AMERICAN BLIND ARCHER Austin Beaumount SHOOT BLINDFOLD

Mental Preparation
Excerpted and paraphrased from a Mental Management Newsletter
Successful competitors know that there are only a few ways to perform a task well but many ways to screw it up. When the outcome is bad and you are thinking about the outcome, negative thoughts abound. You are following human nature and we are environment oriented. If however, your FOCUS IS ON PROPER EXECUTION, you are process oriented and have only positive things to think about. It is impossible to deviate from what you know works. You are consistent in your thinking and your mistakes are minimized. This is counter to human nature - it is abnormal to think this way. It is abnormal to win or succeed. Being typical is normal. NINETY FIVE PERCENT OF ALL WINNING IS ACCOMPLISHED BY ONLY FIVE PERCENT OF THE COMPETITORS; THE ABNORMAL ONES.
There are two major concepts that will improve how we manage the mental side of archery. The first consists of three mental processes, the Conscious Mind, the Subconscious Mind, and the Self-Image. The other concept is that there are three phases to every task, the anticipation phase, the action phase and the reinforcement phase.
The three mental processes directly relate to the three phases of a task. Below is a chart of the relationship of this phenomenon.
Anticipation Phase (before the act) Conscious Mind (what we think about)
Action Phase (doing the act) Subconscious Mind (our skill to do the act)
Reinforcement Phase (what happens after the act) Self-Image (thoughts after act)
Anytime we think about, talk about, or write about something happening, it imprints in our Self-Image. Our Self-Image is our habits and attitudes. It's what makes us, act like us. It is our comfort zone. Remember, the self image thinks there is only one person, you; therefore every time you perform an act, or think about something, it documents it to adjust your comfort zone. This mental process is always growing or shrinking, depending on our imprints.
In the chart above, note that the reinforcement phase occurs immediately after the action. An action produces an environmental imprint. It is stored into our Self-Image. An archer hits a perfect 10 right down the middle of the target. The picture is exactly what the archer wanted; therefore the imprint of the environment is a good one.
We must now protect, and enhance our Self-Image using this example. The shot is a good one, so reinforce that shot in your mind. Vividly rehearse a replay of the shot. This will enhance the imprinting into the Self Image.
We can also protect and enhance the Self-Image by using this imprinting in our anticipation phase. The conscious mind is always in contact with the Self-Image . Remember, what you think about is imprinted into the self-image; therefore if you think of the shot you want to perform before the action, it greatly improves the probability that the shot will happen the way you have rehearsed it.
Your thought process would be as follows. Picture what you want to have happen, perform the action, follow-up by rehearsing and reinforcing what you wanted to have happen. The action becomes sandwiched with two perfectly executed shots, therefore guaranteeing that you have at least two good imprints during each shot. If the shot is a good one, you now have three good imprints.
If you can do this consistently on each and every shot, you will increase your ability to shoot more consistently and become a better archer vision impaired or sighted.

Article by Michael Burnham

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[haiweilan]

Thanks, welcome back.

[haiweilan]

Thank you.

[horsebackarchers]

Excellent! BRAVO!

[xiaofha]

Thanks for the article and the video, keep it up!!!

:)