Take a peek at my form please! Any Advice?!

[ThePushArchery]

Hey all,

In the spirit of constant improvement, I had my wife take some video of me last night. After reviewing, I thought I'd see if you guys could critique my form and give me something to work on between now and when the weather breaks.

We have a summer outdoor league starting in April, and I'd like to get to the next level before it starts. I've been religiously blank bale shooting all winter, trying to work on each element of the shot. Wondering if there is something I am missing.

Thanks guys!

P.S. Ignore my wife's funny comment about my "man boobs"... Gotta love her!

[ThePushArchery]

 

 

[moebow]

Over all pretty good IMO.  Good alignments and it appears that you are using your back.  There are two areas that I'd really want to look at if we were working together so I could watch over a period of time.  Not saying you are doing it wrong, just that these two things LOOK to cause a little inconsistency.

First, you head is laid over A LOT.  If you could keep it straight on top of your spine you will have a more consistent location to draw to.  Getting that head up will also reduce your "hunched over" posture and probably increase your draw length some.

Second, you never really hit an anchor.  You are just "passing through" and releasing "somewhere" enroute.

These two things POTENTIALLY will cause your anchor position to be a little different fairly often and could be (probably will be) the cause of unexpected "fliers."

These are just initial thoughts and as I said, I'd really like to watch you shoot over a period of time to see the net effect.

Going to the "next level" is a good thing to strive for!  But that can't happen by just practicing harder or longer; you need to be willing to make some changes.  Also, April is a pretty short time to make changes that will help.  Current coaching theory says that it takes 21 practice sessions to change or form a new habit.  If you practice 3 times a week, that would be about 7 weeks (2 months).  You can't just "try it today" and decide if it is a good change or not.

Arne

[ThePushArchery]

Arne, thanks for the input. I really appreciate it.

My typical practice regimen is about 15 to 20 arrows blank bale shooting before I go to work every morning, and again when I get home from work. I can get 14 yards in my basement during the winter, so I throw in some "distance" shooting at the end of every day. (an additional 10 arrows maybe)

On the anchor, I've been struggling with this for 2 years. As soon as I knew my arrow would hit its mark, my brain would force me to release the string. I've shot really well like this for a long time, but releasing 0.5" - 3" in front of my anchor on short shots and hitting anchor on long shots was getting frutrating. My arrow hit its mark most of the time out to 25 yards, but I'd get random flyers that just drove me nuts knowing that an inconsistent anchor and draw length was the cause, and I just couldn't break the mental barrier to fix it.

So about 3 weeks ago I introduced a "second anchor" into the mix. As soon as the base of my thumb knuckle drops in over the back of my jaw bone, the arrow is on its way. This guarantees that my middle string finger at a minimum touches the corner of my mouth prior to releasing. The short draw or premature release syndrom went away almost instantly.

For the first time in 2 years, I have complete control of my shot no matter the distance to the target. It is quite a liberating feeling.

One thing that I've introduced into my practice regimen is drawing back to anchor, really burying in, and olding for 10 seconds. Let down and repeat. On the third iteration, I shoot the arrow after the 10 second hold. (Larry Yein suggestion from MBB3)

This works great on Blank Bale, but as soon as I introduce a target, or my eye picks something to hit, I pass through my anchor everytime. I'm very comfortable shooting in a fluid hill style draw / release, but wonder where my accuracy could go if I settled in a bit prior to pulling through the shot.

Any practice routines that you may suggest to further help me try settling into anchor prior to pulling through the shot?

On the "head slouch", I will try to implement that today in my evening shooting session. It makes sense to me. If I keep my spine in line, my draw length will be much more consistent.

Thanks for the input. Anyone else see anything?

[moebow]

In the system I teach, aiming only occurs AFTER reaching full draw (and anchor).  For some reason that I have never been able to figure out, many try to hold their aim during the draw.  This often leads to early and/or uncontrolled releases.  Getting to full draw setting your alignments, then aiming (set your sight picture -- whatever it may be) THEN moving on to release/follow through is ONE recommended sequence for the shot.

The theory is that if you aren't in the same position every time, then aiming is really  "hit or miss."

If setting a solid anchor works for you on the blank bale then it sounds like you need to incorporate the "bridge" program to integrate aiming into your shot sequence.  Aiming at a specific thing to be hit is the single biggest reason for form breakdowns and must be practiced just a diligently as any other part of the shot.

Arne