TOO MANY ABSOLUTES - BEWARE

[zetabow]

Mike I've been on the tourney circuit many years and seen people with very good form but not so great shots and people with average form shooting great results.

My experience is that Form is just one small part of the whole shooting package, having good nerves under pressure, strong focus, a good feel for distance whether it be just looking or ranging with various methods etc, they all play a part in making a great shot, some Archers have an even balance across the board while others are very strong with something like their focus and makes up for weaker areas.

Work on the weak areas but also identify and keep building on your strengths.

[Mo0se]

What if we add this diclaimer at the end of every suggestion... YMMV (Your mileage may vary) lol.     :D

[Bladepeek]

Javi, you nailed it. I am so thankful that we have all these good shooters doing things so many different ways. I read, think about it, try it and most of it helps. All of them seem to have some things in common and those are the important ones. The rest is negotiable. I coached a youth Scholastic Clays skeet team. I can take a kid who has never shot before and teach him the basics. He will start breaking birds and get excited and want to better. Pretty soon he's better than I am. I watch and see whats working for him and leave him alone with that. If I see him struggling with something I can sometimes get him "running again". Other than safety, I stay away from the "this is the only way" type coaching.

[DW]

Good Advice here. I feel like my shooting style is the "One"......for me    
I make my living in the sporting goods industry and talk with compound shooters several times a week who express an interest in learning to shoot traditional well. My humble advice to them is to become a student of traditional shooting styles. Many styles and techniques are at their fingertips in this age of the internet. Study and try yourself and you will settle into a style that works for you.
 Many years ago a dear friend taught me his style of shooting. He was a deer killing machine but it just did not work for me. I just did not realize it until years later that there was a better way out there.... for me.
An example of this is my friends Curt(Guru) and Terry Green. There style of shooting is miles away from mine and just does not work for me BUT I have picked up little things from them that has really helped.
Another example is my son Skyler. I taught him my style of shooting but His style has evolved into something totally different.
Just keep an open mind....Learning is a never ending process.

[Ranger B]

I certainly have "an" opinion of what right looks like, but having said that not everyone is trying to win a national or world championship and that is okay.  When I go to a shoot I study people as they shoot.  You can learn a lot from just trying to figure out what is causing a guy to struggle. The most common thing I see is inconsistency and the key to success is consistency.  If you release differently, anchor differently, don't have a solid bow arm etc. then your arrows will also fly "differently."  Whatever you do, it must be the same each shot and only practice will do that for you.

[Ranger B]

I would just add one more thing.  What a coach usually does is identifies those things that are inconsistent and shows you a proven way to shoot that enables you to be more consistent in your shot process.  Over the years that seems to have narrowed down to a common way of shooting, with some slight variance, which has been termed proper shooting form.  However, when you look at how Coach Lee and Coach Kim teach you will see a very different yet successful approach to proper form.

[BobCo 1965]

It's all in the style of coaching. Command types like to dictate without listening to any input and stand by their opinion whether right or wrong. Sometimes they will back themselves into a corner.    .

Cooperative styles seem to work the best where there is input from all parties involved.

Submissive style is basically a baby sitter style.

I thouroughly enjoyed studying Coach Woodman's style. Even if someone has no interest in coaching, I would suggest reading up on Woodman.

Javi, I am kind of surprized by your statement. Surely there are those who want want to keep the same mold for each individual, but in my experience they are far between.

Most of the coaches that I know are very open minded and will flat out admit that archery is constantly changing and evolving, they will admit that they don't know everything there is to know, and will admit that no two individuals are alike.

I guess that if the point of this thread was to warn us not to become so entrenched with our own style that we feel it is necessary to dictate our opinions and stand by them without taking others individual differences into consideration or their opinions, then I am with you 100%.    

[Greg Skinner]

Terry, good post.  Over the years I have learned a ton from this forum and I really appreciate the efforts of you and the other moderators to keep everyone on track.  I certainly have had to filter through all of the great information, advice and know-how available here to find what works best for me - and, yes, some of what I read and try works well for me and some not at all.

I can see, though, where a beginner could read some of these threads and become overwhelmingly confused, so I applaud your efforts to try to prevent some of that confusion.

For me the most important basic element of shooting is shoulder alignment.  If I get that right, everything else seems to fall into place.

[stringstretcher]

Ranger B.  I would be very curious to know, since you completely changed your style of shooting over the last couple of years from the self bow to a more modern approach, if you have at any point gone back to a self bow and implied any thing that you have taught your self or learned, and seen if you had improved your shooting ability with the self bow?  Just curious?

[mt-dew10]

Terry,

Thank you for that very much needed reminder!  I am a novice and tried several different styles, but in the end I pretty much adopted a little bit from everyone. Yes, I shoot with my elbow high.  I will continue to shoot like this because I feel comfortable doing so and also my ring finger is not at all bothered by it.  

Good luck to the rest of the novices on here.  There is a ton of extremely helpful information.  Like Mr. Green says were all different in many respects and it is up to the individual on what style or form variations we adopt.  Be yourself, use what works.

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by zetabow:
Terry I understand Archery has many styles with even more form choices but dont you think this post will stifle free speach on this forum, I can see a lot of people feeling very reluctant to post on certain form topics for fear of crossing some unseen line you just created. How is that going to help people solve form issues or learn anything new?

Posting absolutes....don't you think that stifles the free speech of others?...and cause other's to feel reluctant to post due to they may feel they will offend the 'absoluter' or the 'absoluter' taking them to task?  Now you tell me how absolutes are going to help solve form issues or help folks learn anything new???

[snag]

It would be like trying to tell Lee Trevino to swing a golf club the same as Jack Nicklaus...won't work. But getting that club face square to the ball at impact and following through to the finish of the swing is absolutely necessary to a good shot. I think this is true of archery. Now how you get there can be done by different paths.

[snakebit40]

Terry DIDN'T say don't give your opinion on trying to help somebody out. He simple said do not say their is one way of fixing a form issue.

Example- I'm shooting left???
User one- Your moving your bow arm. That is the solution to your problem.

NO!!! It MIGHT be the solution but you could also be torquing the bow string, alignment, ect.... All Terry is saying is don't say "This is the cause, blah blah blah" You can voice your opinion on what it might be! Don't just say their is one way of solving the issue, or say that your way of shooting is the only way and the right way! It's right for you but not somebody else. Snag has a perfect example.

Another example is Terry's shooting compared to Rod Jenkins. Both are excellent shots, Terry is a "snap" shooter and Rod "isn't". Terry has said that Rod said, he doing the same thing just a lot slower. You will never see Terry telling Rod he is shooting wrong because he holds the string longer. Many different styles, aiming methods, and causes of error in archery. So we have MANY MANY different solutions. Voice your experience just don't say its the ONLY way to solve an issue.

I think this is a very good post Terry. Thank you!

[stringstretcher]

I agree with snakebit40 to the extent, that anyone when I was shooting competively, that was beating me, I listened to their advise and tried it to improve.  If that did not work, I would try something different until I found what did work for me to beat those individuals.  Let's keep the doors and mind open with due respect to each others styles and let the individual sort out what is right for him.  But not offering will give the one that is asking no where to go, but continue to not improve.  

I have never had a problem suggesting something to someone or showing them the way I do it.  If if works for you fine, if it don't that's fine too, but I would never suggest to keep doing it until you do it my way or don't do it???????

[Terry Green]

Originally posted by Ranger B:
 not everyone is trying to win a national or world championship and that is okay.  

Exactly....AND, every national champion did not shoot exactly the same way.