Stickbow Target Archery Forums

This is a book dealing with mastering the mental game of pool,, and there is alot in it for any sport requiring concentration and execution. What I like about it is he explains how to use rythm in your shot sequence. He actually has you counting off a beat, 1234 1234 1234, and has you do the steps of your sequence within that cadence. For archery it would be from stepping up to the line to addressing the target, to lifting the bow, to breath in at the draw, to letting half out, to power into the shot, to the explosion, to the follow through, to the conslusion. For every person that cadence is different but it is a real nice way to keep yourself on track. He talks alot about other things like division of labor, conscious and subconscious, concentration and focus, emotion and performance, shaping your emotional climate. Alot of other things all of which really help in tournament situations. What really struck me about his teachings is how he debunked methods of trying to shed emotion and anxiety. If you are into the mental side of archery I feel this book is worth the reading. :thumbsup:

Interesting. Sounds like he uses an idea that I played around with for a while....I posted about it here:

Your right on the money Todd. I was a clicker shooter for years and found that this cadence was the key to a consistant performance. I realised that for me the visual got in the way of the progression of the shot. Making small corrections in the sight picture made for a halting of the smooth execution I needed for a good shot. What the cadence did was to allow for smooth execution and then the aiming process can be given over to the concious.
I believe the term 'aiming' is a mysterious and individualized phenomenon. The only indication of how good you are at aiming is the point of impact of the arrow. You can hold all day long on a point of aim but if the arrow strikes somewhere else you haven't aimed well. The truth is is that you only need to aim for that 'milisecond' that Al Henderson was fond of calling it. And most people will do that if their form and shot progression is stable.
This is why the cadence is important. If you get a good smooth flow to your shot it allows you to stop thinking about the what ifs and allows you to get in the groove. If you desire to hit the bulls eye you will 'aim' at it. The greater the realization of this desire the greater the focus will be on the aim.

I saw a few minutes of the Red Sox game last night. They showed side by side simultaneous videos of the pitcher pitching last year, when he struggled, and this year, when he is doing really well. You know what was different?
Cadence.
In his case, he slowed down his 'setup' step.

Started reading your book -- nice.

Have gotten as far as him telling us to pay attention when we practice -- to focus on all aspects of the shot, not trying to control it, just observing -- how did it feel, what was the result -- a great point that works for me when I remember