[Deleted by Admins]

Hard habit to break, but if you are determined, you can do it. Here is my advice, but someone else may have a better idea.

Use a soft target like a bag target or a big chunk of soft foam (to avoid damaging your arrows). Stand back just far enough that the arrow will clear your bow good--so close that you can't miss. Close your eyes and concentrate on reaching your anchor. MAKE yourself anchor before you release. You stand close so you don't have to think about accuracy, missing, loosing arrows, etc. This is also great practice for form in general. Draw slowly and deliberately, anchor, hold, release, and finish with an exaggerated follow through. It may take some work, but you can do it!

Chad

Long Bows Rule!

Chad hit the nail squarely on the head. It is first and foremost a form problem. The first and most building block in developing the proper form is the up close, eyes closed drawing, focusing on form (even though you can't "see" it) and release.

Bill

Praise the Lord, He is worthy

[Deleted by Admins]

I've fought with short drawing for a long time. It's just as much a confidence problem as it is a shooting form problem. Mine started when I tried to shorten my draw length and I lost concentration and pulled too far. The point of the arrow fell behind the shelf and wedged between the string and my hand. After that, I was afraid of doing it again.

Without an arrow on the string, I can draw and anchor with absolutely no problem, whatsoever. With my eyes closed, I can load an arrow, draw and anchor with no problem whatsoever. I can easily draw and anchor with an arrow if I don't intend to shoot. But when I am shooting, I tend to fall to pieces.

I've got it under control now, mostly. The problem still raises it's ugly head sometimes though.

What has helped me most was forgetting about messing with my draw length and getting a light draw weight bow to practice with. One that's very easy to draw to anchor. You have to get the feel of a good anchor position grooved into your subconscious. And I constantly have to work on drawing to anchor and holding for a 3-count before releasing to keep that groove. Another thing I do is work at my point on distance. If my arrows hit short, I know I didn't hit my anchor.

I had the same problem with a different cause.

My very first bow was a hickory backed wood bow. The bowyer told me not to hold it too long at full draw because it could fail. I took that advice to heart and developed a snap shooting technique where I was releasing the arrow out in front of my face. I couldn't break the habit to save my life.

When I got a recurve it became really obvious and I decided to do something about it. My girlfriend is a licensed hypnotherapist and I asked her if she thought she could help me with the situation. We sat down and discussed exactly what I wanted to accomplish while she made some notes. She then did a short session with me.

The very next time I went to the range I purposefully tried to not think about what I was doing. On the first shot my hand came back, my finger nestled into the corner of my mouth, and the arrow just sat there, rock solid, until I decided to relax my fingers. Every subsequent shot has been just like that so I'd have to say that it worked for me.

And before anyone asks... No, I do not have unexplained urges to wash the dishes or do the laundry.

Guy

[Deleted by Admins]