Hi all, so been a few weeks since I posted anything on here and I just thought I would have a little ramble.
So good news, yesterday was our club championships and I managed to lift the freestyle re-curve cup, the only fly in the ointment was that the four people that I would really have like to beat to take the cup did not shoot, but hay ho I am the CHAMPION! :)
while we were shooting I encountered a mystery to rival Loch Ness.
There was an archer who was bemoaning the fact that their sight marks were not working and that they were fine just a few days ago so something must be wrong. I try to say to him that if the bow had not been altered and the weather was not a big factor ( it was a lovely day with just a gentle breeze), then the biggest variable was the big fleshy bit hanging on the end of the bow. He was insistent that he was doing exactly the same as he always did and would not contemplate that it could be him, but he also insisted that he had not altered his bow in any way. So what could have caused this apparent loss of performance?
Well I think we all know the answer, it was those little green me...........
No it was the archer of course it was, but why did he not realise it?
Well I think it was that although we all notice things that make a big difference to our shooting, like a pull or a sprain that we can feel, we don't always notice the small things that can effect our shooting. We are not static our bodies are constantly changing, when things are not working as they should your first port of call should be you. Stop check that your sight mark is right and everything is tight, think about what you are doing, go through your shot cycle in your head, for me this is :
Nock arrow.
Relax shoulders and look straight ahead (for me that is at the archer to my right as I am right handed).
Turn head to look at target and focus on the gold.
Lift bow to put the pin on the gold keeping the shoulder down and the arm relaxed.
Open the bow hand as I start to draw slowly towards my anchor, loading the weight onto my back muscles.
As I reach my anchor my draw slows right down to a crawl but DOES NOT STOP ( this way lies creeping). Remember I do not use a clicker .
Let the pin settle on the gold (let it float a little).
Roll the draw arm shoulder back and relax the fingers just a little bit so they are pulled off the string and the hand comes back to brush my ear lobe (just cos I like it!).
Hold! don't move until you hear the arrow land.
Then take your next arrow from the quiver.
This might seem a very long winded cycle but by focusing on the minute you can exclude anything that is distracting. The whole of the above only takes me about ten seconds to run through in my head, about half the time it takes me to actually shoot an arrow. About ninety five percent of the time my second arrow goes right where it should.
So good news, yesterday was our club championships and I managed to lift the freestyle re-curve cup, the only fly in the ointment was that the four people that I would really have like to beat to take the cup did not shoot, but hay ho I am the CHAMPION! :)
while we were shooting I encountered a mystery to rival Loch Ness.
There was an archer who was bemoaning the fact that their sight marks were not working and that they were fine just a few days ago so something must be wrong. I try to say to him that if the bow had not been altered and the weather was not a big factor ( it was a lovely day with just a gentle breeze), then the biggest variable was the big fleshy bit hanging on the end of the bow. He was insistent that he was doing exactly the same as he always did and would not contemplate that it could be him, but he also insisted that he had not altered his bow in any way. So what could have caused this apparent loss of performance?
Well I think we all know the answer, it was those little green me...........
No it was the archer of course it was, but why did he not realise it?
Well I think it was that although we all notice things that make a big difference to our shooting, like a pull or a sprain that we can feel, we don't always notice the small things that can effect our shooting. We are not static our bodies are constantly changing, when things are not working as they should your first port of call should be you. Stop check that your sight mark is right and everything is tight, think about what you are doing, go through your shot cycle in your head, for me this is :
Nock arrow.
Relax shoulders and look straight ahead (for me that is at the archer to my right as I am right handed).
Turn head to look at target and focus on the gold.
Lift bow to put the pin on the gold keeping the shoulder down and the arm relaxed.
Open the bow hand as I start to draw slowly towards my anchor, loading the weight onto my back muscles.
As I reach my anchor my draw slows right down to a crawl but DOES NOT STOP ( this way lies creeping). Remember I do not use a clicker .
Let the pin settle on the gold (let it float a little).
Roll the draw arm shoulder back and relax the fingers just a little bit so they are pulled off the string and the hand comes back to brush my ear lobe (just cos I like it!).
Hold! don't move until you hear the arrow land.
Then take your next arrow from the quiver.
This might seem a very long winded cycle but by focusing on the minute you can exclude anything that is distracting. The whole of the above only takes me about ten seconds to run through in my head, about half the time it takes me to actually shoot an arrow. About ninety five percent of the time my second arrow goes right where it should.
Curious how the context changes one's way of shooting. It makes a whole lot of difference if you are "just" training or if you are in a competition. Especially if you're new to competitive shooting, the tension may affect your shooting in (at the time) inexplicable ways. You *think* you do everything right and completely as usual, but the tension in your mind that "now it really counts" affects your posture (muscles more tense than normal!), draw, release... And of course then your score goes down! At least that is how I experienced my first competitions outside the club. It is not easy at first in competition to go through your shot cycle—well described in your post—without some second thoughts in the back of your mind. Maybe that is what affected your club colleague too?
ReplyDeleteAnd I completely forgot to congratulate you on your championship. I do congratulate you now!
DeleteI don't shoot in many competitions so I am not the best person to comment. What I can say is that when I am shooting in a league match I do not think of myself as shooting against the other team, but against myself and my PB, I am also one of those archers who does not really like to see my score until the end of the match.
DeleteMe too....very well done, and a nice piece to boot, just encourage one to constantly analyse the shot cycle. Good stuff :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Laurie,
DeleteThanks.
Nice to hear from you, I hope things are working out and you are getting back to full fitness again. Oh and Happy new year...a bit late.... but at least it is still January..
Hi and thank you.
ReplyDeletePost tumour health all is good, but the winter has been total .......... but then again, these things come to us all somehow, or someway. It'll all pass, and one can back to shooting and sailing....happy days!!
Did my first field shoot over Christmas...been trying for years.... great fun, and used not the Revolution, but my KG Osprey, tried to drop a piccy as my sign in photo thing, but failed.
Am trying though to get back more to the Revolution, and shot it outdoors the other day...rubbish shooting, but really enjoyable!!
Glad you enjoyed the field shoot, I do the odd one at our club but they won't tell me how far away the target is.
Delete