Stickbow Target Archery Forums

I’ve been shooting good tourney scores the last couple of years but felt some bad habits could be improved on. I’ve made time this year to really work on my shooting and decided to try and fix some of those form errors.

Basic errors were not locking\raising bow shoulder, inconsistent draw length and although I’m using back tension I felt it could still be improved on.

Think the raising Bow shoulder was related to overdrawing slightly and settling back into anchor so felt that fixing draw length would fix two form errors, a few years back I have facial reconstruction so my corner of the mouth anchor had to go because of nerve damage my anchor is now index finger on cheek bone which had advantages of being solid bone contact but disadvantage of being high and makes it a little harder for back tension release because the drawing shoulder is raised also, the anchor is more side of face than inline under the eye and found the increasing draw slightly I could get string contact on eyebrow, this became like a built in draw check giving consistent draw and also worked a little bit like a clicker as I increased back tension I would feel the string pressure increase and the shot would just happen.

[img][img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v603/stevemorley5/Fita%203D%20worlds/Fitaworldsitaly061.jpg[/img][/IMG]
Fita 3D World Champs Italy

in background of pic is a Rabbit at 20m, another Longbow stacking arrows in the kill, nice shooting.

Before back pressure for me was like loading shoulders and letting the shot just happen, advantage was a total subconscious release but was sometimes inconsistent, I tried Rod Jenkins very dynamic touch the shoulder release and it worked a treat BUT under tourney pressure it felt really awkward and decided to try something less dynamic, so when I reached anchor I imagined I have a second anchor (lower part of Ear) once I set sight picture and settled myself under control I would just imagine continuing draw to ear this kept everything tidy and felt easier to repeat when under tourney pressure.

It’s been a good year and fell down flat on my face a couple of times but I’ve won some great tourneys and set new Field National\European records so my form changes have worked out well, still have some refining to do but very happy with the improvements. A camera I bought that plays 1000fps slow motion has really helped tidy my form.

Hope my insights have given some ideas and inspiration, I would like you to ask yourself and share what you have done to improve your shooting form this year and what you plan to do in improving your form, I feel no matter what level you’re at, you always have room for improvement.

Steve, it's bizarre how much you sound like me. I anchor at cheekbone with index. Touch string to eyebrow. Even bought the 1000fps camera to troubleshoot archery issues (my website is TalonOptix.com).

The biggest thing that improved my shot this past year was how I triggered the release. A couple years ago I bought a DVD called "The Push Release" which you've probably heard of. Basically it taught you to pull into anchor as if you were pulling a trigger when you were ready to release. This was the author's method of overcoming target panic/releasing too soon.

I had a problem with the video, as I believed it made you subconsciously increase finger tension. I've noticed that expanding the draw while trying to come through a clicker actually makes me use every muscle I can to get through it, and realized I was squeezing my fingers tighter.

So, recently, I thought: what if I think about pulling *away* from anchor instead of into it? So with the base knuckle of my index finger against my cheekbone, I though about pulling that away from the cheekbone, instead of my finger pad into the front of my cheekbone.

Lo and behold, it made for a very slick release. Something about that point of focus requires me to use back tension to get away from my cheekbone. I assume it because I have no other muscles that can move that part of my hand further back. It also seemed to help automatically relax my fingers instead of tensing them.

Things I need to work on: learning not to aim. I'd like to just focus on a spot and let my subconscious guide my aim. You see, I practice at one target most of the time. I do not get a variety of sight pictures to practice with. So when I go to a tournament, I start to second guess my sight picture, because it's unfamiliar. I'd like to be abe to ignore the sight picture, focus on a spot, and trust that I will make the needed adjustments.

Steve Snider, a guy I shot with at both IBO World events, suggested I switch to lefty. It would be like teaching a new student to shoot, but with all the knowledge I've acquired, so it would be done right without getting into any bad habits. He also made a good point that someday I may need to switch due to an injury of some sort, so it would be good to be ready. I don't think I'm prepared to take that leap yet though.

The release isn't really part of the shot process and it's more of a reaction to having relaxed forearm and pulling through with back tension, if I try to release a conscious level it just feels awkward and ends up a horrible shot.

My anchor is just a momentary stopping point to check my sight picture, to feel that the body relaxed and in alignment and that my conscious\subconscious is happy, at this point I'm still not committed to the shot and can come down and start the shot sequence again, then I just continue the draw, my focus at this last part of the shot sequence is only on the point of arrow impact and increasing back tension, 'release' never enters my conscious thoughts, a mistake a lot of Archers make.

The DVD claimed the release happened automatically without thinking of it. But you still have to pull the trigger and wait for it to go off.

I don't think of the release either. It does just happen. But I do think of the expansion process, or squeezing the base of the index back from the cheekbone, just as you think of squeezing your back muscles.

When you do mental imagery, for whatever action, when you think of doing something, the muscles required for the action, actually physically tense whether you want them to or not. So when I removed my thoughts from pulling my finger tips tighter into anchor, it removed that mentally induced tension in the fingers.

Greysides,
Welcome to the board. What you described sounds like a good place to be. For me, it's easier to think of an action that causes the back muscles to squeeze, rather than simply trying to squeeze them. And as I mentioned, thinking of bringing my hand straight back from my face makes my body want to use back muscles for the task.

i believe that to a large degree, barebow target archery form is subjective. you do what works best for you. the goal then becomes consistent repetition. i've always had best results getting my aiming eye as far down to the shaft as possible, whilst employing a comfortable, repeatable form that allows the least derivations.

i find that coming past a full anchor, then settling in and allowing the drawing shoulder to 'lock', yields the better release for me, and is my kinda 'draw check'.

in the below image, i'm still pulling to anchor. once there, i'll relax both shoulders a tad, and that sets up for a better, cleamer release (for me).

Next week I'm being coached by one of the best and most respected Korean coach's in the world Kim Hyung Tak.

I'm looking forward to it, think it will good to know my current training is on the right track and to have somebody with such experience help e become a better shot

Cool! I expect full details.