Ozbow

Up at the last Chevallan Archery Shoot Dale Marsh, a Man I had heard about way back when I started Archery in the late 70's through the now oldest Shoot of it's type in Australian Archery "The Huntingdale" held annually at the Grange Bowmen and have since got to know presented me with a copy of his Book "Shooting in the Zone"

There is a lot of Media out there on how to shoot a Trad Bow well, the Masters of the Barebow series of DVD's an excelleant example. Dales little Book like a lot of the Media out there is not going to be every ones cup of Tea when it comes to fixing your Form but I think you'll enjoy his story.

I read the Book and was impressed with the personnel style and the telling of Dale Journey through Archery. With nearly 40 years of Archery under my Belt I am well aware of the Techniques that Dale talks about and utilise many of them myself, particularly when I was shooting Competition. Dale's Journey in many way's mimics my own as I started at the Grange Company of Archers and moved to shooting at the Grange Bowhunter's where as a Junior I quickly had Tournament success and got pretty full of myself only to come crashing down a bit later.


Heaven knows I suffered Target Panic and learned a lesson in Humble Pie until I went back to basic's, worked on my Shot Sequence and used relaxation and visualisation Techniques I was first taught at the FITA Club and associated Junior Development Programme's and then modified to suit my experience and Technique that are similar to what Dale came up with. All this was years before Dale wrote this little Book. I used a Book to get my head right called "Quantum Golf" by Kjell Enhager, well worth the read. A Archery Specific Book like "Shooting in the Zone' would have been a great help to sorting out my issue's.


I am not sure of where you would buy this Book other than the link below but I reckon talking to Dale at the various Shoots he and Lorraine attend would be a good place to start. This neat little Book should be a part of every Archer's Library. A mistake many Trad Archers make is dismissing the importance of working on their Shot Sequence and Visualiation because Trad Archery is simple - you know - point and shoot . Sorry Folks it's a little more complicated than that - not much more though. Consider Shooting in the Zone and realise the thrill of doing so consistently !

https://www.abbeyarchery.com.au/image-B ... Marsh.html

regards Perry

Hi Perry,

I find your mention of target panic interesting and I think its more common than people think. I've seen a number of mates shoot with impeccable form and then struggle when it came to hitting the target. I'm not sure whether it was target panic making them rush, or a lapse of concentration, or even a shot sequence void of any visualisation. I was lucky to have a number of talented traditional archers offer advice throughout my teenage years but not everyone is this fortunate and I think that books such as "Shooting in the Zone" can provide useful guidance.

A particular issue I had years ago was hitting a target when there was a branch between the target and myself. Its very easy to want to lift your bow arm higher, or drop the arm lower in attempt to miss the branch. It was quite a mental struggle to hold my bow arm in the usual position and to trust that my arrow would pass under (or over) the branch in question. Another struggle was very close targets, under 5 yards or so. Many people short-draw on these targets and hit them with little problem. It was a bit of a challenge ensuring that I came to full draw on these.

Cheers,
Scott

Target Panic is really common and for me boiled down to anxiety brought about by shooting for a Score. Once I learned to not worry about Scores and to place more importance on developing the best Form I could which soon lead to better sub conscious shooting I found I shot a higher percentage of "Zen Shots" for want of a better description. I developed into a much more consistent Archer.

The thing with developing a consistent Shot Sequence it that when nasty Range Captains set a Target near an obstacle and you're thinking about that obstacle you have in effect added another step to your shot sequence and messed up your hard work to shoot subconsciously. All that matters when you step up to the Plate is your Shot Sequence.

regards Jacko

Thanks Perry.
Target panic is a bugger of an affliction. I suffered for years with it and eventually gave up archery and moved to rifles. After a few years I've picked up the bow again. This time around I'm much more conscious of shot sequence, etc. and have been using the methods of Jay Kidwell and Rick Welch with success. I'll check out Dale Marsh's book too.
I'm back to being able to shoot accurately in a hunting situation and will be putting the rifles back in the safe for a bit.
Cheers mate.