Checking shot processes; help!

[geoffretired]

Addo's thread has triggered a question that I have wanted to ask for some time now.When I read his poll thread, it helped me formulate my question;so thanks for that, addo.
Of all the processes that we can check as the shot progresses, one is different from the rest( I think) in that it can only get checked(if at all) after the shot has been executed.
When everything seems to have gone to plan, but the shot ends up as a poor one, is it just the release to blame, or some earlier stage that was wayward but escaped notice, or earlier flaws having a bad influence on the release?
If it is the latter, which earlier process is likely to have the most damaging effect?
When these shots happen to me, I am usually left thinking," Don't know what happened to that one!"

[The Meggy]

I get those shots from time to time too Geoff, unfortunately like you I don't know the answer! Some thoughts I have on this though: these unexplained misses tend to occur in batches to some extent - i.e. I have days when they seem to occur a lot more, and days when they hardly occur if at all. This makes me think it is down to an unconcious form error which I may not always do. Plus I sometimes get them in the middle of a tournament when I'm really pushing to score as well as I can - in this case I think maybe I'm tensing up a bit without realising it and thus introducing some sort of error I'm not aware of (maybe torquing the grip or tensing muscles that don't need to be tensed!). A case of trying too hard basically.

If the above is true then I would tend towards the opinion that such misses are down to unconcious errors in form introduced before the release. This is reinforced by the fact that such shots are usually accompanied by the feeling that the release was in fact particularly good - I think "oh yes, that went off well", look through scope confidently expecting a nice middle gold, only to be rudely offended by the sight of arrow waggling in the blue (or worse)!

Cheers Graham

[mk1]

...and what is the difference between trying too hard and concentrating on getting all the steps correct? Oh it can be subtle sometimes. Then there is the shoot you fluke off on a good day that goes in the middle try the same thing on a bad day and ...

I went to the line on Sunday at the start of the 2nd three dozen on a 70m FITA and Lo! I'd no quiver, aaahhh it wasn't in my tent!!, swift walk to the gazebo 12 targets down the line find quiver that had been moved back to line. Decided best policy was to just put them down one after the other till I got blown off the line - result? one of my best ends of the day.

[The Meggy]

Indeed it is subtle Mk1. Concentrating on "getting all the steps correct" rarely works for me. Perhaps better to just pick on one element of form to keep the old concious busy. Interesting about your rushed but good end. I think that's kind of it - you were just shooting without too much care about your score or anything, i.e. "short of time so let's just get the arrows shot" and result: your subconcious did what it does given the chance - and the arrows go straight to the middle.

[geoffretired]

Thanks for the posts. Shooting faster does help many archers. I think that's to do with giving themselves less time to get worried. So they need to focus on the essentials. Also it lets the archer see that a strict time schedule for every shot is not vital. So a late finish does not mean doom.It also helps confidence to know that the timing can be changed according to circumstances.

[Robin the Hood]

Geoff.. ...I do believe that the process in shooting the arrow can be seperated into 2 parts. 1st is the preperation in which all the various disciplines are put through and checked. This includes loading the arrow, alignment and preperation as far as the draw. 2nd is the execution of the shot, which is the process of drawing, sighting and the release ending with the follow through.
The first part takes most of the time and depends also on how detailed the process is. I think mine is probably as much as 15 secs. The second part is a lot quicker and is around a couple of seconds.
If all of the first part is correctly done the second part gives the result to prove it. Any deviation shown on the result comes back to what was missed on the 1st stage, this is where 'how detailed the checkpoints are' plays a large part.
I've always wondered how many of these other archers have, I believe that beginners would give about 5 - 6 moves if asked before they started the course, where as after the course this would be more detailed and probably increase to 10 - 12. The longer serving archers I think would be even greater, Mine is 40 + which is why when having not shot for a while I need a quick revision. But it does allow me to start off virtually where I finished......

Paul....

[geoffretired]

Thanks for that, Paul.
I frequently think of the shot as part 1- getting everything ready for the "last bit" and then part 2- doing the last bit(release/ follow through)
Your two parts are separated at the draw; what's before it/ what's happening from there onwards. MMM. I have never really looked at the shot that way before.. I feel something new happening soon.
So, does part one include a rehearsal of what will happen during part 2? I am unsure. What about checking that the draw stage goes according to plan? If all part 1 goes well, is there ever a need to abort during stage 2?
Very interesting, Paul. I need to get my head round your idea.Help!

[Erika]

All of the process checks guarantee a perfect shot. Gives you opportunity to abort before getting to the release. The release will be right if everything else was right.
I can tell you that the shot is going to be bad before it goes because i can feel that i didn't set up correctly. Unfortunately doesn't stop me from shooting that shot... the better you are, the less mistakes you make in the setup in the first place.
Same way I shot a 7 with the recurve on the weekend....i was aiming it there. No excuses can be made. I still shot it.

[geoffretired]

Thanks for that, Erika.
I think I understand. If there is sound preparation, the end results will be good. If the arrow misses the expected mark, it's the fault of what went before the release; not the fault of the release itself. Did I understand correctly? Cheers.

[Erika]

Exactly.
My technique breaks down into steps. Each step is a check point. If something is wrong at that point I abandon ship and start again. A good release is only good if the set up was good.
There is no point focusing on the release until everything else is right, because you're only window dressing if you try and force it.