Committing to the shot / finishing the shot

[Murray]

For the last couple of years now I've been having difficulty committing to the shot. The symptom is that when I set up the shot and come to full draw, if the clicker doesn't drop within a few seconds, I find it almost impossible to finish the shot (mainly because after a few seconds I know that if I try to shoot it, the resultant flinch/pluck will make it a bad shot)

This winter it got much better - mainly, I think, because I was shooting faster and more consistently in terms of rhythm.

Of course this is all great indoors where there's no wind / rain / other factors to slow the shot down.

I've tried a variety of "mental tricks" to keep the shot flowing, but these only work once or twice before my brain catches on.

So - is it clicker panic? Is it performance anxiety? Is it something else?? I've watched many top archers and they seem to have an endlessly large comfort zone and are always ready to "finish the shot" regardless of how long it takes - this is the control I want, no need, to achieve.

IMO this is the singe biggest factor holding back my scores. It's so frustrating to be at full draw for 4 seconds or so, the gold is dead center on the sight, the clicker drops, and I have to come down on the shot.

The result is that I try to find ways of finishing the shot smoothly and more importantly quickly - which works mostly but still doesn't give me the general consistency I need as the control is lacking. And the "ups and downs" mean I end up pulling 280 arrows rather than 144! Thankfully I'm strong enough to do this, but it's still frustrating.

This Sunday on a couple of shots, I found a line which felt like I could hold the shot all day, and the shot control felt like I could finish the shot regardless.... it was soo nice and reminiscent of some of my best shooting when I shot MB or nearly MB scores. Unfortunately I couldn't consistently replicate that line/feel/whatever the heck it was...

All this is regardless of whether I'm in competition or in practice (which is good - um I think ??!!)

How does one develop a full-draw comfort zone which is as wide as the grand canyon?

Hey Martin - maybe this is a question for your blog!

[moo-mop]

Originally Posted by Murray

How does one develop a full-draw comfort zone which is as wide as the grand canyon?

I would say you can't - you've got to set it up so there's a consistently small amount of arrow to pull to get through the clicker and you're in a consistent position when that happens. In short you have to have better form.

I'm sure all the expert archers you watch think the exact same thing as you from time to time. I'm sure they all know the frustration when they aren't consistent too and things don't go well, as indeed do I (that is I can't shoot much more than 1200 atm).
However, for both of us I'm not convinced the issues are mental troubles, I think they are form troubles. All I can say is that I keep working on my form when I get in a rut where things aren't working, and hope to come out the other side eventually.

[moo-mop]

Originally Posted by Yorker

imagine going through the shot routine and shooting perfectly every shot

I only wish this worked. I do believe you've actually got to go back to your sequence and practice and write down each bit of your shot. Then pratice and write down the joining up of each bit of your shot, the transistions. And you've got to do it for real. You either haven't learnt, or in our cases where we've shot better in the past perhaps just forgotten, your form and imagery may help but is no substitute.

[avalon]

It's something I've had in the past... I frequently end up on the line by myself because I've come down so many times, I think the worst one was a fita 70m where I drew my bow 150 times for a 72 arrow round. It became a completely mental thing, failing to commit to the shot and fearing what would happen if I let the one that took 'too long' go. I took myself to a smaller tournament, and made myself a promise to shoot every arrow that I drew up (which may have been extreme as I then didn't let down the one that I'd set up wrong). OK, initially some of the 'slow' shots weren't finished as well as they could have been so didnt score so well, but as the shoot went on it got much better, and better still for the next tournament.

I think I've started with the same thing again this time around, so will have to work on it!

Good luck!

[Rhys]

For me its always that bit just as I come to anchor, I know if I don't fully commit then I'll have exactly what you described Murray. No solution yet for myself other than making sure I do it right each shot.

I can do it everytime in practise, but still have to focus to get it right at competitions, which is bad

[Chris B]

Murray, do you make a visual check on your clicker as you appraoch full-draw?
I tend to do this to verify that i only have ~1mm left to do while aiming.

I once read a great bit of advice. Cant remember exactly but hte gist of it was;
You get to full draw, there are 3 possible outcomes;
1) you pull and pull, expanding steadily at the same rate, and it goes click. arrow whizzes off and everything is fine.

2) you pull and pull, expanding steadily at the same rate, and the shot deteriorates to the point where you abandon it and start again.

3) you pull and pull, expanding steadily at the same rate, and you pull some more; forever in fact. you stand there until the end of time expanding steadily at the same rate!

of course, the third eventuality can never happen, but it is the one you must expect every time you get to full draw. ie. infinite patience for your clicker (with some confidence that your patience will pay off).

for me, having a little visual check of the clicker, (and having the physical control necessary) adds alot of confidence. Loads of good archers just exude this patience from every pore. i aspire to it continuously.

[geoffretired]

Murray, forgive me if I am mistaken, but I think it was you who told me once that you practised drawing through the clicker at different speeds so that you were not so dependent on one speed of draw. If it wasn't you, then I think the advice may still be helpful. If you can get your "good shots" away at different times, perhaps you could then relax and ignore the time it is taking on any particular shot. Patience with the clicker and almost total disregard for it;until it clicks. When it clicks you will release; you always do.
"I am on aim; I am still drawing and it is going well."
At present you seem to be expecting a bad shot once a fixed time has passed. I think that's a pretty sure way to produce a bad shot.

[grimsby archer]

Originally Posted by moo-mop

IHowever, for both of us I'm not convinced the issues are mental troubles, I think they are form troubles. All I can say is that I keep working on my form when I get in a rut where things aren't working, and hope to come out the other side eventually.

Hmm, good argument: is it form or is it mental?
Is it form (technique) that prevents the clicker going off or is it a mental fear of the clicker NOT going off?

Surely one could well argue that it MUST be mental since the form or technique is capable of completing the shot. From what Murray describes, there is no change in form between the good shots and the unsatisfactory shots except when he forces a change to try to eliminate the perceived problem. The form is non cognitive (subconscious if you like) so shouldnt be affected by cognitive processes.
The results moomop describes as a cure by working on the form surely comes about from repeated reinforcement of the practised form improving the "consious" confidence in the ability to complete shot.

I'm sure you will have read books like "Winning in Mind" by Lanny Bassham, but perhaps Murray's description of these techniques as "mental tricks" betrays a lack of belief and confidence in the process.
A clicker isnt a "trick," its a tool to do a job, and the software we use to shoot with is just as important as the hardware

[moo-mop]

Originally Posted by grimsby archer

Surely one could well argue that it MUST be mental since the form or technique is capable of completing the shot.

Ahh but you see I would I doubt the above if you add the rider 'is capable completing a good shot' and also I doubt there's really no physical difference between the shots he's describing. Then looking for mental issues is a danger.

For every archer there's a range of acceptable shots that you will shoot and some flexibility to allow for each individual's level of errors.
As we strive for consistency we strive to set up the point with a) the same distance to go and b) the same structure which allows us to 'expand' sufficiently to get the arrow to move.
When I can't get through the clicker it's likely to be one of the above isn't done to the level I need to in order to complete what I deem a good shot at the level I'm going for (btw looking at the point doesn't solve 'a' but may help to diagnose 'a').

Once you start struggling then you also get a tendency to start doubting yourself, particularly if you have done better in the past. Then you're tempted to change something and the form really goes. Hence you have a mental and a form issue and you've made it worse by not working on the route cause in the first place.
So I try, and it's hard, not to go there and take it back to form when things aren't working for me (and not getting through my clicker is a common one).

When it's going wrong in competitions I always fall back on doing my sequence, ignoring as I can the fact I'm not doing it as well as I do on other occasions [Edit: and hence no way round your two evil choices: come down try to do it again better or keep expanding as well as you can for a bit longer].
When it's going wrong in practice I take it back to my sequence consciously working on each part of my shot so hopefully the set-up is just more consistent, and then of course you have time to make changes too.

[grimsby archer]

Originally Posted by moo-mop

Once you start struggling then you also get a tendency to start doubting yourself, particularly if you have done better in the past. Then you're tempted to change something and the form really goes. Hence you have a mental and a form issue and you've made it worse by not working on the route cause in the first place.
So I try, and it's hard, not to go there and take it back to form when things aren't working for me (and not getting through my clicker is a common one).

Sure, a well thought out argument and I think I understand what you are saying.
Certainly it would seem correct to diagnose whether or not the problem is a pure technique/form issue. Wrong muscle usage/alignment will cause clicker problems. for me the standard of "shooting at a blank boss" is the give away. I dont incidentally believe in shooting at a blank boss as a "cure" merely a diagnostic tool. Change something, like removing the target, and the problem goes away perhaps temporarily and its clearly a mental issue, since the technique hasnt changed, just the mental focus.

In the case of a mental issue, changing the form is possibly the worst thing to do as youve taken a process which works, but is hindered by another, and changed it, so you end up with 2 processes which cause problems. Self doubt as you say, which often leads so quickly into doubt of the technique is a vicious circle. the more the doubt, the worse the shot, so it must be the technique which leads to more doubt when in fact it may be the doubt that is the problem.