Form Breakdown - Help please.

[Firstlight]

Seeking some suggestions on how to ALWAYS get into the back muscles for a proper release.  Let me explain.

It's been a couple of year journey recovering from TP and learning a new way to shoot, from the ground up. (Rotational Draw).  My form and shot sequence is progressing very well.  Lot's of blank bale shooting and I score fairly well (for me) at local 3D events.

In the backyard practice (I can shoot out to 30 yards) I do a pretty good job with my shot sequence and am overall happy with my form and TP is generally under control.  I'm getting good alignment and into my back muscles with good follow through.

When I shoot with others, 3D, etc, I can tell I really want to hit the target and I still have a pinch of the TP as I am 50 / 50 getting into the back muscles with good follow through, often a short draw.  I often hit anchor but don't expand into the back muscles so the arrow hit's low.  My TP has always been short draw issues and using the "sight picture" as a trigger.

I recognize when I do this and I can often shoot a second arrow, hit anchor, get into back muscles and have good follow through and arrow placement.

**I struggle with the half second (or less) from when I hit anchor and then transfer into the back muscles, and then the release.  

It's like I need something else to do for that .5 second while at full draw, while I "feel" the sight picture and kinda confirm everything is lined up.  I'm more of a split vision guy, having been working on this for a year or so now.

I know what it feels like to get into the back muscles, and I know when I do it,  I just often release a moment before I expand into the back muscles...

If anyone has suggestions on how to "fix" this one big issue, I would welcome it.

Paul

[moebow]

"I can tell I really want to hit the target..."

There you have it!!  Look at the target, YES!  Aim at the target, YES!  SHOOT YOUR SHOT!!!!!

Hitting the target is a future event that can ONLY happen IF you think in the present.  Draw, Anchor, Aim, then FINISH the shot.  Think in the present.  What am I doing right now.

When I am shooting well my last thoughts are "my back is leaning against a wall  and Follow through."

Arne

[Firstlight]

Thank you Arne, I understand what you are suggesting and it makes a lot of sense.

I will put that thought process that you have suggested,  into my practice.

[McDave]

What Arne says is certainly correct.  Hitting the target is a future event until you have done it, and then it is a past event.  Even at the exact moment in the present when the arrow hits the target, the arrow has left your bow and it is too late to do anything about it.  So thinking about hitting the target is never going to help you to actually hit it; all it is is a distraction from the things that actually will help you to hit the target, which are those things that Arne mentions.

However, going one step beyond the things Arne mentions, how does a person actually do those things, as opposed to merely wishing that he were doing them?  As you say, you do them pretty well in practice, but it is more difficult to do them in a tournament.  I would go further and say that it is sometimes easy to do them in practice, and other times not so easy.  Why?

The answer is loss of concentration, in a tournament because of pressure, in practice because of boredom.  Once a person learns the fundamentals, his job from that point on is to apply the rules he already knows to each and every shot.  This is a mental challenge much more than a physical challenge.  Learning to concentrate is the most difficult and useful skill you will learn as an archer.  We learn concentration as a means of becoming better and more consistent archers; archery is included as one of the paths in Zen as a means of learning better and more consistent concentration.

This is a lifelong commitment.  It would be a mistake to think that you could learn to concentrate like you learn to use back tension, and then go on from there.  A start would be to adopt Rod Jenkins' philosophy of never accepting less than a perfect shot.  When you step up to the line, whether in practice or at a tournament, you have to close out all distractions, whether pressure or boredom, with the attitude that THIS shot is the most important thing I have to do at this moment in time, and if at any point during the execution of it, I notice it going south, or my mind drifts to something else, I will let it down and start again.

Can I always do that?  Not by a long shot.  But I know that if I want to get better, that is my path to improvement.

[Firstlight]

McDave,

You make a lot of great points and your comment, "The answer is loss of concentration, in a tournament because of pressure, in practice because of boredom" really stands out to me.

My from breakdown is really right there, in that statement.  

Not concentrating on the shot and instead letting the desire to hit the bullseye take me out my entire shot sequence.

I think during practice it's been much easier to fully concentrate on a well placed arrow and complete the entire shot sequence because focus is on executing proper form or letting down when I'm not doing so.  When I get tired or stop concentrating, I stop shooting.

I usually start practice on the blank bale and shoot some with eyes closed, for feel of the shot.  Then I practice holding at full draw and letting down, along with a few other exercises (aiming off and watch the arrow).

At 3D, with friends, etc I don't concentrate as much and  I'm aware that I just, "really want to hit the target bull" so I resort back to a touch and go / snap shooting or I short draw,  trigged by the site picture.

Think I'll re watch Masters of Barebow 3 and continue with blank bale, productive practice, while bearing in mind, Rod Jenkins' philosophy of never accepting less than a perfect shot."  I do get that!!

I'm fortunate now to know what a good shot feels like.  

Thanks you guys, I'l report back down the road in the not to distant future, I'm sure.

Paul

[longbow fanatic 1]

Couple of thoughts on this topic. You spoke about the pressure of trying to hit the bullseye at tournaments. Rod Jenkins says when working on your shot sequence, trust the process. Once you have a repeatable shot sequence every time, you will have confidence the arrow will go where it is intended to go.

You spoke about blank bale shooting, which is a great way to work to train your shot sequence. Rod has a system to help the archer get from blank bale shooting to refining your shot sequence every time, whether you're at a 3-D or in your backyard. That process is called Bridging. To do this, you shoot only 1 arrow at 5 yards for a total of 40 arrows. The reason you only shoot one arrow is to prevent you from aiming and solely work on the shot sequence. If at any time you have a form break down, you stop Bridging and go back to blank bale shooting for the remainder of your training session. So. If you have allotted an hour to train and you have a form break down at the 10 minute mark, go back to blank bale shooting for 50 minutes, concentrating on exactly what portion of you form break down occurred. After correcting your form break down, go back to Bridging. Once you can shoot 40 arrows at 5 yards without form breakdowns, move back to 10 yards and repeat the process. This is done until the archer can reach 20 yards. Once Bridging and blank bale work is completed, you're ready for 3D tournaments. I'm not sure if this helps, but it may aid you in correcting your shot sequence.

[Bladepeek]

One comment I would make after attending one of Rod Jenkins' clinics is triggered by the statement "**I struggle with the half second (or less) from when I hit anchor and then transfer into the back muscles, and then the release."

I was having a similar problem (among many others     ). I would draw and then transfer to back muscle for the last little bit of the draw. Rod jumped on that statement in a hurry. You should not draw and then transfer to back - you should draw with the back and not require a transfer. That may sound like we are arguing semantics, but I can really tell the difference if I start with my elbow well out to the side and use a rotational draw from the very beginning instead of trying to get my back into play at the end of the draw. I don't manage to do it consistently, every time, but I can sure tell the difference when I do it right. The draw seems so much lighter and my back is fully engaged the whole way. Much easier to hold that tension at anchor than to transition to it.

[fnshtr]

If you are familiar with Joel Turner (clickerman) methods... he suggests a psychological trigger... used by the sub-conscious rather than anticipating the release by triggering it with the conscious mind. A clickety-clicker does this by sound... it can also be accomplished by "feel".

I'm not good with explanations... but I've re-fletched my arrows so that at "nearly" full anchor and still pulling, the cock feather is about 1/8" from my nose... and I keep thinking "pull, pull, pull". As soon as the feather touches my nose, I release. This provides a "non-anticipatory release".

This has cured my short drawing.

Hope it makes sense to you.