93% of the best there is.

[not dead yet]

Originally Posted by Robin the Hood

As rarely as I shoot, one thing I do, when I decide to have a go again is to basically carry on where I left off.
This I find possible due to the fact that I have what I call 'The rules of shooting an arrow'. This is what is written down and never changes, it is the way I personally shoot every arrow be it the first or the last.
Without rushing, my concentration goes into each arrow to be as good as possible. The only disadvantage is the physical strain I eventually get after so long, which is why I restrict myself to 6 sighters plus 3 doz.....
Anna K has made an interesting point (like some others too) the mental practice. If used correctly it can have great rewards....
One thing I believe is that to do mental preperation, it takes far more detail than may be realised. Anna pointed out that when it was stopped the shooting standard began to fall. I do wonder whether un-awares when she shot well, the detail was carried on to the field and into the shot itself as well...

Paul

omg,, this man if he shot seriously still would be in the G.B. team. telling peter suk what to do

pete

[geoffretired]

Thanks again to those who have posted more than once, I appreciate your continuing help. And thanks to those who have just joined in.

Originally Posted by me

What do people think is the most "score effective" way to use their available time?Is it a diluted version of everything the top archers do?Is it a concentrated effort on some vital aspects? If so, what are those particular aspects and why are they so important?

I thought it might help to show some of the original post.
Yorker, I understand better now what you have been saying.I agree about doing the shooting the way the coach says it should be done till it gets to be part of my form. ( I am self coached, if that is the right term, and using ideas from archers on this forum to guide my practice.) I do practise as often as I can but, as pointed out by Flying Whale, I have to wonder if there isn't a better way to use that time. I could easily be concentrating on details that will gain two points in 6dozen, when a different focus could produce 20points or more.
Buzz, Anna K and Paul have pointed out the values of mental imagery.I can see their points of view and have to own up to not doing much of that. I shall be making changes in that respect.Thanks to one and all.

[pyroarch57]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

Thanks for the quick responses.
Pyroarch = "I guess my advice would be to fit a Vibracheck Safedraw to your bow and practice indoors in your spare time, at every opportunity, learning only your best aiming shots."
Can I ask; is the "safedraw" better than shooting at my target in the garage at every opportunity? I shoot most days at 4yds or so.
When practising, I guess you are saying,"learn how to aim better than at present", yes?

Buzz, Can I be a bit of a pest? It sounds to me that you are saying I should spend some of the time I have spare, on mental imagery. Assume for the moment I have no more time to give to archery; would I still be advised to spend time on mental imagery and cut back on actual shooting? My guess is you will say Yes, but wanted to check. Thanks.

Yorker, at 93% I am not getting all tens;mainly nines with some tens. I practise regularly but would like to make better use of that limited amount of time.I tend to work on one element of the shot until it starts to improve. I know that every element I improve will give more points. Are some elements worth giving more time to? Does getting some aspects wrong lose me more points, proportionally, than others?

No Geoff it isn`t any better. I had assumed you had no way to practice at home.

Yes, assuming form and any other aspects are correct. learning only your best shots (by aiming better) is the fastest way to improve your shooting.
You have to learn how your mind and body feels when you find only those very best shots and constantly work to cultivate that same feeling into every shot, you have to find a good rhythm to your shooting, and as soon as anything doesn`t `feel right` it`s best to let down and start over. After all it`s only practice and you have all the time to get it right. As they say, perfect practice makes perfect, right?

Learning the technique of learning all this is the hardest part, some never do, but those who have don`t look back.

Now i`m off out, for some `perfect practice`

[geoffretired]

Thanks for that Pyroarch, I see what you mean. Find the good in each good shot and try to put more of that good ingredient into the next shots, yes?
I think that blends in nicely with the mental imagery, too.
You have picked out the quality of the aim as one aspect to focus on. I can see the importance of that. I wonder if there is a hierarchy of elements. What would be top of the list? I guess aiming would be near the top of your list.

[geoffretired]

Thanks sp220, Focus on posture and how you get there/stay there and the feelings associated with that, yes? Does the sight get ignored, left off or just allowed to run in the background?

[Desert Archer]

I have read most all the books I could find on form and shooting technique and noticed an interesting dichotomy. Compound trainers and coaches seem to emphasize aiming, while recurve trainers and coaches emphasize form.

I went through a 6 month slump last year where I just got worse and worse, and trying harder accelerated it. Finally figured out one big problem was over aiming. Now I concentrate on form and shot execution and figure close enough is good enough when aiming. Things are improving.

I too am a recent convert to mental imagery and positive thinking so my suggestion would be work on those and in actual practice focus on form.

Best of luck...we all need some of that too! (smiley face goes here)

Dave

[geoffretired]

Thanks for the clarification Sp220, I follow that.
Desert Archer, Thanks for your post. I know the feelings. Over aiming is something I have discussed on the forum before, more than once.
Your post has reminded me of the thoughts I had then.
If a particular archer can hold the sight in the gold of, let's say Portsmouth face, yet keeps hitting outside the red, then the aiming could be seen as over aiming. Or too much concentration on the sight and not enough on the form.
If a different archer can hold the sight within the same gold and no better than that and gets all the arrows in that gold, it could be that a steadier aim would bring higher scores.Imagine the aim improved to the level that the recurve gold became the limits of wobble. There is a chance that the arrows could start to close in on the recurve gold with a corresponding increase in score.
I appreciate that not having a steady aim , when the archer is capable of having one, would be a waste.

[wanshu]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

Thanks for the clarification Sp220, I follow that.
Desert Archer, Thanks for your post. I know the feelings. Over aiming is something I have discussed on the forum before, more than once.
Your post has reminded me of the thoughts I had then.
If a particular archer can hold the sight in the gold of, let's say Portsmouth face, yet keeps hitting outside the red, then the aiming could be seen as over aiming. Or too much concentration on the sight and not enough on the form.
If a different archer can hold the sight within the same gold and no better than that and gets all the arrows in that gold, it could be that a steadier aim would bring higher scores.Imagine the aim improved to the level that the recurve gold became the limits of wobble. There is a chance that the arrows could start to close in on the recurve gold with a corresponding increase in score.
I appreciate that not having a steady aim , when the archer is capable of having one, would be a waste.

Hi Geoff

There are a few things that are common to both compound and recurve but the one thing that invariably causes the odd shot to stray from the grouping is..............The mental checklist....Your own personal checklist that maintains the good form that gives you the tens.

You're self taught so in the past you have probably gone through checklists in one form or another. Have you kept it going? or let it slide?

I can speak from experience as my bad shots are often caused when the concentration waines and the mental checklist is not adhered to.

Back to basics without over analysis as that can sometimes make a mountain out of a molehill....I believe that using the mental checklist with the other mental imagery system you should be on top form in no time. 7% is not a million miles away.
I will be doing the same Geoff.
Let you know how I get on.

[geoffretired]

Wanshu, Thanks for that.

Originally Posted by Yorker

With compound, there is nothing form wise that can go wrong bar your release and followthrough.

I added this from Yorker as it seems to agree with what you say, in a way at least.
At present, I have to say, that some of the near misses is due to not being fully steady on aim. I have been working on posture and draw to try to improve in that area.
The misses, that I am unable to account for, tend to be reds in a Portsmouth.
They are nearly always high but sometimes 2 o'clock or even 11 o'clock.
The aim seems no worse on the bad shots, but the followthrough is often tense. I think that could be an area for extra work. Thanks both.

[wanshu]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

Wanshu, Thanks for that.


I added this from Yorker as it seems to agree with what you say, in a way at least.
At present, I have to say, that some of the near misses is due to not being fully steady on aim. I have been working on posture and draw to try to improve in that area.
The misses, that I am unable to account for, tend to be reds in a Portsmouth.
They are nearly always high but sometimes 2 o'clock or even 11 o'clock.
The aim seems no worse on the bad shots, but the followthrough is often tense. I think that could be an area for extra work. Thanks both.

Are you raising your bow shoulder....I would assume this could be the case if you're tense. Relax, we all know we are meant to.....Doesn't always happen.