Rod's Clinic

[Hornseeker]

Good to know Matt...I'm sure I'll have a question or two for him sooner or later...

[Bender]

Hornseeker, I have a shot sequence. Recently I have removed from that sequence the word, the concrete concept, "Release". Its just not part of my sequence. Now sometimes I have a hard time holding my aim, usually when there is uncertainty in my mind about the shot. That has improved and I get good execution, even on uncertain shots. Then I see you say here:

Matter fact, the way it was laid out, as far as shot sequence, there really isn't a PLACE to let go early. Maybe Mr. Casto will chime in here. Jim? If you follow the shot sequence, there simply is no place where the string is gonna leave till you commit to the shot, which is after you reach your anchor!!

So my question is do you think there may be a connection here, between the Jenkins' method and my own little attempt?

Just curious. Not trying to reinvent the wheel, or short cut Jenkins. Just curious. As a matter of fact I'm at a point in my shooting where I believe I could finally benefit from time with a real coach. I feel I'm at a plateau and should take the next step.

[LBR]

If you get a chance to go, do it--it's money well spent, at least if you are interested in shooting better and understanding the process better (I know you are, just sayin'...)

[Hornseeker]

Oh hell yeah Bender... here's something to keep in mind.... Rod and I'm sure most of the top end shooters, Olympians included, even the best gold medal winning Olympians, are getting coached all the time. I think when you are a "pretty good" shot, is an ideal time to have a pro take a close look at what you are doing.

And yeah, it sounds like you have developed something close to what Rod is teaching. He never coached a "release". The furthest he would go is to say, "ok, you've reached full draw, you've decided everything felt right in your draw cycle and your anchor, then you committed to the shot.... at that point, you pull through that anchor by expanding that right rhomboid towards the target, which allows the string to slip off your fingers."

He also taught that when some doubt creeps into your mind... "LET DOWN"... and start over. This may happen more than you are ready for until you've really got this shot sequence ingrained, which happens through drills, drills, drills... Shooting at the bale with the formaster on really gives you a good feel for this.

[BEN MAHER]

"letting down" ?
Thats the little demon , and my inability to have good control over it , thats lets me know I have an uber long way to go yet .

[Matt_Potter]

Ben - try this - when you get to the point that you feel you need to let down - close your eyes and then let down - I find if I take away the visual - I can let down.

But, you need to do it with the compound theatrical sigh to have it work right.

Matt

[Bender]

Removing "Release!" from the shot sequence is just something I stumbled across. Matt and I were talking and although it is ALWAYS good to have a coach, there are 2 especially beneficial times. There is the total newby blank slate. And there is the good shooter who gets a lot because time isn't spent on basics. It IS time for me.

The folks I frequently shoot with joke a lot about letting down because NONE of us, myself included, do it as often as it is really called for. You know, stuff like its against the rules for Trad shooters to let down. And if a Trad shooter does let down they take points off. My reply is "Well then it's a good thing I'm not a Trad shooter and I just shoot longbows." Once we see somebody let down we go off on the NFAA 4 let down rule. Personally though I'm agitating for carry over let downs. I want to know if I only let once on a target, can I have the 4 on the next target plus the 3 left over from the last target? But all joking aside, when somebody lets down, one or two of us will always say "There ya go! Good shot!" and mean it, because NOT taking the crappy shot is always a better shot than taking the one that you're in the middle of screwing up.

[BEN MAHER]

Yep, its a real pain in the but because it should be sooo simple ...
I let down a heck of a lot with my sighted rigs , both wheely and 'curve ... but with my longbow ? Nah !

Its funny though 'cause me and a few of the lads who did Rod's clinic, when we are goofing off , shooting spots , whatever ... whenever someone lets down , someone , in their best attempt at an Alabama Drawl will comment "good shot !" ... and yes Bender ... we mean it too !

[iron mike]

pulling you head out of your ass will surely improve you form,no matter how long you've been shooting,,lol,i'm going for an archery instructors coarse pretty soon, never done that before,might just find out more than i want to know, sure hope my heads not up my ass, or at least not to far up. my first coarse ever,bound to learn alot.

[Matt_Potter]

While I think some of the wheelie guys take the let down thing to extremes I think there is a ton we/I can learn from them about approaching a target. I watch the form and control over the shot that the top pin guys show when shooting a back tension release and I am nothing but envious.

I practice letting down every practice session but, it is a cast iron bitch to do it in competition. For me this archery thing is all about control - both over your body and your mind. Being able to let down and or not start your conclusion until the solution is perfect is the end goal of controlling the mind game - I sure ain't there yet.

Matt