# A list of drills



## randal L (Jun 11, 2005)

I think an aiming drill would be excellent


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## montigre (Oct 13, 2008)

I feel most on here are probably well beyond this, but I am sure there are a few that will bust my chops just for the hell of it.... So, flame away.


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## duc (Jul 18, 2009)

I'll begin the flaming. Every top end athlete TRAINS. Be it football, golf or archery. They break down their game into the important bits AND PRACTICE THEM. Tiger Wood doesn't play a round every day. He practices all the litte aspects of the game. Think the Korean archery team does this. Something like 6 hours a day training and maybe shoot 20 arrows at the end. They re-enforce every little thing in their shot sequence, over and over. 
I think you are doing yourself a disservice by saying you're beyond this.


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## montigre (Oct 13, 2008)

Drills are something people generally use to learn the basic components of a skill or task. Since this is the intermediate/advanced target forum, most members already have pretty well established shot sequences and have moved past the need for regimented drills. 

However, training is a totally different matter. Training is done to maintain or improve already established processes. You can view what many on here are doing as part of their training routines by going to the "What did you do today" thread. :wink:


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

good analogy,..,
"drills" are based on fundamental core process, by repetitious rehearsal that builds consistency, precision and a clear pathway for the set of commands to travel on, into an action, no matter the sport. they mold the internal process and administration of the set of commands that run the activity.
when advanced athletes in any sport, have problems performing the elements that are fundamental to the activity, it's usually because they have skipped over, or shorted doing the drills that develop these core process commands. 
in just about every sport there is, there are core elements of the activity that require continual periodic reminders, for that core process. that is the job of "training"
"practice", proves out the effective development of these core process drills and training, by applying them to the sport's real and whole activity.
when I was speed skating, it was generally, an accepted knowledge, that what you trained on today, would show up in your skating next season, because the application of what you trained on, would take that long to apply itself to the activity, given you practiced the whole activity enough. 
practice was considered to be harder than the actual competition, so that there would be a solid application and development of the pathway that the training and drills, developed, so that under the stress of competition, that pathway would be clear and the commands would easily communicate their messages.


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## nochance (Nov 27, 2008)

Drills...training...semantics?


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

well, yes and no....
"drills' a teaching tool that develops a specific set of commands.....
"training".....the process of applying those sets of commands to the whole activity.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

as an example of the difference between drills and training. 
again going back to when I was speed skating, I had the fortune of being coached by a skater who did eventually become head speed skating coach for the Olympic team.
one of his drills, was to work on that first step, off the starting line. we would line up and on the gun, take only that fist explosive stride and the next, off the line. to a sprinter which I was, this was the vey most important element of the entire sprint, because it made the largest difference in time. .....getting the body moving as soon and smoothly, as possible.
that was a drill, because it taught a specific muscular activity that was in itself an action, that doesn't exist in any other part of the whole activity. so it took a specific set of internal commands. 
the extension of that drill, was to apply it to the next few strides, so the next approach, was a ten meter "starting sprint" after ten meters, or so, you should be converted into your regular sprint stride, so we would then train that 10 meter sprint, to apply the learned starting step to the whole activity.
at the time, the Chinese were at the very top of the sprint times and their starts , looked almost like an immediate sprint stride, right off the line. they were slightly different than everyone else's explosive first few steps, because they figured out that with drills and training that first few feet of the sprint, saved the most time when it was applied correctly.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I will never and I mean never allow myself to get to a point where I act like I am better than everyone else and to good to do the simple drills that keep my form and general shooting at my current level. The minute you believe that you are beyond needing to do the simple drill work you will begin loosing the things that helped you in the first place.

The first time you do a drill you do it because somebody told you about it and that it can be beneficial so you are working on blind faith that it will actually get the job done, right now for the most part I have already done most of the drills that are out there so I know what the benefit to doing them is and I do them to maintain and I know the outcome. To me this is when drills are at their best when you know exactly what the outcome should be and you do the drill and it doesn't happen, this is when you can take a step back and see what is causing the problem weather it is a mental thing or a form flaw. In the beginning this is where a coach is so valuable because he can make you do the drill and tell you the outcome and when he sees the issues that are not allowing you to get that outcome he can tweek them for you and then you can experience the outcome right now.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

My hinge setup routine is a drill that I do usually about once a month with one of my secondary practice hinges, It allows me to let go of my scoring and overall accuracy and work on my grip on the hinge and the feel of the hinge in general during the draw cycle and at anchor. Then as the shooting session progresses and I speed up the hinge it allows me to feel the differences in speed along with my firing engine starting with a long engine and then a medium effort and then no effort at all to fire the hinge.

Stage 1:

1. Take a secondary hinge and slow it way slow.

2. Now get the hinge in the perfect grip and draw back and release the peg and run your engine smoothly knowing that it probably isn't going to fire, it is so important to not try and make it fire. Just run the engine nice and smooth and enjoy the feeling. Let down

3. Speed it up a little and repeat, then down draw. Repeat this over and over and then sooner or later you will fire your first shot and then the first part of this drill is complete.

Stage 2:

1.. Now you are firing the hinge late in your shot window and you can choose to shoot 5 or 10 arrows and then speed up the hinge a little and shoot 5 or 10 more arrows and feel the hinge move you up in the shot window. My suggestion to you is to continue through this process and go right past where it feels freaking perfect and go ahead and feel the very front of the shot window and then have some misfires where you barely release the peg and the hinge fires. Stage 2 can take up to 60 arrows if you take your time and enjoy this step

Stage 3: 

1. Go back to the perfect speed that you felt within this drill and you have now set up your hinge really nicely and it is ready to shoot with from time to time.

Conclusion:

So there you have it a really nice drill working with your grip and speed and shot window all in one shooting session, this drill really doesn't drag out because it is constantly changing and you can feel the changes as step 2 and step three progress and you have a end goal of a perfect hinge setup to look forward to achieving. Now one thing I have learned doing this drill is that when I pick up this hinge a day or two later some times it feels totally different than when I finished the drill that day, one thing I have learned doing this drill is that my competition hinge is set at a speed that compliments my shooting. It isn't fast or slow, it is the speed that helps me when I am tight or loose or perfect on that given day.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

3d aiming drill:

I have learned over the years that sighting in a bow is a weird thing and shooting at a orange stick on dot from wally world is the kiss of death to a 3d shooter, it just doesn't work and you will spend the first half of the course missing 12 rings and then you will finally start moving the sight and by the end of the day you will be dead on. Because of this I have learned to use cardboard with asa scoring rings drawn on it with sharpies. 

Why is this a drill, because you are choosing to work on specific things that happen in shooting 3d:

1. A fresh target with no markers at 42 yards and you can't see the scoring lines except through the binos and you are the first shooter on that target.

2. You are shooting a target that is shot up bad and there is a big hole in the connector area right on the edge of the ibo and it is a easy target and you don't want the big hole to suck you in and loose a easy 12.

3. A guy has shot first and stuck his arrow 2 inches to the right of the 12 ring and he has gotten a 8 and you need to use his arrow to aim perfect but you don't want to get tractor beamed over to his arrow and get a 8 also.

My daily 3d drill:

I have three block targets that I place different card board on, one of them will have a fresh one and one target will have a slightly shot one from the day before and one of them will have one that has been shot for a few days and it has a distinct golf ball sized hole on it usually on the 12 ring on the connector line area near the ibo.

I do this training drill with 6 arrows and I usually start at 40 to 45 yards and I shoot one arrow at each target and try and smoke the 12 ring, then I shoot the second arrow and I use the first arrow as a marker to help assist me with my aiming. At 45 yards I can and do aim without worrying about hitting the other arrow.

Now when I move up to 30 yards or closer I usually smoke the 12 ring with my first arrow well inside the 12 ring and this forces me to aim off of the first arrow on to a fresh part of the 12 ring and slide into the 12 ring without hitting my first arrow.


Conclusion:

In this drill not only am I sighting in my bow to be dead on I am working on aiming at a variety of targets some with markers and some without and I am also working on not glancing off of another arrow into the 8 ring. I don't own a set of asa targets like some people so for me this allows me to get the most out of my three block targets.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

exactly, 
it is partly what qualifies a coach as good, or just average. being able to spot something that needs work, and then applying the right drill or training , as the solution can vary greatly according to the athletes frame of mind. in many ways, good coaching is the product of the coach and the athlete forming a friendship that goes beyond the athletic level.
I also think what makes the potential to exceed in any sport, beyond personal ability, is the recognition that fundamental maintenance is the basis of good performance. the top athletes in any sport, continually work to maintain the fundamental core of their particular activity and have no objection, to being told, that this or that basic function needs to be worked on.
that last part is a really big element in their willingness and acknowledgement that it is necessary to do whatever it takes to progress to the top of their game.
coaches often consider someone who is not receptive to this and always has an argument for suggestive fundamental advice, to be "uncoachable". 
typically, those people may be right at the precipice of taking that next step, that would pave the way to successful achievement, but their "uncoachability", holds them back. 
many times, a good coach also has to have the psychological ability to break through that wall of defense when they encounter it. many top athletes are fairly high strung in the own recognition of being good and until that attitude is broken down, they suffer failures that keep them just off the top of the pile, despite their athletic ability.


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Studying my float:

This one is something that sent me down a path that really helped my shooting, i had been a command shooter for so long that I really had to do this to see what my float really looked like. Once I saw my float for the first few times it showed me that I needed to begin shooting with my float because it really was a good one.

Natural float Drill:

1. Make the decision up front that you are not going to fire the stinking release, you must do this or it will not work.

2. Make the decision that you are going to do this for about 2 weeks and only do it 10 times per day during your warm up.

3. So come to anchor and settle in on the x or the 12 ring and just float on the spot until you run out of breath and the float pattern looses control and let down/

4. Repeat this process 5 times in a row taking a few breaths for 30 seconds each time.

5. now for the important step on the next 5 you are going to let down and then fire the next arrow with the one goal of seeing the same float pattern that you saw when you weren't firing the shot.

6. After all 10 of these are done go ahead and shoot what ever session you had planned.

Conclusion: 

After two weeks of this kind of drill you will get a feel for what you natural float pattern really is and you will also know if your firing method is screwing with your natural float. I personally found that my float that i shot with was way different than my natural float and this gave me something to work on and after a few months I had learned to disconnect my firing of the release from my aiming efforts and once that happened i was actually able to shoot with my natural float and my shooting went to a new level.


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## unclejane (Jul 22, 2012)

ron w said:


> well, yes and no....
> "drills' a teaching tool that develops a specific set of commands.....
> "training".....the process of applying those sets of commands to the whole activity.


Yeah I tend to agree that one really never rises above either one of these. As you gain proficiency the need for drills lessens, but sometimes you have to revert back to them to complete a skill.

The one activity I got to just under an elite level with - bass guitar - is a personal example. It's possible even at an elite level to have to pick apart a particular skill and do drills on pieces of it to clean it up. Ascending arpeggios are notoriously difficult to do finger-style on a guitar because of the awkward string crossing that must be done with both hands, particularly the plucking hand. But no matter how good I got, I still had to do string-crossing drills to help clean up arpeggiated passages when I played them. And even now, tho I don't play professionally anymore, I still do those from time to time.

So while I agree that drills slow down significantly the better you get, it's still best to keep them in your toolkit, and readily available for use when a sniggly problem comes up and needs refinement.

LS


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

One of my favorites, "FLIPPING THE SWITCH"


During this drill I gain the confidence that all of my systems are functioning full strength and if I need to focus on something such as footing or glare I can do so without worrying about things. So the first thing is to define your systems:

1. Shooting form

2. Follow through after the release fires

3. Aiming

4. Firing the release.

So with this drill I specifically make the decision that i am going to flip between these 4 systems and I am going to do it sometimes every shot and sometimes I pick a system to focus on 100% for 10 shots or so and then switch. It is amazing to pick a number like 15 shots and on each shot you pick a system to focus on and change each shot and you are going to find out things that you never realized you had the ability to do or not do. Then pick a system and shoot for 10 shots in a row and change to another system and you are going to learn things also that may surprise you.

Conclusion:

When I started doing this type of training i had been brain washed and was struggling with the 100% subconscious shot thoughts by some of the hard core back tension people, I found that by flipping between these systems I actually shot really good and that by giving my brain something to do it allowed the other systems to just do their job without me making them do the job. In the beginning I found that some of my systems could have a affect on my point of impact because when I focused on that one system I found some control issues that would take over my shot, but by doing this drill I learned to be aware of the system I was focusing on without messing with it. Once I learned this important lesson I found my shooting moving on to a new level.


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## unclejane (Jul 22, 2012)

Cut n paste more into my Shawn archive... great stuff, IMO....

LS


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## XForce Girl (Feb 14, 2008)

My definition of drills means to basically warm up and practice your form processes.
One of my JOAD girls is on the compound Jr. Dream team. She spent a week at the OTC with some of the best coaches in the country.
She has shared these drills, warm up exercises with her team back home.
She actually runs our warm ups before our practices each week.
I figure if its good enough for the dream team its surely good enough for us.


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## V3505 (Jan 31, 2013)

Another point to make as well..... whether drills or training, both build "muscle memory". During a round, how many shots feel completely effortless? You draw, float, release and follow through. And you didn't think about anything. Isn't that the goal, for your body to act as a machine.... producing a product exactly like the previous without thought or deviation. For me, I get about 40% of those shots and need to concentrate on the rest. There will always be someone better than me, I like to use that to my advantage. And since when did archery become an intellectual sport... do we really need to pick apart the thought process of another to determine folks learn and retain in different ways?


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Turn on the engine really early drill:

This is a really cool drill that can really change the way you look at the beginning of your shot and also at the bad things that are happening during the start of your shot. 

1. Come to anchor and when you are about 3 inches from the spot you are going to shoot at such as a 12 ring go ahead and start your engine.

2. Smoothly run the engine normally and allow the arrow to leave the bow regardless of what the pin is doing.

This drill will open your eyes in many ways to how good you can shoot early in your shot window in fact it is confidence inspiring in more than one way. There is so much stress attached to our shot from the time that we settle in on the 12 ring and we wait for the pin to be perfect and then we try and release the peg and begin the shot as the pin is perfect. Just reading that last set of statements is stressful to say the least, so what this little drill does is it totally eliminates any and all stress that is attached to the shot being perfect based on the pin being perfect before you start the shot. YOU are freaking starting the shot 3 inches from the stinking pin even getting to the 12 ring so there can't be any stress. 

Now two things are going to happen on a regular basis doing this little drill, first off you are going to feel some of the purest freaking perfect shots that you have really never felt before where the arrow is so dead center that you simply can't believe that it just happened. Secondly you will have some shots fire before the pin gets to the 12 ring because your bow fired before you got there and started floating. SO FREAKING WHAT!!! You are doing a specific drill where you are starting the firing engine before you even get to the 12 ring so you bet your butt you are going to have this happen, the times when you get there and get to feel a absolutely perfect shot with no stress attached to it is well worth firing a little early a few times.

Now my indoor buddy and I do this sometimes when shooting indoor and we call it RYTHM SHOOTING, when we do it indoor we stat the engine about a inch or so before getting to the x instead of 3 inches and all I can say is that it is a sweet feeling shooting session to say the least because you feel fluid and smooth and some of our best shooting where the arrows are simply perfect inside the x happen during this little rythm shooting session. Again we will have a few arrows that fire early and our pin isn't to the x yet but we aren't shooting a scoring round, we are doing a drill that gives us the feeling of stress free shooting and it allows us to find a way to incorporate that feeling into our scoring round efforts.


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## babyg (Jul 16, 2002)

These drills are great! I would like to see more added. I'm going to give these a try. Thanks

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

Cool, i hadn't seen this thread in a long time but I did go ahead and read through all of the drills that I posted and it was nice to see them again. Most of those drills were and still are based on the LACK OF ACCURACY. It is so easy to go out and spend hour after hour day after day trying to be perfect, in the drills I posted above if you can let go of that desire to be accurate and just work on a specific area you will not only perfect that area but also have some sweet and accurate shooting.

TWO FIRING ENGINES:

This is a great one that I pretty much rely on to keep me up to date mentally, why? Because it brings issues to the surface, when you only have one method of firing a release you become so ingrained to that one method that you stop feeling the little things that are causing the issues. So by picking two well defined firing engines and shooting with both of them you will feel the little issues of each of them and then once they are revealed you can choose to work on them and get them under control. 

For me I compete all the time so I have one firing engine that is my primary competition one that I am going to use on weekends at 3d tournaments, I will also have a couple secondary firing engines that I may be curious about or also enjoy shooting with. Right now my secondary one is yielding, I absolutely love shooting with yielding because it is so relaxing and it fires so smoothly but at this point it just doesn't produce my best shooting. So I will shoot a couple trips to the target with my competition method and then use the yielding and just enjoy both of them. Mentally going back and forth keeps me nice and fresh especially when I have been shooting for many days in a row, doing the same thing every shot for weeks at a time to me just gets boring and there is no feel left in my system. When I am switching between firing engines it forces me to define the one I am going to use and then execute it without having things bleed over.


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## Tyler Finley (Mar 7, 2016)

A lot of good drills I think I am going to try.


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## redman (Feb 22, 2003)

Great info


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I am a unknown 3d guy so I live and die with my yardage guess, There are many different ways to play the game and find a way to get some 12's and also stay in the 10 ring nice and safe. One of the things I learned early on that I had to learn how to do is pick a yardage and then be 100% committed to it and execute a really smooth strong shot.

So, 

Here is a great drill that can really help a guy learn how to actually shoot with that 100% confidence in the number he picks, I go to lets say 42 yards and I set down my 3d stool and I will warm up aiming directly at the 12 ring on my cardboard scoring rings that I make on my target. I shoot for a few minutes and see that my bow is dead on perfect, once I am warmed up and confident in my bow then the drill begins. I take a step forward to 41.5 and shoot and then up to 41 and then to 40.5 and then 40 and then 39.5 and then 39 and sooner or later as I continue to aim directly at the 12 ring my arrows will start to hit out the top of the 10 ring just a little and then I can see my limit how close I can be with a 42 yard setting on my sight. then I go back to 42.5 and then 43 and I shoot and see what happens.

That little drill right there is a sweet drill because you get to practice aiming at scoring rings and staying safe in the 10 ring while aiming directly at the 12 and teach yourself about the ballistics of your arrow and how it changes at different distances. I like to do that drill at a variety of yardages and after a few weeks you kind of get a feel for how your yardage setting can take care of you. Sometimes I do the drill at 27 or 50 or 42 or 38 as my beginning distance where I set up and each one of them has a different window of yardage.


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## quickshot22 (Jul 8, 2016)

ttt


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