93% of the best there is.

[geoffretired]

I did some rough calculations. My scores are about 93% of the world best scores around at the moment.(when I'm shooting well , for me that is.)
The time/work/practice I put in could be as little as 10% of that put in by the best in the world;it could be far less. In efficiency terms, that's not bad.
If an archer knows (as I already do) that the time available to give to archery is limited,what is the most effective way to use that time?
If your initial response is to say," Get a coach," then I accept that but it is not the most helpful reply for me, as I could be the coach helping another archer asking for the same advice.
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?

[pyroarch57]

Originally Posted by geoffretired

I did some rough calculations. My scores are about 93% of the world best scores around at the moment.(when I'm shooting well , for me that is.)
The time/work/practice I put in could be as little as 10% of that put in by the best in the world;it could be far less. In efficiency terms, that's not bad.
If an archer knows (as I already do) that the time available to give to archery is limited,what is the most effective way to use that time?
If your initial response is to say," Get a coach," then I accept that but it is not the most helpful reply for me, as I could be the coach helping another archer asking for the same advice.
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 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.

[buzz lite beer]

mental imagery, I do a lot of that at work instead of working.

[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?

[buzz lite beer]

well yes, imagining you are shooting each and every shot perfectly with great style and execution is better than just X amount of arrows with X amount of good ones and X amount of bad ones, you just have to (easier said than done) is start believing you are capable of doing what you are imagining. and things start to improve rapidly.

[geoffretired]

Thanks for that Buzz. So, more mental imagery, even at the expense of actual shooting, will eventually gain me (or anyone in a similar position) points, by improving the ratio of good to not good.

[Anna K]

I used to spend a lot of time to mental imagery, every night before sleeping and any other time free. That combined with a big improvement in technique was a fantastic step forward. What was more noticeable however was when I was happier with my shooting I stopped working on the mental imagery and I stopped improving/went backwards a bit. Since realising this I've been working really hard on the mental side again. I haven't had a chance to shoot a round I can compare with yet, but I feel like I am on top of the world with my shooting, I have so much confidence (just through mentally shooting perfect arrows), that I'm sure I'll go back on Saturday shooting a portsmouth and get a new PB. Will let you know how it goes!

[geoffretired]

Anna K, that is very interesting.Thanks.
Do you think the levelling off happened because your actual shooting had stopped trying to "copy" the better shooting you had "seen" in your imagery?
Put another way; you stopped trying to copy a better technique and started accepting your own as the model.
Would you expect your imagery to start "seeing" an even better technique in future so your imagery stays one step ahead of the actual shooting? A bit of a snowball effect.

[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

[Flying Whale]

Originally Posted by Yorker

The main thing I was getting at is the best way to spend your time while you have a range to shoot down is shooting. If you are getting 9s, then you should ask yourself why. Continue to aim for more and more 10s until you are getting 10s almost all the time.

I am not saying you are wrong, but I am wondering whether I agree totally with this. You say nobody that gets coaching improves without shooting. This may be true....

...However, without coaching, how can you be sure you are practicing the correct technique. It would be quite possible to practice and practice a sub-optimal technique. In the end you may get to be good (as long as you reproduce it well), but you may prevent yourself from ever being better than just good.