Blank boss shooting gets a mention now and again, and often coincides with threads on Target Panic.
It seems there is a logic in that; the archer is suffering, and one option is to go right back to basics and start with the simplest form of shooting..... just getting arrows out of the bow with nothing to aim at, or more importantly, nothing to worry about. I guess that just shooting up an empty field would be much the same.( in safety, of course)
So, the suffering archer gets back some sort of routine, and the shot process is allowed a chance to run its course, without the continual interruption from the TP aspect. They get back the "feeling of the shot", something that has probably been missing for some time.
In a short time, the archer is feeling good about their form again. They feel the way they used to; a sort of freedom to just shoot.
The next stage in the process is usually to shoot at a target again and the confidence gained seems to disappear as the sight reaches the gold. What the sufferer has not yet managed, is to learn afresh how to shoot at a target with a sight.( If the problem was the fear of spiders; there's no point in looking into empty jam jars, when a spider in a jam jar scares you.)
Blank boss shooting does have its uses, though. Removing a target face, and possibly the sight ,too, can allow the archer a chance to shoot without the distraction of the target face. We can get so used to aiming at the gold that we become unaware of the way it takes over our focus.
When an archer needs to make a change to their form, or refine an element that is getting variable, there is a need to focus on that element. After each shot, the archer should know whether or not they managed the new or refined element in the way they wish. If the archer does not know how they managed that element, they can't really move on.
One example is the archer who drops the bow arm. During normal shooting they don't notice until someone else lets them know.
If the archer moves to a close, blank boss they can aim with their bow hand at some point on the boss. The shot is made and the bow hand is in view and the archer can see where and how it moves. Looking at the bow hand, may upset the archer at first, but after a few more shots they start to see what the coach is seeing and now the archer knows, without any doubt, what is going on.
When asked, " Did you drop your bow arm?" they are able to answer, yes or no, and that is a powerful step in the right direction.
Once the archer sees the difference, they can then make connections with feeling the difference. Feeling the difference and knowing the difference is now part of the archer's armoury. The archer has the means to correct their form, without having to be told by an observer.
" Something's wrong today, but I have no idea what it is." I overhear that quite often when I walk along waiting line. They know something's wrong because the arrows are all over the place. Where the arrows land is telling them something, but not which something is to blame.
The archer has learned to do some elements, almost by accident. By that I mean they did not focus deliberately on how they did it, they just did it somehow while doing other things. It is easy enough to see how this can happen. Beginners can go through the whole shot sequence and get arrows shot quite well. Ask how they hold the bow, and sometimes they are unable to say much more than , " I just pick it up; never really thought about it." Other archers will place their hand in the grip with deliberation and accuracy, so as to repeat the position in detail. They know how they do it, and can demonstrate it.
Some of the elements involved in shooting well, are frequently learned by accident. The accidental nature of that, is not too important at the time, but as other elements improve, the weaker ones spoil our progress and need some attention. Blank boss shooting is a good way to lighten the burden and allow those elements the time and deliberate attention they need.
It seems there is a logic in that; the archer is suffering, and one option is to go right back to basics and start with the simplest form of shooting..... just getting arrows out of the bow with nothing to aim at, or more importantly, nothing to worry about. I guess that just shooting up an empty field would be much the same.( in safety, of course)
So, the suffering archer gets back some sort of routine, and the shot process is allowed a chance to run its course, without the continual interruption from the TP aspect. They get back the "feeling of the shot", something that has probably been missing for some time.
In a short time, the archer is feeling good about their form again. They feel the way they used to; a sort of freedom to just shoot.
The next stage in the process is usually to shoot at a target again and the confidence gained seems to disappear as the sight reaches the gold. What the sufferer has not yet managed, is to learn afresh how to shoot at a target with a sight.( If the problem was the fear of spiders; there's no point in looking into empty jam jars, when a spider in a jam jar scares you.)
Blank boss shooting does have its uses, though. Removing a target face, and possibly the sight ,too, can allow the archer a chance to shoot without the distraction of the target face. We can get so used to aiming at the gold that we become unaware of the way it takes over our focus.
When an archer needs to make a change to their form, or refine an element that is getting variable, there is a need to focus on that element. After each shot, the archer should know whether or not they managed the new or refined element in the way they wish. If the archer does not know how they managed that element, they can't really move on.
One example is the archer who drops the bow arm. During normal shooting they don't notice until someone else lets them know.
If the archer moves to a close, blank boss they can aim with their bow hand at some point on the boss. The shot is made and the bow hand is in view and the archer can see where and how it moves. Looking at the bow hand, may upset the archer at first, but after a few more shots they start to see what the coach is seeing and now the archer knows, without any doubt, what is going on.
When asked, " Did you drop your bow arm?" they are able to answer, yes or no, and that is a powerful step in the right direction.
Once the archer sees the difference, they can then make connections with feeling the difference. Feeling the difference and knowing the difference is now part of the archer's armoury. The archer has the means to correct their form, without having to be told by an observer.
" Something's wrong today, but I have no idea what it is." I overhear that quite often when I walk along waiting line. They know something's wrong because the arrows are all over the place. Where the arrows land is telling them something, but not which something is to blame.
The archer has learned to do some elements, almost by accident. By that I mean they did not focus deliberately on how they did it, they just did it somehow while doing other things. It is easy enough to see how this can happen. Beginners can go through the whole shot sequence and get arrows shot quite well. Ask how they hold the bow, and sometimes they are unable to say much more than , " I just pick it up; never really thought about it." Other archers will place their hand in the grip with deliberation and accuracy, so as to repeat the position in detail. They know how they do it, and can demonstrate it.
Some of the elements involved in shooting well, are frequently learned by accident. The accidental nature of that, is not too important at the time, but as other elements improve, the weaker ones spoil our progress and need some attention. Blank boss shooting is a good way to lighten the burden and allow those elements the time and deliberate attention they need.