Pick a spot stupid!

[twistedlim]

Every time I get into a shooting slump I always come back to this simple little sentence. I start to worry about my back muscles, bow arm, release, finger tension, over bowed, under bowed... but it all seems to come back together when I start burning a hole in the spot with my eyes.  Why do I make it so difficult? Oh yea, I am human  

[Ladams]

I use a little saying that is close
KISS it stands for (keep it simple stupid)

[kennyb]

I do that same thing to myself!
Keep it simple stupid'! Lol    

[Scarne]

You can only focus on one thing at a time.  That's a fact.  If you focus on the target your sub concious and muscle memory are forced to do the rest.

If you focus on the mechanics of the shot, you can't focus on the target. Once the site picture becomes secondary so to does te impact of your arrow.

When the mind wanders so to does the shot...

Once the site picture becomes secondary so to does te impact of your arrow.

Joel Turner, and Kisik Lee would take issue with that statement.

[moebow]

Scarne : "You can only focus on one thing at a time."  You are correct!  BUT!!! Jim is also CORRECT!!

There are two LEGITIMATE schools of thought that are often mixed together and that mixing causes confusion and misleading thoughts.

School one.  Focus your eyes and conscious thought on the target, and let your sub-conscious run the shot.  This works for many but is one of the leading causes of TP.  The sub-conscious tends to want to shortcut the routine and this can lead to problems.  Some folks can do it , some cannot.

School two.  Think consciously about each step of the shot routine.  After reaching full draw/transfer (if you use that) then aim.  Set your aim to what you want then move on the the next step which is release/follow through.  You delegate aiming to just your subconscious and move your conscious thought on to the next step.
When the sub conscious only has one step to perform, it cannot "short cut" the steps and you remain in control of the shot through conscious execution.

Again, both will work!  The advantage of school two is that it tends to REDUCE the tendency to target panic.  This is why, as Jim says, the top competitors/coaches  tend to use the second approach.

I have done both and teach both, but in my experience, school 2 is more effective with fewer problems than school 1.

FWIW

Arne

[TSHOOTER]

Originally posted by moebow:
Scarne :
School two.  Think consciously about each step of the shot routine.  After reaching full draw/transfer (if you use that) then aim.  Set your aim to what you want then move on the the next step which is release/follow through.  You delegate aiming to just your subconscious and move your conscious thought on to the next step.
When the sub conscious only has one step to perform, it cannot "short cut" the steps and you remain in control of the shot through conscious execution.


FWIW

Arne

I never had any long term consistency until I started focusing on the process instead of aiming.  I can aim subconciously and then sharpen that focus on the spot before the shot breaks.  It's the only way I can stay in control of my shot.  When I quit worrying about where I hit and started concentrating on what a "good" shot felt like...I started getting the results I wanted.

[McDave]

Originally posted by TSHOOTER:
 

Originally posted by moebow:
Scarne :
School two.  Think consciously about each step of the shot routine.....remain in control of the shot through conscious execution.

When I quit worrying about where I hit and started concentrating on what a "good" shot felt like...I started getting the results I wanted. [/b]

Scott's comment leads into what I might dub "School three."

I believe learning any activity that requires hand/eye coordination involves progressing through three steps:

1.  Cognitive:  In the cognitive phase, you are training your body in a new activity.  Your conscious mind is in control, as you learn to memorize the steps needed to perform the activity.  As Arne says, you are only able to focus on one thing at a time, so while you are focusing on consciously directing your body to perform an activity, you are unable to focus on feeling or being aware of your body's more subtle movements.

2.  Experiential:  Once you have learned to perform the required movements, you can cease focusing on directing your body to perform the movements, and start becomming aware of the more subtle things your body is doing in the course of shooting the bow.  To me, this is what you're doing when you start concentrating on what a good shot feels like.  You're not directing your body to make a good shot; you're not giving any directions to your body at all.  Neither are you focusing on the target.  Instead, you're observing your body more or less non-judgementally as it makes many shots, and noticing the differences when you make a good shot and when you don't.

3.  Inspirational:  After observing your body make good shots and poor shots, you will begin to notice that certain very subtle movements that would be difficult or impossible to describe in words result in the arrow impacting left of your mark, while other movements result in the arrow hitting your mark.  Simply by desiring the movements that result in your arrow hitting the mark, you will repeat those movements more often without consciously directing them to happen.  Or, as another example, maybe you shift position very slightly and say "Aha!" to yourself, "So that's what back tension feels like!"  You couldn't direct yourself in words to repeat that position, but once you know what it feels like, your body can do it for you without conscious direction.

All of the training I have ever received in any sport focuses exclusively on the cognitive aspect of learning.  I suppose it has to, because you are being taught body movements that you don't already know how to do.  But I believe that anyone who progresses beyond a basic level can only do so if he becomes aware of subtle body movements that are below the level that can be consciously directed or controlled.  I believe that any excellent archer is more aware of subtle body movements than the average archer.  Maybe it's impossible to teach the experiential or inspirational levels, but I think it's an important part of teaching to make people aware that they exist, and need to be experienced in order to progress.

[Bruce Martin]

Never thought it would happen but I developed a case of target panic, resulting in short drawing and releasing. The way I normally shot was to acquire the target, draw, anchor and release... all the time watching the spot I wanted to hit. After reading threads here and incorporating some exercises, I think I am recovering and feeling like I can lick it. What has worked was close bale work to draw to anchor without looking at a spot, then let down. Also, to commit to shooting the best shot I can with every shot. That sounds obvious but I had gotten sloppy in my practice habits. I continued the bale work, gradually increasing the distance up to about 25 yds. I would occasionally shoot when the shot felt right, and usually the shot was very good. But the sequence now is to draw, anchor (emphasis on anchor, with a 'vengeance'), then acquire the target, Hold until the shot feels right, and release is unconscious. Aiming also is mostly unconscious i think, and results are best when I acquire a sight picture rather than focusing on a small spot. When I focus just on a spot, i tend to pay less notice of the overall sight picture, and I become less consistent, especially at longer shots. So, in my current practice sessions, I am incorporating several 'schools' as noted.

I feel I am on the road to recovery from the TP because last night, I had 2 large does come in and present good shots. I concentrated on coming to full draw, and anchoring (with a vengeance)  but as I acquired my target the top bow limb brushed some foliage. The deer were off in  flash, but instead of shooting, I let down... and smiled.