Who "aims" only AFTER a solid anchor?

[Bullfrog 1]

This is the method that has worked for me especially on game. Thanks. Bill

[Ron Vought]

Bill -

I'm kind of doing that to beat target panic. I look at the target initially and kind of turn my attention to the draw/anchor process then eyes back on the target. Seems to work.

Ron

[LongStick64]

Exactly what I do, allows me to focus on setting the shot up and then aim and then transfer to pull to my trigger.

[mellonhead]

I do nothing to focus on the shot untill I have hit my anchor point.  Me and my son play a game sometimes when we practice that lends its self to this style of shooting.  We have 3 different colored dots on the target.  When I reach full draw he tells me which dot to shoot.  

Toby

[moebow]

Bullfrog,

This is the method taught by many (most) formal archery coaches and the way I teach and shoot.  Aiming is only done AFTER  reaching fulldraw/anchor then the shooter moves on to the next shot sequence steps.

Others use "mellon's" approach with good success.  A lot of it just depends on how you learned and your own personal approach.

BUT as Ron points out, I've had REALLY good success with my students showing symptoms of TP by getting them to stop stressing so much on the target and concentrating on a mental shot sequence and ONLY incorporating aiming as a single step that happens AFTER reaching anchor.

Your  mileage may vary but I suggest it is worth looking into.  Why aim a gun before you load it, so why aim a bow before it is drawn??

Arne

[Jock Whisky]

Aiming is only one of several steps in the shot process. When I focus on the shot sequence and process first and aiming after having built the shot the difference is night and day. Before I shot this way I had lots of problems and a good dose of TP or something similar.

[slowbowjoe]

Working with this myself lately. Like Jock, I'm finding I shoot better when aiming is done after draw, anchor, bow arm, and back tension are set. For me, aiming has been being sure my dominant eye is directly above the arrow, and the sight picture comes into clear focus.

[RedShaft]

This is a good post and should really help others ESP those dealing with the panic. Most times I feel it creeping on when practicing I just talk myself through the process and watch myself draw then when at anchor my atention goes to the target. Works very well

[Brianlocal3]

I don't "aim" untill I'm at anchor. I look where I want to hit but I'm not "burning" a hole at that point, I draw, anchor, aim and release, this is all done realatively quick though

[buckeyebowhunter]

I see that Brian says he looks but doesn't burn til after anchor. Ive been trying this with good results after having some minor tp from trying to really burn but not being able to get that solid anchor. Do you guys sort of look at the spot but use your conscious thought to anchor then take conscious thought to the spot and burn?

This is how I can describe what ive been doing; I try to burn after a solid anchor but its usually not very long maybe a second or so because I shoot a 70# recurve. Been having much more consistent shooting lately since doing this method.

I just find it funny that ive shot trad for several years with the burn a hole in your spot mentality, which seemed to work. But this method seems to work just as well. Just my 2 cents.

[mellonhead]

I pick the spot I want to hit then draw.  Ounce I have hit a solid anchor all focus goes to the spot.  I burn a hole in it till the bow goes off.  Some times this takes just a second and other times it feels like forever!  I have gone as far as to shift my focus from one target to the next while at full draw.  I find this method to be a real asset in the hunting woods.  I have come to full draw started to burn my hole and the shot disapeared.  I then shifted focus to the next deer in line and started to burn a new hole on the new shot opportunity.  The bow went off and all went as planned.  

Toby

[Ron Vought]

I had to retrain my way of shooting and concentration after struggling through target panic this year. The way I shot a bow before was out of control but somewhat accurate at short ranges 10-15 yards. I would just keep my eye on the target the whole way through the process, pull back quickly, slightly touch anchor if at all and let it rip.

Now....

I look at the spot in which I want to hit, draw slowly to anchor while looking at the point of my arrow to make sure I am at full draw and feeling my anchor point. Then reacquire the target and release. This process has allowed me to use back tension and acquire better form. Its working but its taking some time to retrain the whole shot process.

Thanks,
Ron

[Green]

This is an timely thread.  As Arne said, most of the better coaches will teach that aiming is to be done only once you are at anchor.  According to Rod Jenkins, Arne and others, once at anchor you need to do a quick mental inventory of your bow/string hand grips, your anchor, and your alignment.....once satisfied that they're good, you can then "commit" to the rest of the shot sequence.  

Many of us get so caught up in all of the physical elements of the shot sequence that the mental aspect of aiming gets passed over as our mind wants to do something physical.  Once aiming.....accurate aiming, comes back into play, this can lead to target panic in one form or another for a lot of us.  

Having been plagued by this since March, and having attempted to cure it with the help of Rod, Joel, and even a guy here in Texas who bills himself as a TP guru and produces a hypnosis tape to cure you, I decided that if aiming is the problem, aiming should be the cure.  I have to get comfortable aiming again.  

Beginning at 10 yards, I drew to anchor and did nothing but enjoy the aiming itself.  Whatever happened with the rest of the shot sequence did not matter in my mind. Heck, if you can't aim without anxiety, good form doesn't matter.  You can see where I'm going with this....bridge drills with the focus on simply getting comfortable at anchor and aiming.  As the number of arrows shot this way increases, anxiety at aim decreases and our mind naturally returns to running the conclusion of the shot sequence in a proper manner.....which helps with the results of good aiming.    
  :D

[Ron Vought]

Rob - Agree but for me 10 yards I was flawless with my shooting  form and anchor but when I moved back to 20 yards I would lock 2-3 inches from anchor and couldn't do a thing with it except let the arrow fly. Now I look at the spot in which I want to hit...aim, then draw back to anchor while watching the tip of my arrow, then reacquire the target and do all the checks you mentioned.

Just knocked the vital out of my 3-D target this morning at 20 yards while using this controlled shot sequence. It's amazing what we need to do to retrain ourselves from snap/quick shooting to a more controlled hold and anchor process. I'm definitely more accurate and in control using the hold and anchor process versus the touch and go approach.

Ron

[Green]

I was in the same "locked off target" scenario Ron.  Until I went back and worked solely on getting comfortable aiming while at anchor, with the arrow point under the target and not thinking about anything else, was I able to start fixing this issue.  Happy Aimer....that's me.    

[Ron Vought]

Rob - I'm not there yet but working on it. I think the natural thing to do is just aim, draw, anchor and shoot. For now I just bypass some of the more natural aiming process to get to anchor and hold.

Ron

[Ron Vought]

Rob - I'm not there yet but working on it. I think the natural thing to do is just aim, draw, anchor and shoot. For now I just bypass some of the more natural aiming process to get to anchor and hold.

Ron

[Green]

Good luck Ron....you'll whip it.  I'm still in the middle of the fight myself.

[Jock Whisky]

Interesting little comment re this kind of stuff from K S Lee, a Korean coach with a good reputation. He believes that if an archer uses the correct shooting sequence he cannot get target panic. Since I quit concerning myself so much with aiming and worked on the sequence my TP symptoms have diminished significantly. Just sayin'...

[Green]

I agree Jock.  It's just as time goes by, sometimes our "limited aiming focus" gets a little sloppy, can lead to TP, and we need to go back and work on just that segment of our shot sequence.....to fix the site picture in our minds eye.  Then we can go back to running the rest of our shot routine with focus and confidence.