This was the catch-up lesson put on because two of us missed the scheduled lesson at the weekend. Unfortunately the other beginner had to miss this one, too, due to an injury, so it was just me and Martin this time. He brought with him the important bits of kit - bows, arrows, mugs, milk....
I started the evening with a 14 pound (14#) bow, the same as I used in lesson one. After a quick reminder from Martin, I managed to string it properly using the bow stringer. We also found a set of arrows the right length.
Working with the elastic band, Martin showed me how to set my arms and shoulders so that the forces are aligned along the bones of the arms, and that keeping the shoulders down helps enormously. He was pleased that I had mentioned the T-position in a previous blog post! He also covered one new technique that will become vital to my development, which is the use of the back muscles when drawing the bow. By using the elastic band it is easy to feel how the back muscles can be brought into play, rather than relying on the drawing arm to pull back the string. You should feel your shoulder blades coming together at the top of your back.
After doing some warm-up exercises we moved to the same shooting line that we had used in lesson one. Martin explained that in this lesson we were going to concentrate on a specific area at a time ask me to provide feedback after each shot. Even though there were only two of us, the correct signal system would be used. Rather than do this in chronological order, I will comment on each part of the shooting sequence (corrected by Martin in a comment to a previous post!):
- Stance
- Nock Arrow
- Set Hands
- Prepare
- Raise
- Draw
- Anchor and Aim
- Release and Follow Through
Stance
Feet astride the shooting line, at right-angles to the target. Weight slightly forward onto the toes, shoulders relaxed. Try to focus on something directly ahead (I found some electrical trunking).
Nock Arrow
Rest the bottom of the bow on the front (left) foot to keep it steady whilst you nock the arrow, making sure it is on the arrow rest and that it clicks onto the string. Make sure the cock feather is towards you.
Set Hands
Your bow (left) hand should not grip the handle on the riser, but the handle should rest against the fleshy part of your palm, just below the left thumb. Keep the hand at about 45° to the bow handle. The drawing (left) hand should put a little pressure on the string to keep it there.
Prepare
Relax into a settled position, then turn your head to face the target - don't move your body!
Raise
Extend the left arm to a horizontal position, being careful to not to let the left shoulder rise. Do not be tempted to start pulling back on the string until the arm is horizontal. The right arm should be bent at the elbow with the forearm and upper arm at the same level, still forming the T-position. Ensure that the left shoulder has not risen.
Draw
Use a smooth movement to pull the string back, making sure that the shoulders stay down. This is where I started to try using my back muscles to bring the right arm round, with very variable results. It is easy to forget all the other aspects when you are concentrating one a specific thing!
Anchor and Aim
With the string at full draw, make sure the string touches the tip of your nose and that the side knuckle of the right index finger ends up tucked right under the jaw - I tended to let my thumb rise to meet my jaw, which resulted in my hand being a little low. Alternatively, I forgot to touch my jaw at all (see doing everything at once, above...). Martin suggested that an alternative tab (a platform tab) is likely to help me avoid the wayward thumb problem. Once the bow is set, take aim by centering the sight tunnel (the round bit of the sight) on the gold. You should also be able to see the string (out of focus!) to the right of the sight tunnel, and it should always be in the same relative position every time you aim.
Release and Follow Through
During my first lesson releasing was simply a matter of opening the fingers and letting go of the string, but Martin moved me on from this to a better technique. Once set with the hand in the correct position, use the back to put in a little extra pull, allowing the string to slide out of your grip, resulting in the hand moving slightly back (follow-through) from the set position (as I mentioned in a previous post).Feedback
If everything has gone correctly, the following should have happened:- Arrow flies straight and does not 'snake'
- Arrow hits the target at the centre of the gold (yeah, right..!)
- The bow should be dangling from the bow sling, and may well have fallen back on your head (more proficient archers weight their bows with stabilizing rods, so you will see their bow fall forward, see this YouTube video of someone who is somewhat more proficient than me).
- Right (drawing) hand has moved backward a little and the hand is open.
- Every other part of your body is in the same position as it was before the release.
- Drawing hand not touching jaw (too far down) - arrow flies too high
- Drawing hand not touching jaw (too far out) - arrow snakes
- Head too far back (string not touching nose)
- Gripping handle with left hand - skew arrow to left or right
- Not seeing the string when aiming the sight
Half way through the session we had the obligatory coffee break and I had the opportunity to ask Martin about anything I wanted (archery-related!). I was curious to know where the shooting lines are measured from, as the target faces are set at a slight angle. The answer is that the centre of target face is placed directly above a reference line, and the distance is measured from there, to within an allowed tolerance. The angle of the face is also prescribed.
After the break I tried on a heavier poundage bow, moving from 14# to 18#. This takes a little more effort to draw, but not so much that it was difficult. We also moved back to the 20yd shooting line (from 15yd) and Martin asked me how my sight should be adjusted. I went through this quite logically and decided that, as the arrows would fall low (or short) the sight should be moved down. I shot a couple of arrows, which landed far too low, before Martin told me that I he had watched me move the sight the wrong way! Another adjustment the right way helped enormously.
I continued shooting six arrows at a time, constantly assessing what happened and why, with the aim of getting all of the arrows grouped around the same point on the target. Once you are grouping your arrows, a simple adjustment to the sight should move this grouping into the gold! Martin used a tape measure to find the distance around all of the arrows - the smaller the measurement the tighter the group.
To finish off the evening we did a few warm-down exercises before taking down the bows. Another great session over, I am looking forward to lesson three this weekend.
This is seriously good stuff. Read and learn grasshoppers! Keep using the stretch band in front of the mirror to see for yourselves how the alignment looks.
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