ARCHERY AND YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS

Whatever your archery game is, your mind controls the outcome!

Have you ever wondered why some folks have it and others don’t? Natural talent? Maybe they are genetically superior? This is true in some cases, but the key ingredient to success in archery shooting or any sport and much of life is the mind!

The mind controls many functions, speech, confidence, conscious thought, subconscious skill and memory just to name a few. Mastering the mind will put you on top of any game, but mastering the conscious/subconscious mind is the key in my opinion to success in sports and everyday activities. I obviously didn’t discover this theory, but did study it to great lengths while competing as a 3-D archer. What I found was this theory works throughout most things we do in life.

After researching how the mind works with learned skills, I set off to see firsthand if this theory was for real. First what I found was in the bowstring manufacturing process. The entire process was an example of conscious/subconscious effort. From the material and jig tensions to the loop measurements, and the correct order of the entire process. Working on a large job for several weeks that required 3/4” end loops, I noticed after several days, I didn’t have to measure them any longer. My subconscious mind automatically calibrated this end loop measurement. Sometimes to within shockingly precise accuracy. My best guess is by consciously looking at 3/4” for days, my subconscious mind knew exactly where to start the serving. Then I noticed throughout the entire bowstring making process this theory was spot on.

Yardage judging in 3D archery tournaments is no different. You can train your brain by consciously looking at the animals at different distances and turn your brain into a very accurate range finder. An old hobby of mine was knife sharpening, and I was horrible at it, until I understood this theory. After weeks of slow, methodical attempts at getting the correct angle, it’s now a subconscious easy skill.

Once during a large 3D tournament, I was grouped with a shooter who was a high school football coach. He could look at the ground and tell you exactly where all the yardage markers were in 10yd increments. From making bowstrings to hammering a nail, any skill is learned by consciously training the subconscious to “take over”.

If you want to improve your archery shooting skills, pick apart your form/mechanics. Learn what works well for you and then repeat over and over again. Program your subconscious brain correctly! This is the perfect practice adage we’ve all heard about through out the years.

Whatever your skill level is, and whatever the performance is you desire. Study it and concentrate on it consciously and you will master it in your subconscious. This is hard work, but more importantly smart work!

Good luck!