As I watched shooters from our JOAD club this past weekend I was pleased to see the progress made, however, there was a distinct lack of focus on the shot. Everything appeared to revolve around hitting the 10 ring. Well of course that is the object of the game, but that objective will not be consistently met with substandard shots, shot routines and mental focus.
The way most of us tend to look at performance is by objective score. If we are able to score a 10, that is ‘mission accomplished’. Most of us will score 10’s from time to time. The more evolved archer will probe deeper. Was the 10 scored with a good shot? If not, we cannot assume that poor shots will lead to anything more than an occasional good result.
Job number one is to put the focus on the shot and not the result. A well executed shot will produce a desired result. Well how does one do this? Become less target centric. Focus on what is happening at the shooting line with your own routine, execution and mental preparation.
Let’s take this apart. Routine is what we do on every shot. Do you do the same thing every shot? If not, why not? A defined routine should be broken into many steps. You know, fundamental positions on the bow, the string, how we come to anchor, how we actuate the clicker and how we release/follow through. It only appears flowing when executed by a skillful archer. All skillful archers are subconsciously doing what less skilled archers have to think about consciously. The point is to go through all your positions, make sure they are correct and then work to make the correct moves and positions an ingrained part of your shot.
During an event, good archers focus on repeating a routine and executing the same sequence over and over. After a shot, there is a quick evaluation of what happened. If it was sub optimal, why? The result is only to verify the good or poor execution of the routine. The result is then put aside and the next shot is executed. This happens 72 times a tournament. There are 72 evaluations, 72 routines, 72 opportunities to perform what you do in practice on a day in day out basis. Of course each evaluation could reveal that something is not consistent with what you have been doing and you then can correct this when it is identified.
What good archers do not do, is make changes because he/she shot a poor score. Score is only an affirmation of what your shot routine and sequence is currently. Changing your shot because you experienced a poor end, or even a poor few ends, is a sure fire way to frustration. When things do not go as expected, fall back on the fundamentals that make you the shooter you are. Speaking of which, you will not magically become a better archer in a tournament. Understand what your current scores are and strive to shoot how you shoot in practice. Expectations can limit us and frustrate us. Allow yourself the freedom to shoot well and keep your mind off the score card.
Ok, now let’s get ourselves to the range and work on making our routines and shot sequences better! I rarely see archers working on their shots using a blank bale. Why not? There is no pressure to shoot a 10. There is much good work which can be done without a target. You can then take that shot and see if you can replicate it when there is a target face to distract you.
Go out there and work on making good shots instead of hoping to shoot 10’s.
