Monday 11th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Breezy at times, switching between overcast and very sunny, quite warm but not as humid as Sunday.

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

2x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm unscored

20x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm scored

Total 226

Kept working on the new form, and it seems to be settling down, though shooting so many arrows without much of a rest period is probably fatiguing me somewhat.  Releases are iffy depending on setup, though I do seem to have a better sense of timing when everything clicks.  I shifted my clicker position a fraction out, though will need assistance to check that it is in a good position.  After that is better confirmed, a tune will be in order to ensure the bow is going to shoot as best as possible with my form.  My fingers are a bit sore, though I'm not really sure what can be done about it exactly, though I might be using the wrong finger position, will have to wait and see.

Sunday 10th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Very hot, very humid, some wind at times

3x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm unscored

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm scored

2x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm unscored

20x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 40cm scored

Total 222

The very hot and humid weather made things quite challenging to shoot in.  I felt like my energy was really taxed and drained very quickly.  My fingers are still a bit sore, but that was to be expected with the higher volume of arrows.  My outdoor rounds was a 559 with 17 lower than 7, a 530 with 19 lower than 7.  My indoor round was also a 530 with 18 10's (didn't record X's), so nearly a third were 10/X.

Saturday 9th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Hot, humid, slight breeze at times

14x 10 arrow ends @ 70m unscored

12x 6 arrow ends @ 70m scored

Total 212

Shot a solid day of 70m.  Still using the different draw setup, and I think I have it down fairly solidly now.  Still not 100% of course, but am able to settle into it fairly well now.  I was able to shoot decent groups early on but shooting the 10 arrow ends tired me out quite fast, and also my fingers were quite sore today, so I might be back doing something not quite right with my finger position on the grip.  I hope to get some good rest tonight and do better tomorrow, perhaps start with some scored shooting first.

In terms of the scoring, I only managed a 545, a bit low in contrast to the 590 I shot the other day, but it was after already 140 arrows shot so it didn't quite compare to had I scored a fresh 70/720 round.

Friday 8th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry

Outside conditions rainy, slight winds at times otherwise rather calm

12x 6 arrow ends @ 18m, NFAA 5-spot indoor face, unscored

6x 12 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm, unscored

24x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, NFAA indoor face

Total 216

Tried to see if the pre-load draw setup advocated by Coach Bob would work for me.  From my experimentation indoors, it seems to be okay, though I may be muscularly weak to shoot with it properly for now, though perhaps over the next few days I will develop sufficient strength for it.  That said, I was getting quite reasonable groups to my regular shooting at 70m even though the groups were not in the middle.  Using the technique indoors had similar good groups except when I held too long and wasn't able to expand through the clicker sufficiently in time and fudged out the release and execution.  Hopefully my body can keep up with a high arrow shooting volume to see if this will pan out for WOAF.  If thats even still on with the flood worries....

Thursday 7th July 2011

@ Easton Newberry Sports Complex, Florida

26x 3 arrow ends @ 18m, 60cm, unscored

Total 78.

Drove up from Orlando to Gainesville and visited the facility for the first time.  The weather seemed to be a bit on the turbulent and stormy side, so decided to put in some indoor time.  In the 26 ends I only shot 2 into the 8 ring, the rest were all gold, so I was fairly happy at that result.

I had a bit of a discussion with Coach Bob Romeo, the former head coach of the facility, who is leaving on Sunday to pursue other things as Robert Turner is now the head coach, but is away at the JOAD championships this week.  He suggested a change to my setup, with a pre-draw load so that the lift of the bow action meant the hand was already closer to the face and anchor, reducing movements made by the smaller finer muscles.  It is different obviously to what I have been doing, but apparently it is a shift in Kik-Sik Lee's teaching due to them finally getting around the language barrier of what they thought he meant, to what he actually meant.  I will see if I can try it a bit some more today and determine if it is something that will work and is suitable for me or not.

Sunday 3rd July 2011

@ Northern

Cool morning, odd light breeze, sunny afternoon warmer with also odd light breeze

QRE

4x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm warmup

70m/720

3x 6 arrow ends @ 50m, 80cm warmup

50m/720

Total 186

I was pretty happy with the overall result of todays double QRE at Northern. I was struggling at the start somewhat, and then Rob told me that I should consider not a continuous expansion while trying to hold steady, as I was holding way too long, but instead, if my clicker is set correctly, I could float into the middle and actively "pull" the tiny 5mm through the clicker and release. So I tried it. Usually not something you should do in the middle of the shoot, but I figured now was as good a time as any since it was only just a QRE.

Well, I put down a personal best 70m QRE score for a 6 end session of 304 (53, 47 50, 52, 54, 48) with only 6 blues (5, 6 and 6). Unfortunately something didn't quite go right in the second half of the 70m QRE, putting in a 286, with one end being a horrible 43 (9 9 9 6 5 5). Other than that, it was not too bad (50, 48, 49, 47, 43, 49), so I think it's just a stamina and strength issue.

The afternoon session was 50m on the 80cm, and after having an hour break and some food, I powered into it in similar fashion to the 70m, actively trying to pull through deliberately rather than a continuous expansion. Dropped in a 302 (49, 50, 50, 55, 49, 49) with 2 6's. Pretty solid I felt, another QRE PB. Then to finish the day off, I put down a close shave 299, definitely flagging with stamina and strength issues (50, 48 48 54 53 46). Totalling the second half with a 601.

So, a 590 and 601, puts me at a total QRE ranking PB of 1191, my first 600 QRE score and also three really solid scores at that 300 line. Now, to just keep pushing that line up and up.

Friday 1st July 2011

@ St Pauls

Breezy, cool but sunny

23x 6 arrow ends @ 70m, 122cm, unscored

Total 138

Put in a solid set of shooting in preparation for the QRE on the 3rd, as it will be the last QRE for me before I head overseas for the two month period away.  I had good groups I felt, but need to work on being patient and also letting down sooner than later when things weren't working.  Was getting roughly between 47-54 point ends, so in the ballpark I am happy with.  I have attempted to improve the mental aspect of my shooting by focusing upon the sensation of the shot release I want during the expansion and release phase, so that upon the clicker reaction, I will obtain the same sensation.  What I am trying to 'feel' is that 'wow' release as if I had just taken the shot trainer off, with the full engagement of my back etc, and while I didn't quite manage to achieve that, I felt it did help in expanding through.