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Main Boards => The Shooters FORM Board => Topic started by: BrokenArrows on July 09, 2013, 11:43:00 AM
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OK, I know a woman who has an injury to her back/shoulder that makes it very painful to draw "normally", that is to the face w a high elbow.
She can draw w/o pain if she draws lower, to the chest/shoulder w a low elbow. Kinda like the Saxon draw in some old tapestries.
Archery she can do beats archery she can't, so even if it's not the "right" way to do it, it's the way she needs to do it.
So, any hints on how to make this work for her?
PLz don't suggest fixing the problem directly. Been there, done that to no success, still trying. Thousands of dollars to MDs, DOs, chiropractors, PTs, etc. Only thing she hasn't tried yet is acupuncture.
So... until a direct fix is found later (if ever), how do we make what she can do now work as well as it can work now?
She just wants to have fun loosing arrows w/o pain.
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Walt Wilhelm, along with his brother Ken, were fine archers in the first half of the twentieth century. They did all sorts of trick shots and appeared in movies. They frequently got together at their home in the desert of Southern California to shoot with Howard Hill toward the end of their careers and the beginning of his. Walt had a shoulder condition that prevented him from drawing to his head, so he developed a hip anchor. It should be some encouragement to your friend that he could shoot better that way than most of us will ever be able to do drawing to our heads.
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Methinks if she has a consistent shot process her brain will take care of aiming just fine. Steady bow hand, repeatable anchor/reference points, increasing muscle tension through the shot, and a steady follow through should make her a deadly shot.
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I have physical issues that prevent me from feeling my back muscles engage, most of the time. I start the draw with my bow arm extended, and draw close to full to my chest, which seems to ensure my back is working. From chest height, I raise my string hand to my anchor.
Don't know if it will help your friend, but I hope it might.
I'd also try a good accupuncturist, fwiw.