Patrick Huston gives his quick fire advice on prepping your mind before a shoot
Mentally rehearsing can work wonders to calm your mind
Q. How do you mentally prepare yourself before a shoot?
A. This is a pretty huge topic which can’t really be covered in adequate detail in the space we have for a Q&A unfortunately. However, one of the important things to do first off is to know in advance exactly what it is you are going to be shooting. This way you can practice the round, get used to the sight picture at the distances, have accurate sightmarks and also be confident with your ability to score well.
A very important bit of mental preparation that an archer who wants to achieve highly should be doing is mental rehearsal. This is simply visualising in your mind the shot routine and the arrow landing in the target. Doing 10-15 minutes a day for a couple of weeks will make a big difference to the mental power and confidence of an archer. This is a long-term mental training practice but, once implemented for a month or two, can be very useful for preparing for specific tournaments as one can mentally rehearse the exact round they are going to be shooting. By doing this you create a deja-vu experience when you go to the shoot as you have competed through the round many times before in your head. This makes it noticeably easier to achieve the goals you have set out for the tournament.
This article originally appeared in the issue 122 of Bow International magazine. For more great content like this, subscribe today at our secure online store: www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk