The Think Tank

I went to Broken Arrow to shoot today because I was working on Halloween stuff all afternoon and it got too late to shoot at Archery World.  I used the Dominator Pro and GT XXX shafts again.

The range was about half full with a bunch of people shooting traditional bows at the 10 yard bales.  I wanted to shoot two rounds, and I knew the time was going to be a little tight, so I didn’t take any breaks on the first round at all.

I started out a little out of synch.  For whatever reason, my #1 target was hitting about middle of the 10 ring at 6 for the first three arrows, so I switched it out.  Likewise, the #2 target was at 3 o’clock for both practice and the first scoring end.  I was starting to get a little frustrated with that.

I was also having some trouble getting into my correct shooting form.  When I’ve been doing well lately I have noticed a certain feeling which is hard to describe: Its not exactly like I’m really pushing forward with my bow arm, but it definitely feels like I am using my bow arm to maintain the pressure on my release fingers.  It also entails getting my release hand (really more like my wrist) into the proper place, which feels kind of like relaxing it until it is stretched out straight behind my fingers.  (As opposed to how it can feel sometimes, which is like I have my wrist muscles contracted slightly so my hand is angled “down.”)

I was not getting into that form consistently for the first 5-6 ends, and the result was poor grouping and some pretty bad shots, where I sort of fall out of my form instead of hitting the proper post-shot performance.  Since I was shooting quickly, I was also getting a little shakey and sweaty, and I was getting frustrated that my first target just kept hitting low despite changing arrows four times.

I purposefully did not take any breaks at that time because I wanted to practice getting my shit together when facing adversity.  I was tired, frustrated and not in my proper form.  i figured that was the perfect time to practice turning my situation around.  I couldn’t do anything about the first 5-6 ends, but I could work on the rest.

Looking at it that way seemed to help my head get in a better place.  I really started looking for that proper push-pull thing I mentioned above, and started focusing on making sure I got my release hand back onto my shoulder as it should, and I wanted to keep my bow arm pointing at the target after I shot.

It took a few arrows, but two or three shots later I got one that felt perfect.  After that, I was pretty much off and rolling smooth again.  My shot timing came back to normal, I was holding better, and my groups settled down to normal.  I finished with six X’s.

By the second round, I was feeling pretty good and pretty confident.  I expected to shoot well.  I even remember thinking the words “This is an X, all you have to do is release it” when I was pulling on several arrows.  I just knew they were going to drop in the center as if I’d seen the future.  All I had to do was wait for it to happen.

I also ran my normal routine, where I shot two ends and rested one.

I did start getting a little tight around end 7 because I really wanted to shoot a 300 and I was on track for it.  I also wanted to stay around 25 X’s, and I figured that was either not possible or meant I had to clean it, which I hadn’t been doing much.  My back was getting cramped and sore as well (it’s been doing that for about 6 weeks lately, although no usually this bad while I’ve been shooting).  On end 8 I struggled through all three shots and the last two were poorly executed.  #2 nearly missed, although I did break the whole line into the 10 ring, and the third shot was really bad, where I totally fell out of my form and dropped my arm straight down.  #3 was a solid ten, not an X, but it was sort of lucky because it was a really poor shot. Both shots were high, which is what I kept doing in high pressure situations last year, so I tried to pay special attention to make sure that I kept my bow hand released and did not pop the bow back after the shot.

That gave me a little nudge to make sure that I got my form together.  I knew if I hit my form I’d get my 300, but I HAD to hit my form.  The 9th end was pretty solid, with two inside-out X’s and one just barely out of the X.

I felt a little nervous on the 10th end, really wanting to hit the 300, but also expecting to do so while being nervous about screwing it up at the same time.  It’s very difficult to explain.  I guess I would say that I was 85% sure I would do fine, but 15% scared that I would get tight and miss like I have so many times before.

The trick to falling in the 85% is to get my form setup right, and a lot of that is the pressure-on-the-release-hand-with-the-bow-arm thing, so I that was my focus when drawing up.  I made sure to let my wrist stretch out relaxed, pushed my bow arm forward to take up any slack after setting my anchor, felt the proper pressure on my release fingers, and waited for the good shot.

I started out aiming at 9 o’clock on the 8/9 line, and that made me nervous.   I pushed it back to the center, wobbled around, and felt like I was going to miss it.  So I let it down.  I came back up, did the same setup, settled on the hole in the X, and drained a perfect shot.  My release hand slide smoothly back to my shoulder, my bow arm stayed pointed a the target, and arrow hit an X liner at 6.

The second shot came off in better time and felt pretty good, but not perfect, and hit a solid ten at 5, but not an X.  I drew up on the last shot, felt like I settled in properly, but couldn’t get the shot to go.  I tried hard, I really wanted it, but the shot didn’t want to go.  I started to lose my shot picture, started wobbling, and let down.  I didn’t want to blow the last shot.  I practiced my form, where I wanted my release hand to end up, and then I pulled up again.  I really tried to get my push-pull setup right, aimed pretty solid, but again the shot went long.  I was holding well, right on the dot, so even though it was a little longer than normal, I went ahead and pulled a but harder with my release arm, knowing that I needed to really make sure I exaggerated my proper form.  All of a sudden BOOM!  The shot went.  I popped my bow arm straight out, let the bow float free in my hand, and snapped my release back to my shoulder, and watched the arrow flight straight into the center, just a touch low at 6 in the X.

That felt really good.  I had to let down twice and I probably would have been over time in a tournament, but I was pretty proud to finish out the way I did.  It was my second 300 of the year, and I think it was technically my highest score of the season.  (The 296 is my lowest of the year.)