What is form in archery? You hear archers talk about form a lot. You might even hear archers say it is the most thing in archery. Short answer it is. Archery form is the combination of the archer’s body position, bone alignment, posture, and movements to execute the shot. Like in GROW model coaching or in Six Sigma training in the corporate world, to say every archer needs to have good form is too broad. We will narrow things down step by step with the goal of achieving good form.
Archery is a very individualized sport in that your own body structure, flexibility and strength will play huge roles in your shooting form. Not everyone has the same structure and flexibility so we need to make adjustments and adaptations to achieve the best form for us BUT, there are fundamentals we all must follow to setup the foundation of our individual “best” form. Some of the best archers in the world have “unique” form and habits. Archer’s like Oh Jin Hyek, Brady Ellison and Viktor Ruben. But they all adapted their own styles from using the same fundamentals and incorporating their individual body structures.
I am in no means an Olympic level shooter. I am simply a journeyman in archery who has experimented and explored and learned much over the years. Let’s go over the different parts of the shot process step by step to help new archers learn how to shoot properly and avoid injury. This is a work in progress so I will be adding Steps regularly until the whole process is complete.
Step 1
Stance – like most martial arts or sports, everything starts from the ground with your stance. Think of your self and your bow as a shooting platform or machine. The stance will determine how stable the shooting platform will be and how equally distributed the forces in your body will be. There are 3 kinds of stances commonly used. Which one you will use will depend on whichever is more comfortable for you and which works best. Each has its pros and cons.
3 kinds of stances:
- Square or Box stance – the most basic and repeatable of the 3 stances. In this stance, the front of the hips is pointing away and perpendicular to the target. The feet will be shoulder width apart and almost parallel to the shooting line. This stance is easily repeatable and promotes good shoulder alignment but may not be the most stable in windy conditions.
- Open Stance – In this stance, the hips are pointing towards the target at an angle relative to the shooting line of about 10 to 20 degrees. The feet are shoulder width apart and parallel to each other. The toes must be pointing in the same direction as the hips to achieve a true open stance. This stance can be more stable in the wind and has better string clearance but can be a cause for inconsistency with beginners due to possible changes in the feet and hip positions. This stance also requires more core strength and flexibility.
- Closed stance – Probably more rarely seen than the other 2, in this stance the hips are pointed slightly away from the target and the string side foot is positioned slight back from the bow side foot. With a closed stance, the shoulders are more forcibly aligned but some might feel discomfort specially on the lower back.
Whichever stance you choose, there will be constants that must be applied:
1. Weight distribution – Regardless of the stance used, body weight must be evenly distributed between both feet. An imbalance at this point will affect the balance between your core, and arms which will affect your execution of the shot. Majority of the body weight must also be focused on the balls of the feet. Not the heels. These are done to achieve the most stable and balanced shooting platform.
2. Curl your toes – To help in shift weight to the balls of the feet, curl your toes as if trying to hold on to the ground. Silly as it may seem, you will notice a difference when done right.
3. Don’t lock the knees- When the knees are locked 2 things may happen, one’s body weight will shift towards the heels and one’s back will become arched. Something we will discuss further in posture. Like in martial arts, the most stable stance is when your knees are relaxed. Not stiff but not too loose that you lose all support of your body.
4. Resting the bow - from the start of this step, the bow will be at rest either with limb tip on top of your bow side foot or on your string side ankle. You can do either or a mix of both.
Notes:
You might have noticed that on the photos, I like to keep my right foot close to the shooting line. This is just my preference to help me keep a consistent reference point relative to the shooting line.
You may also have noticed I mentioned keeping your feet shoulder width apart. This is just a base line position. You will have to adjust this based on the terrain and various conditions including weather.
Step 2
Posture – continuing with the analogy of being a shooting platform, if the stance is the archer’s connection to the ground, posture is what stabilizes everything. We are taught in school and by our parents that good posture is standing up straight. Stomach in, chest out with a nice arched back. In archery, we need to do the opposite.
1. Chest down and back straight avoiding arching the lower back. Much of good form in archery is based on bio-mechanics and physics. From physics perspective, the most stable object is one with the lowest center of gravity. Keeping our chests down lets us achieve this. It is common among new archers to raise their chests as they raise their bow. This will also cause the back the arch. Avoid this completely through practice.
2. Hike the hips forwards. Keeping a straight back and hiking the hips forward allows us to shift our weight forward to our center of balance between the balls of both feet. This posture also relieves stress from our lower backs specially when shooting long rounds. From a bio-mechanical perspective, the archer’s weight is on a straight path from the upper body, down the spine, to the hips then to the ground without having to strain the lower back.
3. Shoulders down, relaxed and level to each other. One of the fundamentals in archery form is the “T” shape we make. Keeping the shoulders low is integral to first keep the center of gravity low and to make sure the draw weight of the bow is loaded onto the bones and not the muscles. We often see beginners lean to either side to either help in lifting the bow or drawing it back. This must be avoided. The shoulders must stay level and low.
Notes:
When using an open stance, the hips must stay put and point in the same direction. Twisting must only be done by the core muscles and stomach.
To help keep a steady upper body and to keep the chest down, stiffen or harden your ab/stomach muscles as though performing an ab crunch or bracing to be punched in the stomach.
To help in hiking the hips forward and keeping a straight back, clinch or squeeze you buttocks together similar to bracing you stomach.
Step 3
Nocking the arrow - Archery is about repeatable processes. Every step of the shot process, big or small, must be done the same way as the last shot. Something as simple as nocking the arrow on to the string must be done the same way every time.
Nocking in archery is the act of taking an arrow from the quiver, resting the shaft on the bow and clipping the nock of the arrow on to the string in a reference point called the nocking point. The nocking point can be made of string, or brass. Most of the time, you will see 2 nocking points on a string. In these cases, you nock the arrow between the 2 points. Sometimes you have bows with just one nocking point. Nock the arrow below the point I these cases.
It is in this step you can make some important checks before shooting. As simple as it may seem, there are a few things you should look out for. First, confirm your nock fits the string and clips on sharply. If the nock feels loose and you don’t feel it clip on clearly, it means either your nock is too big or, your nock has been damaged. In either case, you will need to replace the nock. Not doing so may result in a dry fire. You will also know at this stage if your nocking point is too loose if the arrow slides up and down too much. More than a millimeter. You will need to fix your nocking point if the nock moves too much. After confirming the nock fit, take this opportunity to check if your arrow/vanes are aligned correctly. If not, you can twist the arrow to make sure the vanes are in the right orientation. Next, look down the shaft and make sure your arrow is on the arrow rest properly. Then, if you use a clicker, engage it by putting it on the arrow.
All these “sub steps” will happen in the span of a second or 2 but they are very important specially in terms of safety, so try not to forget these.
Step 4
Hook and Grip
In archery, there are 2 main points of contact between the archer and the bow. The grip is where the archer’s bow hand “holds” the bow’s handle. The hook on the other hand is where the archer’s fingers will be on the string. These 2 points of contact are so important in archery that any the slightest change here would make huge impacts on where the arrow hits. In this step of the process you start by hooking your fingers on to the string then apply a small amount of tension onto the string so you can set your bow hand into it’s proper grip position aligning your pressure point and lifeline on the handle. If you normally rest the bow on your foot, it is at this steps when you lift it off your foot and rest the bottom limbs on your ankle. It is ideal to do this so that you can visually check if your grip and hook are correct. Before proceeding to the next step which is setup, I will briefly explain in detail, the hook and grip.
Hook
Hooking on to the string is exactly what it sounds like. We do not hold on to the string. We hook on to it with our fingers. Do not apply pressure or force on the string. You don’t need to hang on to the string. The string will stay on your fingers by the sheer pressure it applies on your bones. When hooking on to the string, the hands must be relaxed. Tension in the hands will affect a number of processes afterwards specially the release. Tension in the hands and fingers is also a common cause of pinching or the fingers making too much contact with the arrow. Pinching is often the cause of the arrows falling of the arrow rest for beginners.
In Olympic style archery, there are 2 common ways of hooking on to the string. The deep and the shallow hook. Each style has its own set of pros and con. In the end, each archer will choose based on what is most comfortable for her/his body.
Shallow Hook – the string will rest on or after the first joints of the index, middle and ring fingers close to the tips. I find it easier to line my draw elbow up with the arrow and past the back of my head using this hook. I do however notice that my release is less aggressive and less crisp when using a shallow hook. Brady Ellison uses this style of hook.
Deep hook – as the name suggests, the string is deeper or farther in. The string rests on or close to the second joints of the fingers. I find that my release is much smoother using this hook. The string slides off the hand easily. I do however notice that I need to exert more effort to get my draw elbow into alignment. Fil-Canadian Archer Crispin Duenas uses the deep hook.
My observations will mainly apply to my own body type, so I encourage a little bit of testing to find which hook works best for you.
Finger pressure in archery is the amount of pressure each of the 3 hook fingers will bear when drawing the bow back. This will be affected greatly by your elbow height when you reach full draw but a good starting point will be to have majority of the pressure followed by the index finger, then the ring finger. Regardless of which style of hooking you use, make sure that your pinky finger is relaxed but folded inwards towards either your palm or your neck. This will help keep your ring finger on the string and maintain your draw hand’s proper vertical alignment.
Grip
I put quotes on the word “hold” because, in archery, we are not really holding onto the bow. Even the term grip is misleading. We don’t really hold on to much less grip the bow. The bow should really just be placed on the hand. Fundamentally, the bow is resting on your hand. Without applying any pressure on the bow to avoid torqueing it. Torqueing a bow is simply twisting the bow in your hand affecting the direction where the arrow will fly. An important key in good archery form is using bone on bone alignment. Instead of using muscles to bear the weight of bow, we use our skeletal structure. This principle mainly starts at the grip. After putting on your finger, bow or wrist sling, place your hand on the grip of the bow such that the handle does NOT cross your lifeline and into your palm. Push your bow hand on to the grip so that your pressure point, which is located about an inch or so below your thumb webbing or pivot point, will feel the most force. This is the start of your bone on bone alignment. When you do this correctly, the weight of drawing back the bow will be transferred directly to your wrist. None of the weight will be on your hands or palm. Also, when you do this correctly, your knuckles will naturally form a 45-degree downward angle with the bow.
Note that the pressure point shown is assuming you have a high grip position. Low grips will have the pressure point half an inch to an inch below what is shown.
Note: Your hook and grip must be devoid of tension, pressure, and input so that you do not affect the natural path of the arrow which is exactly towards where the bow is pointed. The fingers on both hands must be relaxed ang from of tension. Both wrists must be relaxed as well.
Step 5
Set to Setup
Beginner archers usually think that the most important part of the shot process is the release or maybe even the execution. We even often joke here in Cebu that “daugon long sa release” which means win it through the release. This is actually very wrong. Setting up your shot by getting everything aligned at the start of the process is actually more important because getting anything wrong at this stage will ruin all succeeding steps in the shot process. This is actually a combination of 2 steps, set AND setup. These steps in the process are all about “setting” your body up for the shot.
Start the “set” phase immediately after visually confirming your hook and grip are correct. Set both shoulders low and relaxed. For more advanced archers, this is where you decide if you should aim off due to the wind or lighting conditions. Decide on where to aim. Continue applying slight pressure on the string and exhale. Inhale while raising the bow using both hands such that the grip of the bow will reach eye level at the same time, push your bow shoulder forward. When raising the bow, try to make a scooping motion with your bow arm to help keep your front shoulder low. It’s important to raise the bow using both arms so that you do not tire yourself using just your bow arm to lift the bow. Keep both shoulders low and pay special attention to your bow shoulder, rotating your core if in an open stance. When the bow is at the highest point during the raising motion, rotate your bow elbow making sure that the elbow is as horizontal or as close to horizontal as possible. You can tell that your elbow is rotated correct because, if you bend your elbow, your arm will swing horizontally. It is recommended that you rotate your elbow at the peak of raising the bow and on the way down so that you do not fight gravity when doing so. As the bow comes down at a level where the sight is approximately in the blue ring directly above the yellow, your string hand should be around 4 to 8 inches in front of your face slightly to the right if you are a right handed shooter and vice versa if you are left handed.
This is your setup position or the pre-draw set. This is also when you set the “barrel of the gun”. At this point, your bone on bone alignment starting from your pressure point, to your wrist, down your forearm, to your elbow, to your shoulder to your torso straight to your draw shoulder has been set All in a straight line. If done correctly, the string will be partially drawn but without even using your arm and back muscles. The act of rotating and setting up your alignment will draw the bow part of the way.
Top view of the set and setup stages in the shot process.
Here's video of Brady Ellison showing how it's really done
Step 6
Draw
You’ve reached the pre-draw set or setup and you are happy with your alignment. Everything feels right. Now you can begin actually drawing the bow string back. You may or may not have heard that when drawing back the string, archers use their back muscles instead of their arms. This is completely true. It is more efficient and biomechanically sound to use the big muscles in our backs as opposed to using our arms. All the steps in the process prior to the draw have been done in such a way that it will be easy to use our backs to draw the string back, If you have followed the steps so far, drawing the bow back will be a small motion.
From the setup position with your string hand 4 to 8 inches from your face, pull the string towards your face by rotating your draw elbow towards your back. Exhale slightly when doing this. About 1/4 to 1/2 of your lung capacity. Remember that through out the process, the draw hand, wrist, and forearm must be completely relaxed. For you to be able to use your back muscles more when drawing your bow, focus on moving your draw elbow in a circular motion towards your back horizontally aligned or even better, passed the line of the arrow. By keeping your focus on your elbow, you will keep your hand and forearm relaxed. The motion of rotating your shoulder, arm, and elbow towards your back also ensures you use your back muscles instead of your arms. It is also important that you keep your draw elbows vertically level or slight above the arrow. Dropping your elbow will make you use the wrong muscle groups instead of your back and will have a negative effect on your shot. When drawing back he string, don’t be timid or shy. Don’t be afraid of the string. This is actually where a lot of new archers make mistakes. Many new archers are afraid to draw the string back all the way to their faces to anchor. Don’t be afraid to draw the string all the way to your face. Draw the bow with confidence and resolve. Any hesitation from this point on will cause a collapse or failure and will waste all the preparations you have made in set and setup.
Step 7
Anchor
In Archery, the anchor is where you have the string contact your face while fully drawing back the bow. One of the mistakes many beginners do is not letting the string touch the face at all. Like in sailing, the anchor is finding strong and solid points of contact for your draw hand to lock on to. Your face and neck are exactly the strong points to lock on to. Or more specifically, the bones on your face and neck.
If you compare it to rifle shooting, the sights of the bow are the front sight while the anchor is the rear sight. The alignment of both components will affect accuracy. If “setup” is done to align your body, the anchor is done to line up the bow and the arrow. Having a consistent anchor is key to having consistent shots. Like everything else in archery but probably more so, the anchor must be exactly the same every single time to shoot. Any variations in your anchor will alter the direction of the arrow relative to the sight and target.
Consistency
To help with getting a consistent anchor, archers use a number of reference points or anchor points. These points will vary depending on a number of factors like face shape and size, hand size and bow length.
The most common points of reference are the following:
1. String on the tip of the nose. This is also important to help keep the bow vertically straight.
2. String in front or on the side of the lips
3. String in front or on the side of the chin
4. The length of the index finger right underneath the jawline.
Here are some additional reference points that can help:
5. Tip of the index finger under the chin.
6. The thumb tightly pressing on the neck and right under the jawbone
7. The pinky finger touching the neck.
Reference or anchor points will vary depending on a number of factors but what’s important is that you use ones that you can easily find and go back to.
Solidness
It’s not enough to find consistent anchor points, you also need to make sure they are solid and immovable. Therefore, we emphasize bone contact with your anchor point as well. If you see professional Olympic archers shooting, specially the Korean women, you will notice lines on their faces where the string made contact tightly. When you anchor the string to your face, make sure it is tight such that you can feel the string press against the bones on your chin. Likewise, your index finger must have bone on bone pressure below your chin and jawbone. Your thumbs will press tightly on your neck as well. As tight as possible.
Just like all the other steps in the shot process, how you do your anchor will have an impact on the succeeding steps specially your release and follow though. Any unnecessary angles or movements here will impact how the string slides off your fingers and thus affecting your shot.
Here are some things to be mindful of when anchoring:
- Keep your string hand/knuckle vertically straight. Any angles here will impart an angle on the string which will affect the arrows flight. To help with this, I make sure my pinky finger touches my neck. This forces my hand to line up vertically. I also look for a feeling in my forearm that tells me my hand is aligned.
- It’s also very important that when you reach your anchor positions that you do not relax or stop pulling the string. To achieve a good, clean dynamic release, your back muscles must stay engaged. Another way of describing it will be that you will keep pulling the string, but your face/bones will keep it in place.
Step 8
Transfer
This step is a little hard to explain and is often ignored by many archers and coaches. I forget about it totally sometimes. It is a very subtle motion, barely visible, but it is a very crucial step in executing a great shot.
Have you ever tried coming into full draw, anchoring nice and tight, then suddenly you feel the weight of your bow drop off? As if your bow just got a lot lighter. Notice that your shaking almost disappears. You feel steady as a rock and that you can hold your bow forever. That feeling is an effect of a correct transfer.
In transfer, you are loading or “transferring” all your strength to your back muscles and lining up your bones such that the weight of the bow is held back by your bones instead of your muscles. That is why, the bow will feel lighter. You are now “inside the bow” and your bones are holding majority of the weight of the bow.
To transfer properly, after you have anchored securely, continue applying tension on your (draw side) back muscles. Your goal here is to let your draw elbow go beyond the line of the arrow. While doing this, you must also make sure you apply equal pressure pushing the bow towards the target. Avoid dropping or lowering your elbow at this stage. Doing so will transfer your strength to your sides or wings, not the back. You can raise your elbow slightly or maintain its height which is level to the arrow. Note that the height of your elbow will affect your finger pressure. Raising your elbow slightly will put more pressure on your index finger while keeping your elbow level will keep most of the pressure on your middle finger. Which position is more comfortable to you will be your own preference. One thing that should be avoided above all is dropping the elbow. Do not drop your draw elbow.
One way to help make “transferring” easier is keeping in mind to draw the bow with your elbow and not your arms. It can be hard to master using your back muscles to draw the bow back but thinking about drawing the bow with your elbow makes this action automatic. Be aware of where your draw elbow is always. This will help with "transfer" a lot. Another thing that will help in conjunction with “drawing with your elbow” is tightening your bicep when you reach anchor and onto your transfer phase. Tightening your bicep as much as possible will force your body, specially your elbow and shoulders, into alignment.
Getting transfer right will allow you to settle down and relax so you can aim properly. Getting transfer right will also allow you to easily expand through your shot and have a clean release.
Step 9
Aiming
Now that you are at full draw. Your anchor is tight and solid. Tight bicep. Shoulders aligned. You have transferred your power onto your back muscles, and you continue to apply tension to your back… Now you are ready to aim.
Believe it or not, aiming in archery is a very minor part of the shot process. Some would say it only makes up 1% of the shot process. Some coaches don’t even bother focusing on this step.
The actor/archer Brendan Fraser once said it best. “The more you aim, the more you will miss.” He perfectly summed it up. Archery is about the feeling of the shoot. The form. your body and its alignment. The harder you try to aim, the harder it will be to hit the target. This however doesn’t mean you should skip this step altogether. It is still part of the shot process. Missing any step is simply not an option.
There are 2 types of aiming in Olympic or Target archery. Active and passive aiming:
Active aiming – Your focus is on the sight pin while the target is blurred. In active aiming, there is an “active” or conscious effort to keep the sight pin in the middle of the 10-ring. The goal is to keep the pin as steady in the middle as possible. You are actively controlling your body to keep your sight on the target. This is more commonly used in Compound Archery or in indoor events.
Passive Aiming – Your target is in focus while the sight pin is blurred. In passive aiming, your focus is on the target so you will not pay as much attention to keeping the sight pin steady. In fact, the pin will naturally float in and around the 10-ring while passively aiming. What will keep the size of your float or movement small will be how good your alignment or form is. In passive aiming, your subconscious will take over and keep your sight on target. This is more commonly used in Recurve Archery. More so outdoors.
Here’s an excellent video from World Archery explaining what passive and active aiming are:
One eye or both eyes open? You will get different answer from different shooters with this one but simply put, there are more advantages when using both eyes in archery and in most shooting sports. You can take in more information and have depth perception when shooting with both eyes open. You can focus on the target better when using both eyes to aim. It is also easier to keep the bow vertically straight when both eyes are open. There are however situations when using only one eye can be better. If you are cross dominant, meaning your dominant eye is opposite to your dominant hand and you are using a bow based on your handedness, then closing your dominant eye to train your other eye will be necessary. There are also some archer with visual impairments and using one eye will be the only option for them. There are also a few archers who just can’t shoot as well when using both eye despite trying. In these cases, using one eye is acceptable. Otherwise, using both eyes will be so much better.
Here's an excellent video from Archery Winchester on aiming a recurve bow:
Aiming is also a kind of confirmation for you. Only when you feel everything with your form is correct and your process is good will you start aiming. Otherwise, you let down and start again.
Aiming is a process in of itself. Here is the sequence I follow (passive aiming):
1. First hold your breath.
2. Then check your if your bow is not canting too much to one side.
3. Then check your sight picture and string alignment. Make sure that you line up the string to a fixed point. The side of the sight or the riser itself. As long as you use the same reference point every time.
4. Focus on the target
5. And then allow the sight pin to float onto the middle of the target. Do not relax your back tension at any point. Avoid moving just your arms when adjusting your aim because it will affect your alignment and possibly your back tension. Move the sight by moving your core muscles and whole torso.
Sight picture is the whole image you see when taking aim. This will include the riser or its cutout, the string, the shaft, the sight, and target. String alignment is where you line your string up when taking aim. By now, you already know, everything has to be the same every time you shoot. This means you need to line the string up in the same place every time. The easiest and most ideal place line up the string to is the riser itself. In your sight picture, the riser is the most fixed point of reference. Some archers like to line the string up with the sight or the side of it but my problem with this is if you adjust your sight, that will also effectively move your reference point. When you line your string up with the riser on the other hand, the sight can move independently from your string making your adjustments more substantial. Eventually, when you practice enough times, the sight picture and string alignment becomes so natural that you will not give it too much thought. But while learning, it is very important to keep it in mind. String alignment will serve as your rear sight or if compared to compound archery, it serves are your peep sight. Any inconsistency at this end will affect the direction of arrow.
How to adjust your sights? There is a very simple rule to follow when adjusting your sights. Follow the arrow. If your arrows are hitting below where you are aiming, then move the sight lower. If the arrows are grouping to the right, move the sight to the right. So on and so forth. A couple of things to take not of when adjusting your sights: Unless you are absolutely confident of your form, don’t adjust your sights based on 1 or 2 arrows. Adjust them based on your groupings. 3 arrows at least. Don’t be too eager to adjust after every shot. It’s better to first evaluate if your process was correct before adjusting your sights. When you do adjust your sights, always be mindful and keep track of the amount of adjustments you made. This way you can move back when you find that your adjustments were wrong.
Step 10
Holding
Holding is the very brief moment after you have aimed when your body is aligned, and you are ready to execute the shot. In Olympic Recurve, holding is the short pause before the “click”. It is the wait for the clicker. Depending on your style of shooting, holding can be as little as a fraction of a second or as long as a couple of seconds. There aren’t that many technical aspects to holding. It can even be considered as an intermediate step. I'd even consider holding as step 9.5 in the process.
There are 2 components in holding that are important:
- Mental - when you are in holding, you are already committed to the shot.
- Physical – in this step, your body is already properly aligned and ready for the shot.
When in holding, I usually take this opportunity to strengthen my resolve to hit that target. This is when I impart intension to my shot. I push the bow as if I am trying to hit the target with it. When in holding, I begin to exhale and that is my signal to expand and execute the shot.
Step 11
Expansion
Throughout the shot process thus far, we have been talking about big movements and focusing on our big muscles. Everything we have done has been in preparation for this step in the shot process, expansion. Inconsistencies or mistakes in any of the steps will affect your alignment and will have an impact on how easy or difficult it will be for you to expand through the shot. A common example of this would be not being able to expand because of bad alignment. This becomes even more difficult when using a clicker. Specially when we are tired, and we get sloppy with our process. We might not notice but our alignment might be off and thus having our draw lengths shortened making it very hard to expand through the clicker.
Imagine your full draw position, from your draw elbow to your grip, as a string that is fully stretched and at the brink of breaking. Expansion is the tiny movement needed to break the string. If done correctly, expansion will not be visible to most people. But the archer will feel it clearly. When observing archers who use clickers, the audible click is the sign that she/he is going through expansion. Good expansion is key to having a strong shot. Expansion imparts power and direction to the shot.
If expansion is so subtle and small, how is it done? You are now at full draw. You have completed your transfer and you have aimed. You are now in what some call the holding position. An intermediate step that happens after you aim and before you expand where you are “holding” your position. It is very important to note that while in holding, you do not relax your back muscles or back tension. The sensation of pulling the bow apart must continue. To “expand” you must do 2 things at exactly the same time.
1. Draw the string back by further by moving/pivoting your elbow towards your back thus activating your back tension even more. You can feel this motion better when you feel your bicep tightening and your entire shoulder blade move towards your spine. It is very important that when doing this, you do not tighten your hands. Do not pull the string using your hands.
2. Push the bow towards the target with the same amount of force as you are pulling. Do not push the bow using your hands and forearm. These must stay relaxed at all times. You push the bow by moving your entire shoulder blade (bow shoulder) towards the target giving your shot direction. It will feel like you are throwing the bow to the target. To do this, you will need to twist your torso slightly.
Expansion is very subtle. Only about a millimeter or two. Yet the effects are huge. It makes your release strong and crisp. It gives your shot direction and intension helping you keep the arrow on target.
Here how Brady explains it:
Setting the clicker – it is very important that when setting the clicker, you ask help from your coach or teammate so that you leave about a millimeter or 2 of space between the tip of your arrow and the edge of the clicker at full draw. It may take some time to fine tune it but what’s important is you don’t set it too long or short. Setting the clicker to long will make it difficult to execute your shot. On the other hand, setting the clicker to short will shorten your draw length and may mess up your alignment.
Step 12
Release
There are 2 kinds of releases in recurve archery. The static release and the dynamic release. Static release is done by opening the fingers on release and interrupting or outright stopping expansion. There is no follow through in this release. A Dynamic release on the other hand continues the expansion phase and there is a clear follow through. The fingers are not opened. Instead we let the string slide off.
This is the step wherein you let go or “release” the string. The term release however can be misleading. In Archery, we do not let go of the string in the literal sense where we open our fingers. Specially recurve archery, letting go of the string by opening your fingers will create unwanted movements on the string and will result in a weak release. The entire shot process is about developing the right form so that you impart the least amount of change in the natural flight path of the arrow. A sloppy or weak release imparts so many variables onto the movement of the string ultimately affecting the flight of the arrow. Keep in mind that when you open your fingers when releasing string will do a couple of things. First, you increase the likelihood of plucking the string. Plucking the string in archery is exactly liking plucking strings in a guitar. You are imparting vibrations to the string. Another negative effect of releasing the string by just opening your hand is you are not transferring all the energy from the limbs to the arrow. Much of the energy is wasted on the irregular movements caused by the weak release and the very slight collapse that happens when doing a static release. Archers with a decent amount of experience can easily tell when the release is weak. Even with just the sound of the shot.
When you draw back the bow, you are pulling the string away from its resting position or brace position. When you release the string; the limbs and string will want to go back to resting position as quickly as possible. We all know that the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. Look at your release in 3 planes or dimensions. X, Y, and Z. A weak release can affect any or all of these planes or dimension. When the release is static and weak, you are likely going to impart sideways or horizontal movement on the string. This will be the X plane or dimension. Instead of the string returning to brace in as straight a line as possible, it will zig and zag because of the vibrations. This affects the horizontal direction of the arrow’s flight. This effectively lengthens the distance the string has to travel to return to brace. The second effect you can impart on the string with a weak release is the vertical direction of the string and thus the arrow. This will affect the Y dimension/plane. Specially in recurve archery where we hook onto the string with 1 finger above the arrow and 2 below. Effectively, the index finger is storing the energy of the top limbs while middle and ring fingers are holding the bottom limbs back. With a weak release, there is a chance that your index finger will open ahead of your middle and index fingers or vice versa. The effects of which are the limbs returning to their resting position at different times. If the index finger is late, the top limbs will also return to rest late and vice versa. This difference in timing will affect the vertical direction of the arrow’s flight. The third plane a weak release will impact is the Z plane/dimension. In a weak and static release, the chances of a collapse, even minute ones are much higher. When this happens, the draw is shortened. As a result, the shot will have less power. Another thing to remember is the string moves very fast. If you open your fingers on release, the string will probably contact your fingers on its what back to brace.
Here's how Triple Trouble explains what the proper release should be:
A good release transfers as much stored energy from the limbs to the arrow. It also imparts the least amount of variations horizontally and vertically. In a strong, dynamic release, you expand through the shot and thus eliminating the collapse or shortening of the draw length. The proper way of releasing the string is by allowing the string to roll off your fingers or slide off. This is done by simply relaxing your fingers and not opening them. A good release will not impart any horizontal movements or vibrations on the string. In a good release, the string will roll off all 3 fingers at the same time insuring both limbs return to brace in unison. A good release will also result in a clear and natural follow through. Void of any extra movements. The hand will travel straight back in a good release. Also remember that the release is a continuation of expansion. This means, the release is not just the string sliding off your fingers, you are still pushing the bow towards the target. This push is important in giving your shot direction and intent.
Remember in the previous steps, specifically in set and in anchor, I emphasized keeping the knuckles vertically straight. This is so that you do not twist the string or affect its alignment.
A good release will look like magic. The string will look like it magically passed through the fingers.
Step 13
Follow through
To the untrained observer, the moment the arrow leaves the bow, the shot process is complete. Some even believe it to be the end of the shot. The archer's job is done. This is couldn't be farther from the truth. Like in many sports, the follow through is almost as if not as important as the action or the shot itself. Golf, billiards, bowling, basketball, even in martial arts. The follow through is heavily emphasized. People also make the wrong assumption that the follow through is done to build muscle memory. In Archery, the follow through is not something you force or do. Not muscle memory at all. A good follow through is an effect of a good, strong shot process. It is an indication of how you executed all the steps prior to it.
In the shot process, the archer it pushing the bow forward while drawing the string back and expanding. The result of this expansion is the follow through where in you see the bow and bow arm going forward while the string hand naturally reaching the back of the archers head. When the shot is executed properly, the follow though, specially the string hand, will follow a straight line. Any deviation in the direction of the bow and string hands can be an indication of poor form.
The follow through should never to forced. We often see archers making conscious efforts to have a "good follow though". They focus on looking good after release to a point of masking flaws in their release. A good follow through is simply a result of good alignment. Not forced nor purposefully done. It is a natural response of expanding through the shot. In a good follow through, the bow hand and the bow are naturally driven forward. At the same time, the string hand naturally moves to that the back towards the back of the head or shoulder depending on the archer's body structure. The draw elbow should go straight back and not down. As far back as the body allows. Everything is natural.
How the bow swings on follow through should also be a natural effect of the archer's push and the how the bow is balanced with it's stabilizers. We often see archers exaggerate this motion by forcefully swinging the wrist with the bow moving a full 180 or more.
A mindful archer can use the follow through to evaluate any mistakes she/he may have done. Any unnatural movements or swings by the bow can tell you if your release was weak or your alignment was off. Perfect follow through is the result of good alignment.
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