Shooting form thoughts

[moebow]

Hi all. I just completed the level 2 instructor course this weekend. We got a good dose of Kisik Lee's "BEST" (bio-mechanically efficient shooting system). Has anyone addressed the difference between the verticle bow target shooting system of the Olympic style shooting and the canted bow style that seems more prominate in recurve/longbow shooting (ie. traditional archery?) My interest lays in the traditional stuff and NOT the olympic style but it seems that some of the techniques should transfer. BEST really emphasizes the back and shoulder blades but I'm having a hard time getting a handle on a way to make that happen. Especially with "push-pull" or "Swing Arm". Maybe I'm just too old a dog to learn new ways. Any thoughts?? Arne

[R H Clark]

I cant my recurve slightly,about 1:00,just enough to get the string from the center of my eye.

I'm still experimenting though with different techniques.When I am working on something new,I find it helpful to use a 25-30 lb bow.

[dragon rider]

Two thoughts - first, you can always teach an old dog new tricks, you just have to show him why it's worth his time.  A pup will learn for any treat, praise, etc.  An old dog wants to see some value for his effort.

On the real point, biomechnically it should make no difference whether your bow hand wrist is canted or straight, so long as your draw arm elbow stays in the same plane on your draw.

If you want to experiment with it a little, take, as R.H. says, a light weight bow and draw it with the cant you'd normally use, but envision using your draw arm and hand as simply a hook.  That'll force you to concentrate on moving your shoulder blade toward the center of your back and using the back muscles to do it.  You can do the same thing with a rowing machine, a cable pull, or wrap a bungee cord around a piece of dowel, anchor the other end and pull the dowel toward you, again using your hands and arms as hooks so you concentrate on pulling your shoulder blades together.

That said, given the level at which you're shooting, I suspect you're already doing that and all the course has changed is that you're now thinking about it instead of simply doing it.

[moebow]

Thanks for the replies RH and Dragon.  The couse certainly started me thinking about all this stuff.  Kind of like when the millipede was asked what leg he started walking with and he could never walk again. :>)

[Diamond Paul]

There are several national level (maybe world-class, now that I think about it) junior girls, all sisters, who live here and receive coaching from K. Lee.  I watch them shoot quite a bit, and the BEST method seems to emphasize bringing the elbow around the body and then back, in a very low position, in order to "set" the drawing arm scapula in position prior to the shot.  They actually raise their release hand up to anchor position (under the jaw) after completing the draw.  It seems that this would be extremely hard to do, if not impossible, with a canted bow or an awkward position, and would not work as well as a "straight line" draw to anchor would for hunting purposes.  Watching them shoot, it actually seems that they draw around their bodies, in a semi-circle.  I can only assume that they are doing this correctly, in terms of BEST, but it looks a bit awkward and seems that it would be hard to do with a hunting weight bow.

[moebow]

Diamond.  You described it perfectly.  From the bow up position, the first movement is the drawing shoulder moving back from forward by your cheek to roughly behind your ear. Then, the shoulder and drawing arm move down which sets the weight of the bow to your drawing arm scapula and your drawing hand actually comes low to your sternum.  Then you lift the drawing arm and hand to the anchor under your chin. Actually the draw would appear to be a 4 move sequence and it would appear to be a rotation around your body.  I am a REAL beginner with this and can do it with a light (30#) bow and like the way it really forces the bow weight to your back.  My original question is a poor attempt to ask if anyone has taken all or any part of this idea to hunting bow weight and what if any modifications are required.  I can draw up to 60# using my old "strong arm" method but can't approach that with the newly learned BEST.  I would seem that many of us think we're using our back but in light of Kisik Lee's system I for one have been fooling myself.  It may or may not be something that even applicable to our canted bow -- corner of the mouth style of shooting.  The BEST really gets your shoulders lined up properly and your drawing arm elbow directly behing the arrow.  Something to play with this sommer.