I hear the word " consistency" mentioned quite frequently in relation to archery.
Different people sometimes use it in the same sentence, even though these people have probably never met one another.
" It's all about consistency," they say to fellow archers. Often it is part of an informal helping sessions, where a more experienced archer is chatting to newer archers.
I think a consistent draw length is pretty important. A consistent anchor point or reference points, are about equally important, too.
A consistent hand position in the bow grip; a consistent bow shoulder position; foot positions; shoulder alignment; head position. It does make quite a list.
It is starting to sound as if it really is "all about consistency".
Something about this idea, I find, does need further explanation. It can bring unexpected side effects.
When consistency becomes "what it's all about" it is possible, as a side effect, to lose something far more important.... control.
The archer's routine gets established after hundreds of shots have been made and the consistency improves; sometime in a natural way as the archer gets used to repeating it; sometimes in a more deliberate way, as the archer works on specific aspects over the weeks and months.
The routine can become so well established that, the archers can shoot almost without thinking about it. We can drive cars in a very similar frame of mind.
Is the archer still in control or not?
Ask the archer to change one aspect of their shot; and it becomes obvious that their routine is dominating their shot process.
The archer who has fallen into the habit of a "touch and go routine".... where the shot goes off as soon as the string touches their jaw.... will really struggle to hold and aim a bit longer. It goes off as usual before they get a chance to control their finish. It's gone before they can do anything to change things.
Similarly; the archer who gets to full draw and then spends ages trying to settle the sight somewhere near the gold before releasing, will find getting the shots away sooner, almost impossible. It just seems wrong to do that and there is a strong urge to try that bit longer to get a better aim.
Perhaps we should be telling archers that it's all about Control.
Different people sometimes use it in the same sentence, even though these people have probably never met one another.
" It's all about consistency," they say to fellow archers. Often it is part of an informal helping sessions, where a more experienced archer is chatting to newer archers.
I think a consistent draw length is pretty important. A consistent anchor point or reference points, are about equally important, too.
A consistent hand position in the bow grip; a consistent bow shoulder position; foot positions; shoulder alignment; head position. It does make quite a list.
It is starting to sound as if it really is "all about consistency".
Something about this idea, I find, does need further explanation. It can bring unexpected side effects.
When consistency becomes "what it's all about" it is possible, as a side effect, to lose something far more important.... control.
The archer's routine gets established after hundreds of shots have been made and the consistency improves; sometime in a natural way as the archer gets used to repeating it; sometimes in a more deliberate way, as the archer works on specific aspects over the weeks and months.
The routine can become so well established that, the archers can shoot almost without thinking about it. We can drive cars in a very similar frame of mind.
Is the archer still in control or not?
Ask the archer to change one aspect of their shot; and it becomes obvious that their routine is dominating their shot process.
The archer who has fallen into the habit of a "touch and go routine".... where the shot goes off as soon as the string touches their jaw.... will really struggle to hold and aim a bit longer. It goes off as usual before they get a chance to control their finish. It's gone before they can do anything to change things.
Similarly; the archer who gets to full draw and then spends ages trying to settle the sight somewhere near the gold before releasing, will find getting the shots away sooner, almost impossible. It just seems wrong to do that and there is a strong urge to try that bit longer to get a better aim.
Perhaps we should be telling archers that it's all about Control.