Why do we hate to let down?

[enseth]

This topic has been touched on by some in the previous thread on "When to let down", but what is it that makes us go through with a shot even though we no we should have let down?

Some have suggested laziness, but I suspect it's more than that. I know I often do it, but I am still grappling with the exact reasons as to why.

[Marcus]

Why i sometimes don't let down:

Getting tired, it's extra effort to letdown and shoot it again
Confidence, as in "next shot will suck anyway". This is less often at the moment
Time. Need to get the shot away regrdless due to time constraints.
Wind. Calm has come up on a bad day, if I let down I may lose that chance. Better a 9 than a 6.

[robbo]

I put it down to efficiency/laziness, not wanting to draw the bow twice for the one score.


That and, Nah..it'l be right.

But what ever it is, I am getting tired of shooting and saying to myself, @$#% I should have let down. :roll:

Cost me a lot of points on the weekend.

[The One]

For me, 70% of the time, it's a time thing. 20% of the time, I still think there's a possibility of having a good shot, even if it feels bad, and 10% of the time, and know it won't be the best, and am too lazy to let down. That all being said, I know that I really need to be able to set up the shot a lot better so that I don't have any of these troubles!

[tony60x]

For me it was because letting down just wasnt part of the shot - you know we train for most other conditions etc but not for this.

i do a drill every so often when I can get Grace11X to play - i draw up on a target and then she flips a coin and tails I let down and heads I shoot - and then I score.
This way I now have letting down as part of the game - I think i did help abit - I even found myself letting down on "heads" when it didnt feel right. Except until I got a string of 6 tails and I knew that Grace11X was cheating!!!!



regards

[Marcus]

Grace11X
I didn't know you were 60 Tony60X, I would have guessed closer to 58. ;) :rofl:

[Zoe]

Confidence, as in "next shot will suck anyway"...
...Time. Need to get the shot away regrdless due to time constraints.
Wind. Calm has come up on a bad day, if I let down I may lose that chance. Better a 9 than a 6.

I’d agree all those have applied to me, but personally speaking I would add another one that nobody’s mentioned yet.

On numerous occasions (though less frequently now) I’ve failed to let down when I know I should have due purely and simply to nerves. Typically, it would be because I was in danger of the dreaded ‘last on the line’ scenario. That is, I wanted to get the shot away to prevent myself from being last on a big shooting line, or because I was last on the line and wanted (more than a good arrow) to get the experience over with (even though I’m able to rationalise that noone’s really looking much less cares).
Also had the experience at an indoor shoot a couple of years ago. Wasn’t doing well or anything, not positioned to lose or gain anything, then just had this inexplicable dread pour over me. In that situation, I shot quite a number of arrows where my form set-up was all over the place, but I honestly felt like I wouldn’t be physically capable of re-drawing the bow if I let down.
Have never had a problem in field.
Now, call me a basket-case, weak-spined or whatever, but I know, I know I am not the only one. Have only shot for four or so years, but I have watched plenty of archers (good and experienced archers too) last on the line, shoot when they know they should not, with plenty of time on the clock. You’ve all seen it too I’m sure – you know they’ve been holding more than their optimum time, and you’re silently saying “just let down, let down” (or if you are evil and they’re your competitor you think “yesss, take the shot, just take it, mwahahaha”), and you know that they’re going to shoot, and you don’t have to look at the target to predict their facial expression when they do!

And then you have your nutters out there who are immune to that sort of thing.

[James Park]

I have seen archers decline to shoot their last arrow because they would have been last archer on the shooting line.
I the State Clout a few years ago one of my friends was having a major panic about being the last on the line - I simply assured him that it would never happen because I would ensure I always had one arrow left when he shot his last one. He won the event.

[The One]

I'm with you on that one Zoe - definately done it a fair few times, especially when I was shooting a higher poundage.

[Kuru]

Gotta love it when you know you should let down but think fck it, then bam straight in the middle :lol:

[baldmountain]

And then you have your nutters out there who are immune to that sort of thing.

Hey, I resemble that remark. :D

I never get nervous at a shoot. I am obsessing about my form way to much to get nervous. :o I usually screw myself up by thinking WAY too much about how I'm shooting rather than thinking about what others may be thinking.

I have thrown good scores away by just shooting the last arrow where ever because I was tired and just wanted to finish. :roll:

I don't let down very often because I haven't shot long enough to know when things are off. They have to be WAY off before I let down.

Oh, and how many times have you thought to yourself, "This is screwed. I better let down." and the release goes off and the arrow is in the ten? :o

[Harald]

Agree with Gareth. Happened me a couple of times at training today.
With spare bow (to short draw length) and everything.
:D :D :D


Felt hot today. Guess I'm best when it does not count like the Norw soccer team beating Nothern Irland 4 -1 in a friendship game yesterday. 8) 8)

[OldDog]

They only won that game because the irish were sent off at 1/2 time for fightin. :D :D

[Axilla]

Were they fighting the Norwegians or each other? :D

[OldDog]

The spectators :D

[abaggs]

LOL

[clever_guy]

Because unless you train yourself to think otherwise (by learning to let down, and under what conditions you will allow yorself to let down), letting down is failure. No one likes to fail, it is mentally easier to carlessely fling an arrow, than restart your shot sequence on an aborted (failed) arrow.

-CG