Belexes
01-31-2008, 10:01 PM
Here is the second article as written by The Swami.
Shooting in Traffic
In most formats of archery competition, you are not directly competing with other archers. This does occur in some way with head to head matches when both archers are shooting their ends at the same time, but it is not really direct competition when you stop and think about it.
When you are in any archery competition or league, you are not physically affected by other archers in the competition. This is not a sport like football or baseball etc., where your competition can physically affect how well you perform in the contest. In an archery competition, your only concern should be executing your shot at that present moment in time to the best of your abilities. Nothing the other archers do can affect your performance. Only you can affect this. Thinking about what others are doing or shooting is taking your focus away from what you are trying to accomplish. It is important to realize that no matter how well or poor others are shooting, your shot execution does not change. The spot you are trying place your arrow in does not grow bigger or smaller. The X or similar spot on a target is always the destination of your arrow no matter what.
Let’s say you are in a head to head match with another archer. It is a 12 arrow match and you are ahead, behind or even. Does it matter? Isn’t your objective still the same? Can the other archer stop you from reaching your objective? The answer to this is no. I would venture to say that the first competitor to focus on another’s results will not prevail. The first competitor to think about results instead of focusing on the execution of each individual shot during the match may also run the risk of losing the match. It is important to know that when this happens you are not beaten by the other archer. You have been beaten by yourself. Of course you may still lose the match when using the proper focus and technique. This is always the case in any physical or mental test of skill. There are many things beyond your control. Focus on the things you can control. Do not think or dwell on anything else.
The other thing I see among archers in competition is concern about what other archers think of them and their ability. The archer may think that if they miss a shot or shoot a low score, that they are then diminished in the eyes of others that they may think of as archers of greater, equal or lesser ability. These kinds of thoughts will make it very hard to focus on the task at hand and will replace your self confidence with fear and trepidation.
I have shot great scores and I have shot terrible scores. It is not important to me that others think or know I am a good shot or not. A reputation of being a good shot will not ensure that I continue making good shots. Only my efforts to perform the execution of the present shot will determine how well I shoot. My only concern is how I view myself and that is how it should be with any archer. Never place your value or self worth into the eyes of others. Archery tournaments are contested within one’s self, not outside against another. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you have to perform well for others. I believe this is often the case for archers who shoot well alone, but shoot poorly when others are about.
Another reason archers may not shoot well in a tournament or in a league is often times they will be shooting next to some of the best archers in the world. This makes many archers extra nervous. They want to perform well in front of the more accomplished archer, therefore putting undue pressure on themselves. Many archers are in awe of the top pros of the sport. Archery is one of the few sports where you can shoot side by side with the best in the world on a regular basis. While you should have respect for the accomplishments of these archers, you shouldn’t let yourself be in awe of them. It will only affect your performance. I have seen an archer shoot very poorly even though they were a pretty good shot just because they had to shoot next to a world class archer that has name recognition. You are a competitor just like they are and you have to know that you just focus on your execution of each shot and not worry about who is shooting next to you. If they are shooting like they are supposed to, they are not going to be thinking of you. They put their pants on just the same way as you do. Don’t get into the mode of thinking you are not good enough. You paid your entry fee and you have the same right to be there to compete. You have to have the confidence to know you can shoot your game no matter who you are shooting next to.
The best way I think to overcome some of the issues I have written about in this article is to shoot in these environments as often as you can. If you expose yourself to these situations enough, you get used to the top pros, the numbers of shooters around you on the line shooting in tournaments. I really see it as a sort of attitude adjustment. To shoot well, you need to adjust your attitude and perspective to be more positive and confident in a tournament. I have seen many well known pro archers try to help the shooter next to them that seems to be struggling because they are overwhelmed with the whole situation. Sometimes that attention may make the shooter even more nervous around the pro shooter. But in some cases, I have seen it help a lot. It just depends on the methods used.
Whether you are shooting at home, at league or at a national tournament, your execution of the shot doesn’t change. Once this is realized, you will start shooting better shots in all different situations no matter who the archer is shooting next to you.
I hope this helps you understand that you are really the only one that can influence how well you do in competition. Archery is about you, the shot and the target, not other archers. You are competing among other archers, not against them.
The Swami
Shooting in Traffic
In most formats of archery competition, you are not directly competing with other archers. This does occur in some way with head to head matches when both archers are shooting their ends at the same time, but it is not really direct competition when you stop and think about it.
When you are in any archery competition or league, you are not physically affected by other archers in the competition. This is not a sport like football or baseball etc., where your competition can physically affect how well you perform in the contest. In an archery competition, your only concern should be executing your shot at that present moment in time to the best of your abilities. Nothing the other archers do can affect your performance. Only you can affect this. Thinking about what others are doing or shooting is taking your focus away from what you are trying to accomplish. It is important to realize that no matter how well or poor others are shooting, your shot execution does not change. The spot you are trying place your arrow in does not grow bigger or smaller. The X or similar spot on a target is always the destination of your arrow no matter what.
Let’s say you are in a head to head match with another archer. It is a 12 arrow match and you are ahead, behind or even. Does it matter? Isn’t your objective still the same? Can the other archer stop you from reaching your objective? The answer to this is no. I would venture to say that the first competitor to focus on another’s results will not prevail. The first competitor to think about results instead of focusing on the execution of each individual shot during the match may also run the risk of losing the match. It is important to know that when this happens you are not beaten by the other archer. You have been beaten by yourself. Of course you may still lose the match when using the proper focus and technique. This is always the case in any physical or mental test of skill. There are many things beyond your control. Focus on the things you can control. Do not think or dwell on anything else.
The other thing I see among archers in competition is concern about what other archers think of them and their ability. The archer may think that if they miss a shot or shoot a low score, that they are then diminished in the eyes of others that they may think of as archers of greater, equal or lesser ability. These kinds of thoughts will make it very hard to focus on the task at hand and will replace your self confidence with fear and trepidation.
I have shot great scores and I have shot terrible scores. It is not important to me that others think or know I am a good shot or not. A reputation of being a good shot will not ensure that I continue making good shots. Only my efforts to perform the execution of the present shot will determine how well I shoot. My only concern is how I view myself and that is how it should be with any archer. Never place your value or self worth into the eyes of others. Archery tournaments are contested within one’s self, not outside against another. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you have to perform well for others. I believe this is often the case for archers who shoot well alone, but shoot poorly when others are about.
Another reason archers may not shoot well in a tournament or in a league is often times they will be shooting next to some of the best archers in the world. This makes many archers extra nervous. They want to perform well in front of the more accomplished archer, therefore putting undue pressure on themselves. Many archers are in awe of the top pros of the sport. Archery is one of the few sports where you can shoot side by side with the best in the world on a regular basis. While you should have respect for the accomplishments of these archers, you shouldn’t let yourself be in awe of them. It will only affect your performance. I have seen an archer shoot very poorly even though they were a pretty good shot just because they had to shoot next to a world class archer that has name recognition. You are a competitor just like they are and you have to know that you just focus on your execution of each shot and not worry about who is shooting next to you. If they are shooting like they are supposed to, they are not going to be thinking of you. They put their pants on just the same way as you do. Don’t get into the mode of thinking you are not good enough. You paid your entry fee and you have the same right to be there to compete. You have to have the confidence to know you can shoot your game no matter who you are shooting next to.
The best way I think to overcome some of the issues I have written about in this article is to shoot in these environments as often as you can. If you expose yourself to these situations enough, you get used to the top pros, the numbers of shooters around you on the line shooting in tournaments. I really see it as a sort of attitude adjustment. To shoot well, you need to adjust your attitude and perspective to be more positive and confident in a tournament. I have seen many well known pro archers try to help the shooter next to them that seems to be struggling because they are overwhelmed with the whole situation. Sometimes that attention may make the shooter even more nervous around the pro shooter. But in some cases, I have seen it help a lot. It just depends on the methods used.
Whether you are shooting at home, at league or at a national tournament, your execution of the shot doesn’t change. Once this is realized, you will start shooting better shots in all different situations no matter who the archer is shooting next to you.
I hope this helps you understand that you are really the only one that can influence how well you do in competition. Archery is about you, the shot and the target, not other archers. You are competing among other archers, not against them.
The Swami