# A strange thing happened to me last night about arrow 32....



## Garceau (Sep 3, 2010)

Well last night was not one of those Zen moments.....LOL

Felt as if I struggled most of the night, started by dropping on X in each of the first 3 ends - then got pretty solid and then on the very last end dropped 2 of the damn things.

52X.....but what Im liking in the improvement is even my bad shots are starting to hang onto X's on a more frequent basis. Which is huge improvement over a month ago.


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## tmorelli (Jul 31, 2005)

Your description is not unlike my own "struggles".....

Here's the deal....

My good days are closely tied to my state of relaxation....lack of tension. When I'm shooting good it's characterized by the pin sitting steady and the release firing easy. Those are a result of a lack if tension.

My bad days are tension produced. The harder I try to hold, the busier the pin becomes and the harder the release is to fire. As I try harder (pull harder, tension migrates from back into hands/arms), it only gets worse.

So, what to do about it. First is recognize it. Second is to better manage or eliminate the tension. How? Physical tension is most often a result of mental tension (could be anxiety, could be "hyped up" energy). 

It's a mental game. It's time to train mentally as much or more than physically. Breathing, shot cycle commitment, visualization (key for me.... better than blank bale at making the shot finish more consistent and automatic), aiming intensity/focus.

I'm more and more successful at recognizing the tension and beating/managing it to shoot strong but relaxed shots. Admittedly, since starting back I haven't been training mentally like I used to but it's now helping me get off the plateau.

Check "The Competitive Advantage"-Alan Goldberg and also "Mental Toughness Training for Athletes".

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2


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## fanio (Feb 1, 2011)

you have experienced being "in the Zone" or "in the flow". It happens to many of us - but all too rarely. There is quite a bit of reading you can do about it, but it is still difficult to "find" it - and the harder you try the less likely it is to happen. If you could bottle that and sell it you'd be a millionaire real quick.


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## Garceau (Sep 3, 2010)

Tony you are exactly correct - its all mental tension that manifests itself into my release arm. thats where it ends up for me, I get gripping the hinge too tight, too much muscle use in my forearm and struggle with the effortless release. Thats the majority of it anyways.

Last night I had to think of the drive home in the freezing rain and snow that was coming. It was totally on my mind the entire night and I just wanted to get going and get it over with. Not the best way to shoot but reality for many of us on any night.

My coach wants to do a little more tweaking on my bow tune, there is a little stab work yet (just a little) and then he wants to get into a little tiller tuning to slow the pin down some......but then - he has his biggest hurdle. My mental game!

My local scores should be reflecting much better scores when I get into a pressure situation or traveling for ASA - thats my frustrating part. I shouldnt be beating Open A and Semi Pro's on 3D courses here and get my butt handed to me in Open C


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## carlosii (Feb 25, 2007)

Garceau said:


> OK - so I admit I have some focus issues.
> 
> for some reason all too many shots I am actually concentrating more on what my release arm/hand/back is doing. Its an issue and Im working on it, I get tensed up and struggle and my tension manifests itself on that end.
> 
> ...


in the Zen zone or maybe the meds kicking in??? :wink:


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