Help me hold a little longer

[toby]

I fought TP for quite a while, found Clickermans fix and it works, except I have the hardest time actually pulling the feather to my nose, kind of freeze up.

If I shoot similar to Rick Welch, my accuracy is great as is arrow flight, but I flirt with letting my sight picture trigger my release.

 If I can figure something out to help me hold an extra second I would feel much better.

Any suggestions?

[fnshtr]

[McDave]

The purpose of holding at full draw is to become aware of what your body is doing, and give you a few seconds to relax what needs to be relaxed, and hold tension where tension needs to be held, etc.  Counting off the numbers in your head sort of detracts from the basic purpose, as it's not really possible to count and be aware of your body at the same time.  Still, counting is better than nothing, and at least gets you in the habit of holding.  Your goal should be to do away with the counting once you develop the habit of holding, so you can focus more of your attention on what's happening during the shot sequence.

A great many of us will have to fight the tendency to rush our shot all of our lives.  That's true whether your intention is to snap shoot or hold and shoot.  A rushed snap shot is as bad as a rushed hold.

Whenever, which is actually quite often, I start slipping back into rushing the shot, I use an interval timer to get myself back on track.  I like this better than counting in my head because I can focus all my attention on the shot sequence while I'm waiting for the timer to go off.  I've tried several kinds, but one I like is built into a wrist watch gadget and vibrates at whatever interval I set, in my case every 10 seconds.  It is inaudible, so it doesn't bother anyone else; the only thing anyone would notice is me standing there while I wait for the next interval to start.  I find that a 10 second interval gives me enough time to take a cleansing breath for about 5 seconds, draw for about 2 1/2 seconds, and hold for about 2 1/2 seconds before feeling the vibration in my wrist that triggers the shot.

[Ron Vought]

I found that holding actually causes me accuracy issues. I tried holding for over six months and went back to touching the corner of my mouth with my middle finger and release. The key is that I have to hit my anchor 100% of the time to be accurate.

Ron

[Jake Scott]

Is it a mental issue, or a physical one??  I would like to preface my comments by saying that I am have battled with premature release, short drawing, and target panic for a very long time.  That being said, I have only recently begun to really conquer those problems, however it is very often a life long battle.  Stay with it...YOU CAN DO IT!!

If it is a mental issue...
Practice your draw without releasing.  Come to full draw, hit anchor, maintain proper back tension and alignment but DO NOT SHOOT.  Feel how a proper anchor feels.  Do this over and over.  Prove to yourself that you control the shot, not anything else.  In my own case I had to go to drastic measure and draw an arrow in my house, the result was hold the draw at anchor, or patch drywall.  However you do it, prove to yourself that you and only you control when the arrow goes down range.

If it is a physical issue....
Learn about proper rotational drawing form.  Moebow has some fantastic videos on YouTube.  Study Terry's form clock...then study it some more.  Those two men have done more for my shooting than anything else...never met either of them, but their advice and lessons here on Tradgang is pure gold.  Get those bones aligned.  For a long time I thought I was over bowed, however, I simply was t drawing properly.  Proper drawing form places the drawing force into your back and bones, rather than solely in your arm muscles.  Master a rotational draw and you will be amazed how much easier it becomes to control your shots.

I am no expert, these are things I have learned from men that I consider to be experts.  I hope they help you.  Hang in there, you got this!!!

Good luck,

Jake

[moebow]

"but I flirt with letting my sight picture trigger my release"

Have you a well practiced shot sequence?  If so, then you should not have a REFINED sight picture until after you have reached anchor/holding.  What ever style of aiming you do, I'd suggest that executing your shot sequence ALL the way to anchor and ONLY then setting your final sight picture.

To be sure, you are oriented to the target earlier (looking at it and loosely pointing at it), but your final sighting (aiming) should only happen after you are at full draw.  You load and cock a gun BEFORE you aim,  You load and cock the bow (achieve full draw) BEFORE you set your final aim.

So with the quote of yours I listed above, it seems that you have your aiming out of sequence.  For me and most of my students, aiming is just one step of the sequence.  It occurs AFTER anchor and before release.

How long you hold is dependent on how long it takes you to set the aim THEN MOVE on to the next steps of the sequence.  It is not an artificial or contrived amount of time.

Arne

[reddogge]

I'm not the expert by any means but my method of teaching myself to hold longer involved putting a clicker on a spare bow. There is no way you can shoot a clicker and not hold. You draw, hold, expand, click and release. I work with it in the back yard but don't shoot it 3-D or hunting and found it has helped me greatly with holding and expanding before the shot. Without the clicker the expansion triggers the release instead of the click but you will still hold. I see no downside to this approach.

[moebow]

red,

I totally agree; but will add that the clicker also needs a shot sequence and things done in order.

Arne

[toby]

I have been working on my shot sequence and that seems to have really helped.

I don't really think a lot about aiming, if I do, that is when I tend to release to soon.

[The Night Stalker]

You might try this, your vision controls your release  when aiming. Go through your shot sequence but instead of looking down the arrow shaft and you sight window, focus on the back of your self. Once your at anchor and your settled, slide your focus to your site picture , burn a hole in your spot and release. I sometimes train my brain this way. It works for me.

[Fletcher]

Take your shot sequence to the blank bale at six feet.  Stay there until you have your sequence and shot under control.

[BWallace10327]

I have overcome the same problems.  I can now hold as long as I would like, but my accuracy goes to hell.  I am a snap shooter by choice and proud of it.

[Bullfrog 1]

Arne. right on as usual!    BILL

[toxoh]

I tried holding for over six months and went back to touching the corner of my mouth with my middle finger and release
WOW I cant ever hold for six second!!

[KSdan]

Your brain is doing what it is created to do. . . Read Jay Kidwell.  To show you it is in your brain- Close your eyes and come to full draw.  My guess is you will be able to hold it.  Try it with your eyes open on the target and the game changes.  Its called classic conditioning.  Like pavlovs dog- once the conditioning happens, every time the dog hears a a bell it drools. Our brains work the same way.  Read Kidwell- he explains how to retrain your brain.  It works.  100% success on Olympic archery TP problems where it has been applied.  I know it works with my other Olympian and high level athletic friends; golf, field events, etc.

[LongStick64]

I think the best is to practice with a defined purpose. Many archers simply hit the practice range with one thing in mind and that is to release the arrow. Try setting up sessions with a defined task. For instance, I might work on using a rotational draw for 15 to 20 minutes, during that time I never shoot an arrow, to develop the muscle memory required to ingrain the same motion or act in my brain. I use this process to work on any aspect of my form that needs work. For your issue, which all of us encounter when we get too good at our form and our mind seeks to rush the process, I work on specifically the hold period to build endurance and slow down my shot. Under my normal optimal routine I have a brief hold, but when I practice the hold part of my sequence I work up to holding for 4-5 seconds. Also when I practice the hold I try to keep my pull in a dynamic pull, ever slightly to fight the natural tendency to creep. The goal is to build strength and confidence slowly.

[Scott Barr]

Toby, good luck with managing TP.  I am afflicted too and have been for years.  Ya got some good advice from some very expert archers. I have read widely on this topic and tried so many methods. I am particularly interested in McDave's use of a timer. I'll give that a try.

[Ron Vought]

I believe that trying all of the suggestions will only help us identify our issues in the end. I basically came full circle after trying a lot of different things that have been suggested here. I still snap shoot to a certain degree but come to anchor consistently and pull through. My accuracy is better than ever and I feel a lot more in control of my shots. I tried holding for 2-3 seconds and that doesn't work for me even at low draw weights. I draw and shoot basically in one fluid motion but come to anchor and pull through. Almost like a baseball pitcher....

Ron