Practicing in the dark for form?

[DaveBriner]

Hello all,
With little time to shoot during daylight hours lately, I've been casting a work light on my target in the backyard and shooting that way.  Not sure if I'm imagining this, but I think I've noticed a substantial improvement in my form since adopting this practice regimen.  I don't have near as many fliers.  I wonder if practicing in the daytime allows me to become distracted by the arrow on the shelf, the cant of the bow, etc.  Anyone else practice in the dark?
Best,
Dave

[Soilarch]

One of the "big" boys did...can't remember which one.  Howard Hill maybe?

Thought about trying it myself, and still may...but I've got to get a somewhat decent release going
before anything else.

[champ38]

Ive done this a few times using a lasser pionter, seems I shoot better too,especialy at the longer distances. I think because it improves my concentration on " the spot",not sure if this would help or hurt my shooting at deer in the daylight though...

[Blasterjdh]

My work schedule - dark when going and coming from work - only allows for "dark" shooting during the week -- I've limited myself to form improvement (close 3-6 feet) shootong during those evening. Found out I really enjoy just releasing the string and punching the same whole as the previous arrow (not to hard to do from 3-6 feet).  But should help form wise. I plan on increasing the distance with a well lite target after I get my form in a better position.  But sure is fun and releases the tensions of the days work....

[strcpy]

Standard for practice as preached by any coaching certification course I've ever done (and used by extensively by all Olympic archers) is a "Blank Bail".

There is some talk about it here, in this case the strong form of it is to stand close enough to the bail you know you can not miss, *close your eyes*, and work on form.

Can't get much darker than that. I suppose one could go down into a cave and close their eyes - but it wouldn't make mush difference  

Yes, the more distractions you remove from concentrating on form the better your form will become. Your form will improve even better if you drop the whole grouping and trying to hit the target thing too - that is just a distraction.

Of course, you also have to know how to translate that form into hitting the target (well, sorta, some forms of Japanese Kyudo use the act of shooting as a type of meditation so I guess there are some people out there who just like the feel of concentrating on form and nothing else). But that is a whole other process (start close, large target so no fear of missing ans shoot until it all becomes second nature and slowly work back/smaller targets keeping that feeling of letting things happen - in a somewhat short time you should find you can keep that form/concentration good even at long yardages).

My guess is this type of thing is how people learned that blank bailing is beneficial in the first place.

[pumatrax]

I usually practice in the dark ,even when it's light out !!!!

[Daddy Bear]

Byron Ferguson developed his style of shooting by sitting in a totally dark room and shooting out the flames of candles.

[Pruneemac]

Now that the time has changed, we shoot in the dark every week. We all put lights on our compounds so we could see pins. Im the only one who shoots Trad also, so I do both. I think it has helped, for the reasons stated in the above posts.
However, we only shoot to 25 yds. at night.