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Ratfighter's Blog
Club: Merlin Archery Club Bow: Merlin XS x2 Sight: Axcel 3000 Viper Scope Arrows: Navigators & Gold Tip Ultralight Pro's Accesories: Apollo launcher, CC Porter release, Merlin Triad stabiliser
Bows now sporting my own strings!!!! yummy!!
26 August 2007
This is quite a difficult one for me. I know the answers are somewhere in my head but quite what they are and how I react to them I'm not sure. This entry is more for me to mull over the information running around in my head, so be warned
Like I have written in earlier blogs, the events at the WBHC left me a little deflated, I underperformed (by my standards at subsequent shoots and my practise scores were / are, a good 20 off my pb.
Now there are numerous reasons for this and I am more than aware that I have to learn the new bow but usually I have little difficulty adjusting to new equipment.
My issues largely revolve around targets over 40 yards. I had trouble in Switzerland with the longer shots but this was not particularly obvious due to the conditions. However, managing to toally miss targets at Forest of Arden and Hansen, rang a few alarms. I have managed to break more arrows in 1 month than I have done in maybe 3 years previously and all at distances over 40 yards.
I am sure that the bow tune is ok. However I could not get a reasonable bare shaft tune, to the point where I stopped trying. I have checked all my archery software and the shafts are an optimum choice but the flight is truly awful. The contact angles on the 55m target shows that there are definite issues and the groups are not really anything to write home about. I reset the nocking point to 90 degrees and tried everything from +1/4" to -1/4" and all that occurred was the arrows moved up or down the target. But even this doesn't account for missing bosses at 40yds. My marks seem ok and when distances are mentioned I don't seem to differ too far from those that hit the kill, so I think my judgement is still there.
THE BAD STUFF
It occurred to me on the second day at Gemert, following a really bad start on the first day, that I am putting myself under a lot of pressure. My job is at least, very stressful and having a hobby that appears equally stressful may not be particularly benficial to my health. I took 12 targets to get a kill, TWELVE, As at least half of the targets were hunters (one shot) I managed a number of blanks and found myself trailing by 70 points and that was 1/3 of the way into the competition. I tried every target, I carefully judged, went through my shot routine exactly the same and the results just didn't come. In my head, things were spinning round and round but the answer I kept coming up with was "I don't need this stress". With 7 on a target, you get quite a bit of thinking time. I tried to work out what I enjoyed and what I didn't enjoy and whilst the shooting was every bit as pleasing as always, the competition wasn't. OK I know the attitude is wrong but that's where I am! Every time things start to go bad I don't feel like being there! I don't remember feeling like that before. I do remember getting uptight and angry, thus ruining my day but this is different. I definitely didn't get angry as such, in fact, alom
So, I kind of made up my mind that I wouldn't shoot competitively until my head was right, after all if you have a sore arm, the best advice would be to avoid prodding it, the same must apply to the brain, if you are feeling negative, vunerable and defensive, the last thing to do would be to expose yourself to the cause of the problem.
Of course this in itself creates problems, Ruthy doesn't have these issues, in fact she is shooting her best form ever, so I would still go along to the competitions but could I walk around watching her shoot? What would this do to her form? Could I shoot non competitive? I doubt I could pick up a bow, shoot against others and not compare my score, who could? What if I was to change styles where hitting them was the goal rather than pinning them? Doesn't work for me, I have always shot compound (other than my time with a crossbow) and other forms of bow do absolutely nothing for me. Not that I have anything against them, my fire just remains unlit!
After much mulling my thoughts are this!
1/ Stress is a bad thing, so I am purposley avoiding anything that stresses me out. If something starts to be come a problem, I either stop it OR try and see the funny side, so far this week I feel I have made steps towards less trauma. How I transfer this into my shooting? I'm not sure but I have to figure out if you can filter negative pressure out and keep the positive stuff that gives a good competitive performance. I'm not one for visualising warm snuggly boxes and putting red thoughts in green envelopes and sealing them away in my mind. But there must be a way of doing it. Any suggestions???
2/ Is the bow really set up? I've done the measurement thing, I have done the timing thing and they are all on the money, the bow is quieter and faster with less vibration which all points to the set up being correct but the arrow flight and the grouping isn't there. My thoughts are to make a drawboard as Hoyt decided the only way to correctly set up the bow is at full draw and with 60 lbs wanting to get going, this is quite a strenuous task and maybe thats where the mistakes are coming in. Following on from that, as the rest position is making no difference, I am going to have to go back to paper tuning. There is also creep tuning and french tuning. I used creep tuning on my old Bowman Accuriser and it was extremely effective. French tuning seems a little laborious but I suppose I have to give it a go. Failing that, would taking the bow to someone like my good friend from Bedfordshire get the bow performing?
3/ Is the bow for me? If the bow is set up and I am still launching arrows willy nilly, them it has to be me. We have taken loads of burst photos of me shooting and my form looks consistent but am I tensing on the shot and being punished at the target?. I try and set my bows up to compromise between the good and the not so good, but perhaps the bow just doesn't tolerate the not so good!. Ironically the last bow I didn't get on with was a Hoyt, no matter what I tried I couldn't get consistency with the Intec and this was on the back of my best ever year using a Hoyt Striker 2!!!. In the end I made the decision to move on and my scores immediately jumped back to where they were! But and its a big BUT, I have already spent far too much money on archery equipment this year. I bought the Hoyt in Switzerland and it served a purpose but it was horrendously expensive £600 for a last years model, which would be barely £500 in this country in 06, so a part chop would reward me with @ £250. A big loss on 2 months of use. Ebay may provide £350 but even this would find me £250 short of a decent spec bow. Coupled with the fact that a number of 08 bows are waiting in the wings. I would lose out again by buying an 07 bow. So I'm not sure this can be an option. So maybe I plump for a secondhand bow which has lost all it's going to lose, use it and then go for an 08 of some variety. I have been looking at the Rytera Bullet x. There are a number of high end features on the bow, including their variety of weedel cams and quadra cables pioneered on my Bowman Accuriser!. It's no slouch at 315fps either. Rumours are that something big is happening at Rytera for 08. Also the Bowtech Allegiance is largely sorted and having shot an 05 one for a year, they are certainly a good bow!
All these decisions!!! _________________ MERLIN ARCHERY CLUB
GETTING RATTIER BY THE MINUTE
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Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2007 2:10 am Post subject:
segolden:
Okay, bro, this is coming from a guy without any formal training in the field, so take it for what you think it's worth (probably nothing). I can't judge anything of your situation since I'm not there anyway, so all we can do is guess what's going on by your posts, and I assume that you're not just throwing these things out there as a way to kvetch.
Back in the Cro-Magnon days, I would watch students at the firing line as they'd become acquainted with their equipment, and I could immediately see how they thought of both themselves and their weapons. It was interesting how it seemed to involve the differences between the sexes. Women generally seemed upbeat in attitude once they felt they were getting somewhere, even if their scores were poor at first. Since most had no previous experience with the equipment, they had no bad habits to overcome, no attitude problems derived from peer pressure to look good in the beginning. If they goofed up, so what? Chalk it up to either inexperience or plain bad manipulation, and go on from there. Sure, there was plenty of competition, particularly as they all improved as a class together, but that didn't start to manifest until they knew that they were beyond the basics of the course. Even those gals who were there out of some bad experience in their lives knew that it was mostly fun, just practice.
Men don't have that same attitude, especially those that are anal about details. Despite starting from a position where everyone is at the same skill level, they know that some guys are going to be inherently better than others. The competition is there from the beginning, and we MUST perform well in front of the boys. Otherwise, we lose face, mostly with ourselves.
From this and your previous posts, I'm going to take a wild guess that you're in what I call a "plateau spiral". You've reached a certain level of competence, seen the improvement over time and expect more. The learning curve had flattened, however, and you've noticed mistakes, had some equipment problems, took apart and put your form back together, etc., etc. ad nauseum. Meanwhile, Ruthie's had a few ups and downs, but has remained confident and continued to improve, while you keep on having doubts about this or that detail in equipment, methodology or yourself. As that continues, the downward spiral does also.
People are often their own worst enemy, especially in a sporting activity. We guys constantly compare ourselves to other guys, but that unconscious attitude is enhanced when our mates (or potential mates) are around. That animal-part of the brain is no better than a chicken's, but it exerts a mighty force nonetheless. I have no doubt that's playing a part in your present situation.
Still, there is more to it than that, whether it's stress or even lack of confidence with your kit. There may be some slight deficiencies with your gear, and there might not be anything wrong there at all (and it's probably the latter). Even outside sources of stress can play a part, but that's not the core of the problem. The real problem you're having is negative reinforcement. At base, archery is not a sport to you, it is a reflection upon your life as both a man and as a mate, deadly serious stuff. That manifests itself as a control issue, and anything that appears uncontrolled is brooded upon to the point where it begins to go further out of control. The old saying that the devil's in the details really applies here.
To put it in an oversimplified way, it's only a game. Stop taking yourself and competitive archery so seriously. In any physical activity, the true athlete performs almost unconsciously, with an attitude of calm concentration upon the goal, not the present moment. The conscious mind is simply not capable of total control no matter how hard it tries, so you just have to let it go and trust in your training. If you make it a survival issue where your performance is vital to yourself (ego), then you'll be chasing gold forever without achieving it. Risking that I'm being too blunt, I'll mix a couple of my generation's metaphors:
Hi Segolden,
I was hoping you would come along with a view on this!
I am sure that the main cause of the stress is exactly as you describe, to the point where I have tried to take apart the issue in an attempt to put it back together the right way.
You are also right that Ruthy just lets stuff happen and I realise that I need to uncomplicate matters and take them less seriously.
Even IF there are equipment issues, I recognise that I still need to address the mental issues. The evidence is there and reading back through my blogs (see they do serve a purpose) the evidence was always there. SO
As you have come across this before, how do you get someone like me to deprogramme myself and get back to the "healthy competitive spirit"
It's almost impossible for me to understand "Stop taking yourself and competitive archery so seriously". I have literally spent forever competing at something. Maybe the reason I only achieved sporadic success was due to this failing. I would like it to stop, so I can get on with enjoying the sport. (Don't expect me to stop tinkering with the bow though)
Help would cerrtainly be appreciated!!
Sunday 26 August 2007 - 17:18:12
Not sure I can help with this and surely segolden will know more. I find that when I'm frustrated with my shooting I go round the course and don't score a thing, I don't even aim for the spot. I just pick a point on the butt or pin a leaf up on the side and shoot at it or if I'm with some one its 5p to who ever gets closer to the bit we pick. It's still competative but a hell of a lot more fun than just spot spot spot shooting. It sounds like you need to break a cycle and just go out and laugh at what your doing and how your doing it. Or take someone out and make sure they can't shoot at your level and spend time watching them and worrying about their shooting giving advice to them, a guy at our club does that with me and he always seems to shoot better after and I get some advice from some one I respect. Sorry if this is useless but archery even at your level should be fun and if thats gone what else is there.
Sunday 26 August 2007 - 21:57:20
Ya got the right idea, Blackcat! Anything to cure oneself of competitive mania is a positive step, and it's never easy. Everything you've mentioned can be applied, but those are means by which one can maintain his/her emotional equilibrium, methods of keeping perspective during or before the big game. You are onto the actual solution, however, in that breaking the negative reinforcement cycle is the key.
What we're talking about here, Ratfighter, is a form of "target panic". May not seem like the classic phenomenon (if there is such a thing), but it is a more subtle version than one might notice in competition or hunting. Other than taking up Zen or Martial Arts, there are only a few things which can be done for it, one of which you'll see below.
Archery is a series of repetitive physical actions, requiring the body to do certain movements the same way for each shot. Almost NONE of those moves require the active mind for their accomplishment because, unlike any new skill being initially practiced, they should and have to be controlled by moves ingrained by repetition into the nervous system. In this case function of the body is dictated by the equipment, so we must train with whatever we have available. In order to program the bodily movements required, a totally noncompetitive environment is needed. That means a solid month without any formal shooting, period, no exceptions.
Yes, you can fiddle with the bow, afterwards. For now, take every gadget off the Hoyt, sights, stabs, anything that can be adjusted. Nothing but the rest should remain. Set up some bales or bags you can put arrows into safely, have Ruthie or somebody else stand near you in case of disorientation, blindfold yourself and shoot into the bags from ten feet away, using one arrow only. We're concentrating on form here, looking for a consistent feel for each shot, without worrying about groups or X's. Do this as long as you can correctly, every other day for two weeks.
Step two, now that you've just about driven yourself over the cliff with boredom, take off the blindfold and shoot into the bag. With everything else the same, one week. No targets, no spots, no nothing.
Step three, shoot spots for one week, everything else the same. Step four, put sights and other gimmickry back on, shoot one week (no tuning, no sighting in, no adjustments). If, by the sixth week, you can honestly say that your groups are consistent (and you'll be surprised by how much they've improved), then tune the bow and sight in. The night before your first comp, have a nice full-body massage (no alcohol allowed), and you should be good to go.
If you've seen something like this before, you're right. It's Bernie Pelerite's version of a method used even by combat and target-shooting coaches, to retrain shooters to trust themselves in pressure situations. I've seen novices, that couldn't hit a rugby ball at three feet, use something like this to improve their game so much that they could pulverize an aspirin at fifteen yards, all the time while somebody is shouting over their shoulder. The key is DISCIPLINE. You don't get out what you don't put in. If you want to break out of your slump, you need to retrain yourself to trust that your body and mind know what to do under fire, without trying to download new methods ad hock during the game. Without confidence that this can and does happen, you won't relax enough to allow it to happen when it's needed most, and the spiral will start all over again. If you can relax, however, the fun will come back, that simple. Not easy, just simple. Hope that helps.
Monday 27 August 2007 - 03:12:42
BTW, coaching is probably the best method of maintaining your mental equilibrium, as Blackcat says, once you have started to come back into the sport. I found it very stimulating to my own abilities in combat shooting, and a great way to relax. It's also a humbling experience, as you learn to take mistakes much less seriously when you see them in others. You obviously have a lot more technical knowledge than I'll ever have in this field, so it might be a good idea to pass this on in some way at your club. Just a suggestion, eh?
Monday 27 August 2007 - 16:08:41
Hi Segolden,
It's took me a while to get back but I wasn't sulking. Firstly, thanks for the input, it is appreciated. Ruthy and I have discussed your comments and we agree that there is definitely more than an element of truth. Therefore I would be daft not to at least try your advice.
However, isn't there always a forever!. We have the British national championships in two weeks, For which we are entered and representing the Merlin Archery Club. I really don't feel I am in the position to pull out. I have spent an entire week not doing archery (we have taken a week to try and get the kit car ready for testing). We went to the practise ground today and every time I found myself getting critical, I took something off the bow or swapped releases with Ruthy, anything to change the perspective and lighten the situation and I had fun doing it too.
Straight after the champs I am doing the Segolden shoot an neighbour thing, well practising blind and building up as you prescibe. I am going to the champs with a far lower expectation, I am not messing with the bow or anything that got me into the situation I find myself in now but we both feel that the road to recovery needs to wait for one more shoot. I'm not sure you will agree but I hope you understand!!
Saturday 01 September 2007 - 19:03:24
Hi Segolden,
It's took me a while to get back but I wasn't sulking. Firstly, thanks for the input, it is appreciated. Ruthy and I have discussed your comments and we agree that there is definitely more than an element of truth. Therefore I would be daft not to at least try your advice.
However, isn't there always a forever!. We have the British national championships in two weeks, For which we are entered and representing the Merlin Archery Club. I really don't feel I am in the position to pull out. I have spent an entire week not doing archery (we have taken a week to try and get the kit car ready for testing). We went to the practise ground today and every time I found myself getting critical, I took something off the bow or swapped releases with Ruthy, anything to change the perspective and lighten the situation and I had fun doing it too.
Straight after the champs I am doing the Segolden shoot an neighbour thing, well practising blind and building up as you prescibe. I am going to the champs with a far lower expectation, I am not messing with the bow or anything that got me into the situation I find myself in now but we both feel that the road to recovery needs to wait for one more shoot. I'm not sure you will agree but I hope you understand!!
Saturday 01 September 2007 - 19:17:04
Heh, nobody said you had to quit in the middle of the season, so anything you can do to break the monotony for now is good. Sounds like you've got a better philosophy about that, more power to you. One of the more interesting phenomena I've seen is what often happens to people who go into a shoot with a "the hell with it, whatever happens happens" attitude, so don't be surprised if you do one extreme or the other: fall flat on your face, or shoot a PB! Either way, just consider it the beginning of the cure. Ya got all winter to retrain, no rush.
Saturday 01 September 2007 - 22:09:16
I'm not the one winning shoots, though. I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm somewhat glad you all are on the other side of the pond from me, saves making me look silly.
Sunday 02 September 2007 - 23:39:43
HI Blackcat, no need to "butt out", your thoughts and views are welcomed and appreciated. On Saturday, I did exactly as you prescribed and had a bit of a mess about. It was good fun and I feel it helped a lot.
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