/release)

Then I turn it around RBP. Relax my grip and release hands/arms as I aim/aim/aim, Backtension to hold the draw and steady the sight window and pull through release, and Pause... don't drop the arm for 2 to 4 seconds after the shot.

PBR/RBP is easy for me to remember cause I used to like Pabst Blue Ribbon beer <img src=icon_smile_wink.gif border=0 align=middle>

The real breakthrough for me (I'm like you, want to control things and am too tense/stiff) was to start out with a relaxed bow arm, it seemed to take the tension out of my whole body.

A couple of other things I do are - never look back at my last shot after I drop my bow - it's out of my mind - and I acquire the target I am shooting at before the draw and never take my eyes off it until after I drop my arm after the shot.

The day I figured this out I shot over 100 arrows at a 5-spot and had 2 zeros out of all those shots - most of the rest were in the 5 ring. That was outstanding shooting for me

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SuperX

Biteme/Paul Mohr

Shoot with your eyes closed! This should be practiced on a regular basis. Stand about 10 yards from a target, draw your bow, aim, and close your eyes. Pay attention to where your anchors are, how you hold your bow and your release. Go thru a mental check list of what you should do before the shot. Slowly squeeze the trigger until the bow fires. Don't pay any attention to where the arrow hits, that is not the goal. Keep doing this until you are comfortable and completely relaxed. Rember the key to good archery is consistancy. You will notice things you have never noticed before when you shoot this way.

Then when you are done with that, practice for a while shooting with your eyes open, but not aiming at any certian point. Just point the bow at the target, concentrate on your form and let it rip. It sounds goofy, but beleive me it works. It is sort of like meditation with your bow. If you do it enough you can even group arrows within a couple of inches of each other at 20 yards or so, with your eyes closed.

Also, pay attention to your breathing. Most people unconciously stop breathing when they are aiming. If you take to long to aim your pulse speeds up and your body becomes depleated of oxygen and you get the shakes. It does not take very long for that to happen. Especially when exerting the energy it requires to hold a bow up at full draw. I like to breathe thru the shot. I inhale and then shoot while I am exhaling. Some like to hold their breath momentarily while they squeeze the the trigger, but that messes me up. It sounds a lot easier than it really is. It is hard to not hold your breath when you are concentrating.

It sounds like your whole problem is nerves and anticipating the shot. You need to learn a way of remaining relaxed and not worrying about what others will think if you miss or don't succeed. I know people that got so bad they quit competing, and instantaniously became better shots. Sometimes you get so worked up it takes the fun out of it.

Good luck I hope I helped.

Paul

SuperX

Ami, there is a great thread on the mental game on another board. The author is George Ryals a noted shooter. Email me and I will send it to you. (don't want to violate TOS here by posting the URL)

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SuperX

Biteme/Paul Mohr

Oh, Ami, don't shoot with your eyes closed when you compete! It is just an excercise to become more fimiliar with your bow and state of mind during the shot. Practice every few days or so and it should work. Also when you practice, pay more attention to your form than where the arrow hits. Once you get a handle on your form the arrows will go where they are supposed to. Your bow should also be set up so when you draw it with your eyes closed and then open them everything should be right there. You shouldn't have to move around to get things lined up. It should be a very instinctual and natrual thing.

Paul

tribalscream

Thanks for the tips and info. I am going to start shooting more at home by myself. I had planned on shooting a round of 300 before work in the morning, but I think I will practice the techniques you both spoke about for awhile instead. Last year league for me was all about form. This year it's time for the mental game to take shape. First week of league score: 525/600. My all time best: 547/600. My goal: 570/600.

SuperX

Funny story on me about shooting with your eyes closed. I was doing this a couple weeks ago trying to learn backtension release. I was really feeling it and was banging them into the blank backstop. I shot one arrow and heard a terrible clatter - everyone was looking at me when I opened my eyes. I asked around to where my arrow went and no one knew. I found that it had slipped between the wall and the backstop and was stuck - I couldn't reach it. A couple days later, the shop owner came up to me and handed me my arrow without feathers and with a lot of white paint on it. Where was it??? Sticking 8&quot; out the back of his shop right where he parks his new pickup. <img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_blush.gif border=0 align=middle>

It seems I now have a &quot;reputation&quot; <img src=icon_smile_clown.gif border=0 align=middle>

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SuperX

Ossage

There is a great Jay Barrs video via the good people at Robin Hood. I forget what it is called, but it should be obvious since it is all the mental game. One of the things I learned from that is that there are multiple mental games. There is gaining control of your emotions in the present, deep breathing, staying in the shot, etc... There is visualisation, Barrs went in incredible detail through every facet of shooting a gold medal round at the Olympics. There is happy talk, he used cue cards to repeat afirmations over and over, and possible other stuff. Its facinationg, useful, and can be put into use in the rest of your life, but on the other hand, it is also a litle obsessive. Makes you wonder whether time spent doing this stuff is well spent compared to raising children or something. Of all the archers I have seen on tape etc... Barrs is the best. I think he has taken form the furthest, and Psyc also. He is still competitive. There are doubtless others who are as good, but Barrs got known as a result of being in the right place at the right time. I shoot 3D when I shoot at all, but I still feel the olympic guys are more evolved, for now.

jvanduse

When I shoot competitively...I try to not even think about anything to do with archery untill I draw. Then I concentrate very hard on what I'm doing. Once the arrow is gone. Done. Don't think about it anymore. Can't change it! I try to think I'm shooting 60 rounds of 1 arrow. Instead of 1 round with 60 arrows.

POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE! You know your good.
In the words of a traditinal archer:
Don't think. Just shoot.

Good luck!
John