Clicker Or No Clicker

[clickerati]

Erika and Marcus, you both make good points and you're both high class competitive archers. You also live on the other side of the world and while I realise that archery is one big worldwide community, not everyone subscribes to the same kind of coaching in every part of the world.

I don't know what it's like in Oz, but in the UK not every club has access to the best coaching. You do what you can, you come to places like AIUK, you ask people who are better archers.

I've only been using a clicker for six months. I was reluctant at first, but I got along quite well with mine. I like using a clicker. I believe I use it correctly (ask OB, he's my mentor). I want my archery to progress, so I know I have to use one, but not everyone wants to take their archery further than club level. There are people at my club who don't use clickers and they're progressing just fine. Perhaps they will hit a plateau eventually because they don't use one, but that remains to be seen.



I'm just curious, though...if a clicker is so invaluable, why do barebowmen like Tim Mundon shoot the pants off of top recurve archers?

[X10-arrow]

Thankyou so much Roy your theory on the clicker and timing does seem to make sense...also as a side note i find i tend to shoot left side of the target using the clicker ...could this be down to overdrawing?

Originally Posted by GBARCH1975

You must first isolate why you feel more relaxed when you shoot without the clicker, and why the tension and timing increases when you do use one?

One of the main reasons for this is that when not using a clicker, you the archer is in total control of the shot. You determine when you draw, when and where you aim, and when you are ready to release. Simple!

What changes when a little piece of metal falls off the end of the arrow?

Usually, its the fact that the archer concerned feels like they have lost the final part of the decision making process they have when they shoot without the clicker, the ability to choose when to shoot the arrow!

If I have learnt anything in all my time in this sport and from watching many of the top archers in the world in competition, none of them allow a little piece of metal to decide when they shoot the arrow. It may look like this, but they still decide when that clicker goes by the amount of effort placed into the shot, and through correct placement of the clicker to their draw length.

Just because the clicker is on the bow, does'nt mean the shot has to be slower. The shot can be just as fast, so long as all other elements of the shot are prepared,implemented, and excecuted before the clicker goes off. And this is where the hours of practice must go into. Blank-boss is the usual stomping ground for working these things out, the ability to shoot arrows at close range without fear of missing helps to focus on the task at hand, However I believe to overcome the tension and the slow timing on the shot, shooting at a blank target 5 metres away doesn't help as much as actually practicing it at distance. Most people relax at close distance, as they know that they will hit and group, but often tense up when aiming at distance. This is what you should aim to overcome by concentrating on the timing of the shot than the aiming of the shot. Once you have this, aiming will become easier naturally and the tension in the shot reduced.

Roy

[Random_guy]

Tim also shoots target and field with a clicker, and i'm certain he shoots much better scores with the clicker than he would without!

[levelt]

Having read all 11 pages it appears that there is some difference in opinion between clicker or not but as a beginner I've been adviced to not use one for the first year or so until I've developed a more consistant form.

If I decided to ignore this advice what is the likelyhood of my draw length either increasing or decreasing as I develop over time? Will I end up with arrows that need trimming or having to replace them all with longer ones?

[TJ Mason]

Originally Posted by levelt

Having read all 11 pages it appears that there is some difference in opinion between clicker or not but as a beginner I've been adviced to not use one for the first year or so until I've developed a more consistant form.

If I decided to ignore this advice what is the likelyhood of my draw length either increasing or decreasing as I develop over time? Will I end up with arrows that need trimming or having to replace them all with longer ones?

Nah, not a year - maybe a couple of months after finishing the course, as long as you're shooting regularly. Advance warning - learning correct clicker use is a pain.

My draw length increased by a couple of inches as I became more experienced, then six months ago dropped by a quarter-inch - my scores shot up after that happened.

[Old Bloke]

Treat the draw check (clicker) as a friend and not as the foe.

[Erika]

Originally Posted by clickerati

not everyone subscribes to the same kind of coaching in every part of the world.

Or in every part of a country, that isn't necessarily a good thing.

I don't know what it's like in Oz, but in the UK not every club has access to the best coaching. You do what you can, you come to places like AIUK, you ask people who are better archers.

Same is true of every country, but it isn't a long stretch for a club archer to look at what the best in the World are doing and have a good think about why.

I want my archery to progress, so I know I have to use one, but not everyone wants to take their archery further than club level. There are people at my club who don't use clickers and they're progressing just fine. Perhaps they will hit a plateau eventually because they don't use one, but that remains to be seen.

I don't think that speed of progression is at issue. But doing something wrong and then having to unlearn it takes more than just time. How many archers are lost because they hit a wall all in the name of bad advice and give up in frustration?

Club level, world champs - there is no difference. There is what works and what doesn't. I fail to see why any club level archer should accept poor advice on the grounds that they don't want to be competitive. They still want to shoot and they still want to improve. At some point, if you teach them incorrectly (and they may improve at the time) they will hit a wall. They may think it's just a lack of talent on their part, but in reality it's a lack of good coaching.

I'm just curious, though...if a clicker is so invaluable, why do barebowmen like Tim Mundon shoot the pants off of top recurve archers?

I don't know the gentleman in question, but it sounds like he shoots quite well in compound and recurve. I would suggest as has been mentioned that his recurve with a clicker would be better than without. And the world's best barebowmen all train with clickers.

[Shirt]

Originally Posted by clickerati

I'm just curious, though...if a clicker is so invaluable, why do barebowmen like Tim Mundon shoot the pants off of top recurve archers?

Because practice and dedication make anything possible. There are swedish barebow archers who can quite happily manage a 570 FITA 18. But they put in much more work to get there than someone doing that with a recurve.

[moo-mop]

I don't like posting about other archers than me, but public scores I guess are OK - so Tim Mundon Guildford FITA 25 2006: 572, recurve (on my target).
Same comp 2007, 534 barebow.

[dino1300]

I have to agree with Ericka and Marcus et al.

If you examine the styles of all the top archers, there does look to be a great variation, but in actual fact they are about 90% similar, and in the final execution of the shot about 99% similar. That is because there can only be a tiny amount of variation from the ‘best correct method’ to get the required consistent results.

We should all be striving to achieve the ‘correct’ form and shot. Some will be better at doing this than others; such is the way of life. But if the archer is not even trying to do the shot properly, then they just don’t stand a chance.

Practice does not make perfect.

Perfect practice makes perfect.