Why You Suck at Archery by Ruis Steve

Author:Ruis, Steve [Ruis, Steve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2013-02-25T16:00:00+00:00

It’s About Time, Bubba—No, Really, Time

You are probably thinking it is about time I got around to telling you what’s needed to make a strong mental program, but likewise the heading of this section could mean it’s about time you got around to learning the mental side. Actually, I need to talk about . . . time. Because time is really, really important.

Let me give you an example. Just think about drawing your bow and then holding your form, at full draw, for say two minutes. Probably at the 20 to 30 second mark you are going to start thinking about shooting me for suggesting this cockamamie exercise. I don’t really want you to actually do this, but you can see that time is important. Once you raise your bow to start a shot you start using muscle energy at a higher rate (in the muscles used to shoot, of course). If you take too long those muscles will not perform like you want them to and you will take poor shots. Below I will show you how to figure out your best shot timing, but the point here is that the amount of time your shot takes is important.

Equally important is where you place your attention. This is the job of your shot sequence. First you pay attention to taking your stance, then you pay attention to nocking an arrow, then . . . etc. If you find yourself at full draw and you are thinking about your stance, are you gonna get off a good shot? Most people say “no,” and they are right. So, your attention must shift onto stance, then off of stance and onto nocking an arrow, then off of nocking an arrow and onto setting your hands, then . . . etc.

And your attention is limited. Your attention will shift after just a few seconds, so you have to create a list of things to establish the order in which it shifts (the shot sequence) and you can’t dawdle, because what happens to, say, your stance when you are at full draw? If you think it is “set it and forget it,” you’re wrong. I have watched thousands of archers shoot and, if you pay careful attention, you can see all kinds of things going on that are not wanted. I see archers at full draw with their hips opening or closing, with their bow shoulders rising, with their rear elbows dropping. Compound archers, because we spend so much time at full draw are susceptible to all kinds of form flaws creeping in when we aren’t paying attention. (You are focused on aiming at full draw, no? Well, you are not paying attention to your hips or feet, then. Me, too. I am not immune.)

So, your attention is limited, your ability to focus is limited, so if we keep the time short, we minimize body parts drifting off doing their own things. Now, we also can’t rush through our shots. Think about yanking the bowstring back instead of drawing it back smoothly and strongly.

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