Words from a target archer... has helped this bowhunter

[Bonescreek]

Visualize the shot that I’m about to shoot, seeing each step from start to finish.
Mentally watching myself hit each point correctly and watching the arrow strike
the target dead center of my focus point.

1. Address the target with proper alignment, finding the best footing available.
2. Draw and nock my arrow
3. Hook up release
4. Set hand in bow handle carefully to assure fit is the same each time.
5. Raise bow, bow arm and release arm as a unit to address position.
6. Begin drawing bow with abdominals by rotating upper body back to
shooting position and ending by rotating draw arm with high elbow until shoulder
blade drops and locks into loaded position.
7. Bring release hand into facial reference point, set nose on string,
center peep to scope housing and bring bow down to battery position.
Making sure that the trapezius is loaded and the draw arm rhomboid is
holding the load of the string.
8. Check bow level and bring scope down on target; careful to bend at waist in
order to maintain shoulders and arrow in parallel.
9. Shift mental focus to center of aim point (X) and relax tension in index finger
while maintaining equal load between draw hand and bow hand.
10. Remain focused on X until I see the arrow hit…
11. Reinforcement of good shot

I may enhance or even add steps to improve the execution of a perfect shot as
necessary during practice.

Now after repeating this thousands of times in practice, this is what I am
actually doing but the following is what I am conscious of doing.

Visualizing the perfect shot as I know I can shoot it, execute….

There are a number of ways to develop the mental ability to deal with tournament
nerves or perhaps more aptly the self-induced stress of competition.
Undeniably there is no substitute for experience when training your mind to deal
with the stress but there are ways to lessen the jump from shooting in the local
league on Wednesday night to standing on the first bale on Sunday.
It is this bridge that we all must work to build.

I believe the corner stone of that bridge lies in training your mind and body to
identify each step (I prefer to call them points) of the shot and to automatically
react by letting down when a point isn’t reached correctly.
All too often we become lazy or complacent in practice and make a shot that is just
slightly off; this only leads to enforce the acceptance of a poor shot.
At first each point will consume a good bit of our attention as we learn them.
This is where both blind baling and blank baling along with short distance shot
making are so effective in making the shot process an auto response much as a soldier
is trained to react in a specific way to certain stimuli.

It is also important that we learn to focus our mind and eye on the target and task
and to ignore outside influences and distractions such as movement in the scope or
peripheral noise.

Learning to visualize in our minds the perfect shot from start to finish,
then the complete end and finally the entire game will only enhance our ability to
deal with the tournament stress because the actual shot is merely a replay.

Learning how to recover from a poor shot and return to what we know works is a huge
step that will separate the best from the mediocre quickly.

Setting realistic performance goals for training and competition is also necessary
in learning to deal with self-induced stress. Someone who shoots a 290 average
Vegas face should not set a goal of 300 during a competition. Learning to improve in practice
and to shoot your game in competition is probably the most difficult task for most archers.

Building a training schedule that includes shooting small less meaningful competitions,
building on those experiences and setting realistic performance goals along the way that
are designed to peak your skill level for the target tournament is of utmost importance.

Learning that no one actually cares how you shoot and that many secretly hope you “tank it”
is probably the first lesson you need to learn… Along with the fact that nothing you do will
affect the other shooters and what they do is only going to affect you if you let it…
may be the best lesson of all.
_________________
Mike "Javi" Cooper


Thanks Mike!

[L.O.S.T.Arrow]

Mike knows his stuff!!!...great coach ...looks like Santa Claus now though lol


Neil

[Bonescreek]

And I look like Captain Knowa (sp?) when the beard grows out.

Havn't talked to Mike in years, truly an inspiration for me.

Hope passing on some of his words help others here.