erson has trained his muscles and nervous system to shoot an arrow into the middle of a target, theoretically he should be able to put it into the center every time. What prevents him from doing this? Like most other athletes, archers are prevented from achieving total focus or accuracy by worry, by distracting thoughts, by over activation, by loss of focus, or by lack of connection with target. They have the program in their brain to perform the skill flawlessly. They can do it without thinking. Their challenge is to free the body and mind to connect totally with the goal. What these athletes must seek, and must perfect is a relaxed focus. It’s not that the focus itself if relaxed in the sense of lacking intensity, it’s rather the mind is cleared of irrelevant thoughts, the body is cleared of irrelevant tensions, and the focus is centered only on what is important at that moment for executing the skill to perfection. The body is relaxed but ready and the mind clam but focused. Outside thoughts and unwanted tension are absent. The focus is centered on specific target. The target may be the image of the perfect move, a total connection with one’s own body, or the center of the target that is waiting to receive that shot. Relax focusing often follows a sequence, from mind (mental imagery) to body, from target to performance. Each step eliminates nonessentials so that the single focus or vision can fully absorb the performer’s awareness. (Barrington.J,1987.61.53) Developing an ability to directly focus on critical performance cues and hold it there until the body is free to follow the visions of the mind is crucial to high level performance. The principles of sport psychology are helping athletes succeed far beyond just body strength but past their mind barriers. An achievement that can only be attained with dedication and a will to let your mind explore the all possibilities no matter how extravagant. Thanks to t...
