YOUR PERSONALITY | Can You Handle the Truth? expressive, or analytical. There are a few more, but as you can see, these three examples have very similar group names.
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probably because I never worried too much about kissing up or sounding “politically correct,” I just wanted to make sure nobody ever said “what the heck does that mean?” So, I sort of come right at you! For another reason, the medical profession divides us Group A aggressive, controller, driver into just two groups, Type A and Type B, for the purposes (Bernie-ism “control freak”) of evaluating the risk of heart attacks, strokes, high blood Individuals tend to be intense, impatient, pressure, and the like. People with Type A personalities “in charge,” and don’t trust. are usually impulsive, hard driving, in control, non-trustGroup B passive, amiable, supportive ing, intense, always in a hurry, usually high stress and/ (Bernie-ism “focused”) or workaholics. People with Type B personalities usually Similar in that they tend to be easygoing, have focused or ordered minds and are calm, patient, very patient, deliberate and very trusting. trusting, deliberate, and even-tempered. It’s easy to unGroup C intuitive, promoter, expressive derstand why Type A’s are much more prone to stress-re (Bernie-ism “risk taker”) lated heart disease than Type B’s. Although you may have Tend to be creative, spontaneous, already tried to “pigeonhole” yourself into one of these emotional, and prone to gamble or take categories, all personalities fall into two or more groups chances. with one dominant trait. For example, I am a classic domiGroup D analytical or analyst nant Type A/driver, with analytical, and expressive traits. A (Bernie-ism “over thinker”) Bernie-ism for this is ... I am a control freak with tenden People in this group tend to analyze cies to “over-think” everything and take risks. Not a pretty everything and experiment a lot. picture, is it?! My wife, however, is a dominant Type B/ amiable, with expressive traits. It’s a good thing, too, beI have coined my own profile names and phrases called cause without her focus, organizational skills and calming Bernie-isms...sort of a “naked truth shorthand.” This is influence, I would have self-destructed years ago! As you can see, there are thousands of possibilities. For example, you could be NEVER accept second best... 60% Type A/driver, 30% expressive, and 10% analytical, or 70% analytical, 452X 15% expressive, and 15% driver, and For no creep and good speed so on. So, what does all this have to do with Bowstring & Serving Material 8125 archery? A lot, if you think about it. It For highest speed To take the best shot you can’t compromise on any of your equipment. That includes may help you determine whether you selecting bowstring and serving material 450 Plus are a natural candidate for high level tailored specifically to your needs. For total stability archery competition, or if you should BCY offers the best quality and value, DynaFlight 97 use a high or low power scope, or the widest variety of colors and High strength Dyneema should focus on the sight or the target material, and the best in service when aiming, or use a circle in your B B 500 500 and technical knowhow from For traditional bows scope instead of a dot, to have a clear people who really scope or a slightly blurry one, whether understand archery. to use an index finger, thumb, or a See our web site for our back tension release. full range of bowstring You see, if your personality profile and serving materials, or contact us is like the medical Type B or Group B for a catalog. (amiable, passive, supportive), then you are more likely to be able to naturally duplicate a shot sequence with 697 Middle Street, Middletown, CT 06457 U.S.A. the machine-like precision of a top Phone: 860-632-7115 ranked professional archer. You will be Fax: 860-632-5775 able to naturally trust this “system” e-mail: bcyray@msn.com • www.bcyfibers.com (your shot sequence) to work on its own without trying to improve, ana-
Rely on BCY
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lyze, assist, or control any aspect of the system, from shot to shot. This ability of your conscious mind to trust what you believe to be the best system for you, enables your subconscious mind to more quickly and completely absorb it. It follows that since the subconscious is now in control of the shot sequence, your conscious mind does not have to be! Your conscious mind can now focus entirely on aiming, trusting the subconscious mind to run the “release program” or “let-go” system, which is the only way truly excellent archery is ever achieved by most. Therefore, I will repeat this concept many times throughout the book because it is an integrated part of the whole philosophy and interweaves with different topics. It is the real key to understanding, and therefore unlocking, your potential. On the other hand, if your personality corresponds to Type A or Group A profiles (controller, driver, aggressive) and/or possesses dominant or significant Group D (analytical) or Group C (intuitive, promoter, expressive) tendencies, then (theoretically) your chances of becoming a national or world champion archer decrease substantially — because top level shooting usually depends on trusting the duplication of form and execution, shot after shot, and the ability to concentrate and stay focused with a calm, confident, ordered mind. However, the fact that you are not a Type B personality does not mean you cannot succeed at high-level competitive target archery! It just means it will be much more difficult for your personality to overcome its natural tendency to consciously control the movement of the sight or the instant of the release. For example, in the case of “Control Freaks,” if this is coupled with an overly analytical mind, you might tend to anticipate triggering your release, grab the bow, or over-analyze each shot and therefore pick apart, try to improve, or change one aspect or another from shot to shot, creating inconsistencies in shot execution. If substantial “Risk Taker” tendencies exist in your profile, you might tend to gamble and release a shot that does not feel right instead of letting down and starting the shot sequence over. If you’re analytical, your mind may wander from one thing to another, become easily distracted, and find it extremely difficult to concentrate all the way through the shot. Of course, all of the above can, and do, happen to Type B personalities, but not nearly with the same frequency or intensity, and it’s usually much easier for them to handle those problems when they do occur. Why? Because truly “focused shooters” trust their release and are naturally focused on the present. (There are only about twelve of them nationwide. You know the ones ... the ones who win most of the time!) They are not worried (like the rest of us) about the future or the past ... where the arrow is going to go or where the last one went. These Type B shooters can use any release method, aim any number of ways, shoot any bow, use any form, and have
less than perfect arrow flight, and still manage to win! They can focus on a B-B at 20 yards for half an hour and their minds never leave the B-B. They have no blood pressure, no pulse, and no nerves ... you know the ones!
Your Choice of Equipment
Based on your personality type, which release aid should you use?
Personality traits may also affect the way you select or shoot different archery accessories. These traits do not always end up being compatible with the equipment or methods you have selected. For example, most Control Freaks prefer an index finger release so they can control the instant of the shot (possibly acquired from pistol or rifle shooting). Controlling the release is exactly what we do not want to happen. These people and the Over Thinkers would do better if they shot thumb, or better yet, back tension releases, like the Stanislawski, Carter, Zenith, or the Can’t Punch Release© that I invented. It is a wrist-strap, caliper release, with two triggers that prevent trigger punching, but is still activated by your back muscles, like the other back tension releases. Generally, individuals with controlling personality traits also tend to have an overwhelming urge to “fight” the aiming dot in a scope, trying too hard to perfectly align the sight, leading to over-holding and eventually shaking. Often, these folks buy very clear, high-powered scopes so they can see better to “aim more precisely,” which compounds their problem because it also magnifies every movement. This practice often leads to frustration and punching, or snapshooting. They would be better off with a pin sight or a slightly blurry scope lens or lower magnification that minimizes “perceived movement.” Also, they might avoid the overcontrolling problem better with a circle in the scope or on the end of their pin so they can see the bullseye through the circle, even when the sight is moving around slightly. Sort of like having a ring the size of a quarter around a bullseye the size of a nickel — there is room to “let it float” continued on pg. 12 Archery Magazine
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