Tuesday 23rd November 2010

@ St Pauls
Sunny, gusts, some clouds, warm.

2x 6 arrow ends @ 60m 122 warmup

3x 30 arrows, 6 arrow ends @ 60m 122cm.

Total 102 arrows.

Scored 222, 227 and 229.

Was pretty ordinary shooting for most part.  Worst end was a 34, best end a 52.

Tried to maintain good tension, wasn't really able to do so.  Was okay in bow arm position though, feeling a lot better these days with the bow arm though when tension loss is ooccuring it is hard to not tense up on the bow hand.

Sunday 21st November 2010

@ Sydney Bowmen
Clear day, sunny, not really any wind.

12x 6 arrow ends @ 60m, 122cm face, no scoring.

Total 72.

Mixture of good and poor ends, was having difficulty in remaining relaxed and causing release problems. When fully relaxed, shot cycle made it through very easy and clean releases.

Must put some attention into string alignment also as was causing right hand deviations consistently at times but may be related to off-centered aim through the open ring, hard to fully determine.

Tuesday 16th November 2010

@ St Pauls

Nice weather, a little gusty, bright with some cloud at times.

2x 6 arrow @ 60m warmup

Canberra round
60m: 233
50m: 240
40m: 267
Total: 740, for a rating of 63.

Total arrows shot 102.

The score probably could have been a little better, closer to 770, but the last two ends for each distance (with the exception of being the first and last ends for 60m) were lower than the others significantly.  Concentration and slowing down the cycle to ensure sufficient rest time, along with letting down when the setup is incorrect needs to be done better.

Tried to focus on bow arm today, was 'reaching' out towards the target with the arm, and it was seemingly working in assisting expansion through the clicker when using the back correctly.  It also assisted in guiding more of a 'forward' than sideways movement of the bow upon release action.

Tuesday 19th October 2010

@ St Pauls, some wind, very overcast, had been raining, cool.

36 @ 70m, 122cm face
36 @ 30m, 122cm face.

Total 72.

Had some bad ends, a few poor releases. Finished up with good sized group at 70m, about the 9 ring size, but off-center.

30m, all but 2 were golds.

Thursday 7th October 2010

@ St Pauls, cloudy, wind coming up midway.

2x 6 arrow ends @ 70m warmup
4x(6x 6 arrow ends) @ 70m  122cm scored
2x 6 arrow ends @ 70m cooldown
12x 6 arrow ends @ 30m 80cm unscored.

Total 240 arrows.

The wind really kicked my arse today -_-;  some good, some bad, just mediocre shooting.

Tuesday 5th October 2010

@ St Pauls, sunny slight breeze.
3m blank butt shooting

16x12 arrow ends = 192 arrows shot.

Just concentrated on getting through the clicker consistently.

Question & Answers - 27th August 2010

I recently put a post in regards to shooting on a website.  From this, someone sent me some questions and I thought that I would put them and the answers here.

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1. Is one anchor point better than another, i.e. I draw to my chin whereas many pictures on the web show archers drawing to the corner of their mouths - should I be doing that too?

There are better anchor points than others in my limited experience.  A good anchor point provides as many possible reference points to the shooter and in addition to this, must provide good biomechanical alignment to maximise draw length while making it easily shootable.

For me, my anchor point of choice gives me contact on the nose, down the nasal cartilage, along my face and chin, so that my hand is firmly embedded into the bone of my jaw.  In addition, my hand position is such so that my pinky is able to touch my neck at anchor.  This position for me sets my draw arm in a good alignment position, and allows me to use scapula movement to rotate my arm around and bring my arrow through the clicker.  Copy-cat behaviour should not be conducted if you don't understand why they are doing it, otherwise you don't actually gain the benfits.

2. How long do you hold steady once you acquired the target before you release? I tend to release immediately once it's on the spot but this doesn't seem to give me consistent results.

In Kyuudou, they should hold for a minimum of seven seconds before their release.  Thankfully, we do not do Kyuudou as modern archery.  According to studies in rifle shooting, if you hold your breath for longer than about 6 seconds, your eyes will start to defocus unconsciously.  While this is related to 3. , this means you really should not hold for more than 6 seconds.

The appropriate hold time is dependant upon the conditions and your skill.  Holding is actually an incorrect phrase, it really is a transfer, from the draw to anchor, to pulling through the clicker (if you use one) since your movement should not actually 100% stop, but rather, slow down.

To further explain this, as I understand it, and try, is that when you draw the bow, you are already in the process of "aiming" on the target.  Once you set to anchor, you should be about 75% aimed, and then it is just fine movement to ensure you are where you want to be.  While this fine adjustment happens, you continually pull, until it goes through the clicker.  If you are where you want to be, release, if not, let down, start again.  It's not a easy process, but rather a good process to ensure you can draw through the clicker smoothly and consistently.

An instant release is pretty poor in consistency if you do not manage to settle your anchor, ie, if body parts are still moving.  You should attempt to bring your body to a slow stop as part of the draw, instead of a sudden "haul" of the string to your anchor quickly, as it causing a lot of body movement compared to a slower steady draw to anchor.

3. What about breathing? Are you supposed to release at the bottom of your breath after exhaling (which is what you do in pistol shooting) or...? I have read several archery books and not one of them addressed this!?

Breathing is an important cycle.  One thing to consider is that, inhalation and exhalation to the extremes require muscle activation to hold.  A half breath situation is less strenuous than extremes, and also provides more oxygen to your body to burn during the holding of the breath.

My coach taught me this cycle, and I have found it to be pretty good, and I try to continue using this.

I) When you are ready to draw, and your foundations are set (stance, head position, arrow on string, bow in hand, fingers on string), exhale fully.  Then lift the bow.

II)  As you draw the bow to anchor, inhale.

III) At anchor as you reach it, exhale half breath.  This then leaves you with oxygen to spare, and a relaxed mid-state of muscle in the thorax.

IV) Draw through and shoot.

Give it a try is all I can really say.  Breathing is important, and keeping a regular cycle is important and helps in maintaining your rhythm when shooting.

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So, I hope that these opinions of mine are helpful to anyone who might have similar questions, and while they have worked for me, there is no guarentee that they will work for you, so just keep that in mind.

Happy Shooting.