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DanaC
01-15-2012, 03:30 PM
Long article about keeping your head in the game. Scientific research. Relevant to the archer, I think.


http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/337209/title/Brainy_Ballplayers

Brainy Ballplayers
Elite athletes get their heads in the game
By Nick Bascom
January 14th, 2012;

…"Yogi Berra once famously quipped that he couldn’t “think and hit at the same time,” and Milton believes that devoting too much conscious attention to swing mechanics could actually hurt performance, even among big leaguers. His research suggests that when professional golfers think too long about their shots, the athletes activate parts of their brains that they haven’t used during golf since first learning the game, throwing finely tuned sensorimotor pathways out of whack. “This is because the expert’s brain has already figured out the optimal solution, and anything they consciously change will disrupt that,” Milton says.

The experience of “being in the zone” could simply be what happens when the brain regions making athletes conscious of their movements are finally quieted and motor centers get free rein to guide the players to victory."….

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Lots more. Interesting read.

FreixoBoavida
01-16-2012, 11:49 AM
Very, very interesting article.
It explains a lot...Yes it does. :thankyou:
JB

mamba
01-21-2012, 07:52 AM
I always wondered why some block heads could shoot better than me,now I understand.(LOL)

DanaC
01-21-2012, 03:24 PM
As I read it, it's about separating 'practice' from 'shooting.'

'Thinking about' elements of your form is what you're supposed to be doing during practice sessions. Grip, anchor, etc. But doing that when shooting for score will throw you off. If you've practiced well, your hands will know what to do; you simply have to trust them.

steve morley
02-26-2012, 11:58 PM
As I read it, it's about separating 'practice' from 'shooting.'



My goal has always been to practice like I'm shooting a tourney and shoot a tourney like I practice, when I'm in a tourney I dont really think of it as a tourney, just gaining more shooting experience.

Drills like walkback and Bale work are quite different and I do think about form/gaps etc but when I'm on my home range walking the course shooting targets it's no different from my tourney shooting.

If I'm having a bad day I will shoot by the numbers and follow my sequence step by step, sometimes I can get back in the groove within a few targets and sometime I have to shoot the whole round this way, from experiece I found although my performace isn't at it's best it is a lot better than trying to get into a 'zone' that's decided not to show itself that day, in most situations it still gets me in or close to top 3 positions.