Ever had one of those weeks that no matter how much you practice or what bow you shoot it just doesn't feel right? It's the first time this has happened to me since I went all trad last July and with Turkey season here it makes me not even want to go to the woods. How do you guys get through this?  

When i've 'hit the wall' in the past i've done a few things to make it work again:
1. Back to basics-blind bale at five yards. Eyes closed, feel the form.Then 5/10/15 yards. If you can, shoot out to 60 for a clear view of where things are going.
2. Listen to your body. Is something hurting or tight that hasn't been in the past-sign of form change/bad habits creeping in.
3. Change up the routine-go rove or stumpshoot.
4. Stop thinking so much. Remember it's fun. If it isn't feeling like fun, stop. Take a few days  off. The more brain gremlins, the worse it gets.

Thanks

QuoteOriginally posted by Daz:
When i've 'hit the wall' in the past i've done a few things to make it work again:
1. Back to basics-blind bale at five yards. Eyes closed, feel the form.Then 5/10/15 yards. If you can, shoot out to 60 for a clear view of where things are going.
2. Listen to your body. Is something hurting or tight that hasn't been in the past-sign of form change/bad habits creeping in.
3. Change up the routine-go rove or stumpshoot.
4. Stop thinking so much. Remember it's fun. If it isn't feeling like fun, stop. Take a few days  off. The more brain gremlins, the worse it gets.

X2 especially #4 stop thinking and just shoot that works for me

I agree with everything Daz said.  When things don't feel right, and you can't figure out why, it means that you are not aware of what your body is doing during the shot. Everything Daz recommends, including not thinking, is for the purpose of increasing your awareness. You can't be aware of what your body is doing physically if your brain is tied up with cognitive reasoning. For years, I would hear recommendations like Daz made, and they didn't make a whole lot of sense to me because I didn't understand what it meant to be more aware of my body, or what a difference it would make to my shooting.

Now I believe that if a person had one morning of basic lessons in how to shoot the bow, and spent the rest of his life learning to feel what is going on in his body each time he makes a shot, he would end up being a better shot than a person who has many lessons in how to shoot the bow but no appreciation for body awareness. If you are able to feel all the tiny movements, muscle tension and relaxation that make up a shot, and have a desire to make the shot, your body will figure out how to do it without your mind having to try to make your body do anything.  

When you reach that level of awareness, and miss a shot, your attention will be drawn to some particular part of your body, like your bow hand, for example. On the next shot, you will focus more of your awareness on your bow hand, without trying to do anything different. If that was what caused you to miss the shot, and if you are more aware of your bow hand on the next shot, then your body will make the necessary correction without your even having to consciously know exactly what that correction was.

shoot close with your eyes closed.  feel the shot.  do that about 100 times and see what happens

Thanks guys

I usually just take a couple of days off from shooting and give myself a rest to get my mind back in order. A lot of the times it's outside interference that we don't even notice at the time of shooting.

If and when I start shooting poorly its ussually all mental and caused by me not picking my spot. Instead I just look at the target and am lacking the focus i normally have when shooting good. So to fix it I start close and shoot that day close range something like 12-15 yards for a shooting session ussually helps me get back on track pretty quick and by the next day I have my confidence back

Thanks guys. I took the weekend off and did a little blind bale this afternoon and wallah everything is back in order.

Get close, shoot from 5-10 yards tops. It will restore your confidence. Shawn

It happens to just about everybody. It will pass.