Lesson 1 - Stance and First Shots

Martin explained the correct sequence to go through in the mind to get in the right position for the shot:

1. Stand with feet shoulder width apart either side of the shooting line so that your let shoulder is facing the target.
2. Load the arrow making sure the cock feather faces out and the nock engages the string. Grip the string with the right hand using the knuckle closest to the finger ends.
3. Relax the shoulders, keep the back straight and turn the head to face the target.
4. Raise the bow with the left arm until the arm is horizontal.
5. Draw the string back until the string touches the nose and the thumb ends up under the jawbone, almost under the right ear.
6. Release the string and let the arrow fly. The right hand should travel backwards a little way.
7. Check to see where the arrow went.

After a few arrows it became apparent that there are a number of common faults that make an arrow fly off course. Some of them are:

- Right hand pulling back next to cheek - arrow will fly low.
- Right hand pulling too low (away from the jawbone) - arrow will fly high.
- string does not touch the nose - head is tilted back so arrow will fly high.

After shooting all your arrows, you must wait for the signal from the range captain to go and recover them (and score them).  On the way to the target check for and pick up any arrows that fell short.  At the target, pull arrows by placing the back of the hand against the target face  with the arrow shaft between your fingers, the pull straight back, ensuring nobody is going to get poked!  Work from the outside of the face inwards.  Finally recover any arrows from behind the target.

Incorrect posture can also cause problems. Martin pointed out a few with myself and my partner, including the right shoulder being too high, and the right elbow not being in line with the rest of the arm. In general, the arms should for a T shape, with the right arm folded at the elbow.

Towards the end of the lesson Martin took a photo of each of the students, which he used to highlight specific issues we could concentrate on in coming weeks. You can see the photo below; here are his comments:

"Your stance is nice and upright and you look relaxed and confident. As you will see, your front shoulder is a little high in relation to the line of the arrow and we will work on this in the next lesson. Your draw hand is nicely positioned under your jaw but we need to make sure it is the same part of your hand which makes contact each time. It might help to tuck the thumb a little closer to the forefinger to make a sort of platform. Otherwise there is a risk that although your thumb may make contact with your jaw, the rest of your hand might still be low, high or to the side. Your back arm alignment looks excellent with a nice straight line from your elbow, through your hand to the bow handle. From the rear this looked really good. Your bow hand looks nice and relaxed though we should try to rotate it slightly clockwise so that it is nearer a 45 degree angle with just the ball beneath the thumb making contact. For the next lesson we will help you to start using your back muscles a little more to execute the shot. We will also look again at the bow hand position. Generally you should be very pleased indeed with your first outing with a bow."

He is right. I was pleased.