nervousness and flinching

[Jay.G]

when i first started archery i never had problems with been nervous and flinching but now even just practicing i flinch so much, is it just the environmental effect or is it just me been over analysing each shot.

[apexrob]

Some call it " Target Panic ". :D

[The One]

If you're flinching, then you're in two minds about whether your clicker is going to go off or not, or whether or not you want to shoot the shot. You need to build up the confidence to shoot a good shot, and know that when you shoot it, it will be good. Blank butt is the way, mon ami.

[Gunzer]

The One, teach me. I get a bit of a shock when I hear the clicker go off and my so aim goes to la la land.

[TJ Mason]

Flinching is a psychological problem that (thankfully) can be addressed by physical means. You need to get back to performing basic execution well and automatically, especially the follow-through.

I managed to reduce my flinching greatly by training with a Formaster. This taught me how things should feel when I follow through properly. Another useful training aid was a dodgy thumb release:
http://www.archery-forum.com/viewtopic.php?p=112470

[Jay.G]

Yea i kinda thought blanket butts would be helpful.

thanks ppl

[The One]

The One, teach me. I get a bit of a shock when I hear the clicker go off and my so aim goes to la la land.

It's not a quick fix, I'm afraid, but takes an amount of blank butt shooting, combined with mental training. When you're shooting the blank butt, you should be concentrating on keeping the motion going all the way through the shot, and shooting 'quick'. Don't force the shots, but they need to start going off faster - have a look at the top AIS guys - from anchor to release, no more than 2-3 seconds. You're most likely to develop this problem if you're holding for too long, and it can be worsened if you're holding too much poundage. Once you've progressed from blank butt to shooting targets at long distances, don't let the shot slow down, keep that same rhythm.

Mentally, you must be in a positive mindset. Instead of thinking, "I hope my clicker isn't going to go off now, because I'm really not too prepared to shoot this one...", you should be thinking "I feel confident that when this shot goes off, it will be a good shot."

So essentially, you must develop consistant rhythm to your shot, and you must have a positive mental attitude. Get these two things sorted, and your scores will skyrocket.

[Jay.G]

yea well said. I say practice and practice and abit more practice but dont over do it all you'll injure your self.

Like I did!!! :o

[apexrob]

The One, teach me. I get a bit of a shock when I hear the clicker go off and my so aim goes to la la land.

I remember someone telling me story once of how Newtricks used to hit two 20 cent pieces together and make a certain New Zealander shoot through his clicker . I know this is off the topic a bit , funny though . :lol:

[Gunzer]

Hmm... The One, it goes against

Power draws the string, timing of the aim hits the targetBut you do have a very good point.

I'll try the speed shooting and skip the breathing thingy... pfft 2 ~ 3 seconds... I won't die holding my breath that long.

[The One]

Different people advocate different breathing rhythms - I would suggest taking a deep zen breath, exhale, inhale as you draw your bow, and start slowly exhaling as you come in to anchor and throughout the shot - inhaling as you draw up gives a natural feeling of strength, and exhaling as you aim gives a natural feeling of relaxation.

I'm afraid that I am not deeply familiar with Japanese Zen, but would comment that if that teaching is formulated for the art of kyudo, then it is more of a culture, rather than a biomechanically correct method of shooting, to my knowledge (many parts, though, may be identical).

[Gunzer]

Tried it and made mixed results. It was windy in Homebush so I can't say which to work on first. Even at close range the wind was blowing both me (arm body and all) and the arrow. If confidence in the shot is what you mean, I'm good at it. If it's confidence in aim is the one you're getting at, well... I need to work this one out (my breathing is still uneven)

OPINION: The Zen of shooting the arrow has nothing to do with the physical aspect of the shooting (except probably the power and aim part). As I understand it (or in my interpretation), it takes physical strength to draw a powerful bow so it'll take a lot of physical workout and practice to get the form right which is about half the work. Ki Sik Lee claims that everyone shakes. This is due to the body being under physical stress. We can control physical stress by growing muscles associated with the parts of the body that undergoes stress. More back muscles means you can hold heavier weights. More deltoid muscles mean you can keep your aim a lot steadier. But if you don't breath, your muscles suffer twice the fatigue as it get deprived of oxygen to burn the fuel stored in the body (it makes use of "recycled air" instead of "fresh air", hence a flow of "fresh air" is necessary).

[The One]

I would suggest that you don't place too much emphasis on your aim. A well-executed shot aimed in the red will give you a red. A poorly executed shot aimed in the gold will give you a much lower score. Don't worry too much if the wind pushes you a wee bit off-course, you must still shoot a good shot. So don't try to rip the bow back to centre as the clicker goes off - you will most likely over-shoot, or lose connection with your back muscles, and relax everything simultaneously instead, collapsing into the shot. Also the more you do this, the more bad habits will become engrained. Just focus on shooting good shots, even if your aim isn't directly centre. You may be wary of doing this in tournaments, but if you train for it in practice, you will shoot better shots in tournaments, and will not flinch or jerk the bow when the clicker goes off.