After the start of last week's session it was fair to say I was quite nervous about how I'd start off this week. Would I hit the curtain again on my first shot? Would my arrow even stay inside the sports hall?
After a number of ends we had a competition. Last week in a smaller competition I came third after two ends (a score out of 60) which I was very happy with. This week our competition was out of 300 points which would be ten ends. Any mention of competition usually puts heaps on pressure on and I don’t do very well, much like in my Have-a-Go session all those months ago. This time, after so many hours and so many shots I seemed to be able to keep my composure. I wasn’t always on target (literally) and my grouping was still a little off, however I scored higher as time went on. In the end I came third again with 152 points! I even managed to get a 10 pointer at one stage.
One final tip that Diccon gave us to help with our shooting was to line up the string in the same place on the bow when the string is pulled back, using your foresight. I was terrible at this, this first time I tried the arrow hit the boss sideways and landed on the floor. I might leave using that trick until a further date!
At the end of the session everyone on the course was presented with a certificate of attendance, to show that we attended the course, spent six hours shooting and understood the basic safety protocols and would be able to join 2020Archery as a club member. Diccon gave us the information on what the next steps would be should we wish to join and everyone in my group seemed quite interested in carrying on with the sport and joining the club. One good thing about joining after the course is that you can request to have a buddy when you first attend a shoot, someone who has been shooting for a while and who can help you settle in quickly which I think is a great idea. There are a number of shooting sessions that we can book onto and equipment hire is included in the price of the session, so I don’t think I’ll be running out and buying all the kit just yet!
So there we have it. The course is completed and now the next step is to join 2020 Archery and fulfil my dream of becoming a superhero.
Oh, and you see that photo of me there? My reference point is wrong. Don’t copy me, I’m only a beginner! Until next time……
To take a look at upcoming dates for the Monday evening course that Louise took go to the website here
2020 Archery Website
Junior Archery Website
3 comments:
Just to prevent confusion the anchor point is where you draw the arrow to, with the help of reference points. So your reference points may be string touching the tip of your nose and your chin, with your hand pressed up under your jaw. Once your have met all of those conditions you have reached your anchor point. With that being said your reference points can be anywhere you like providing you can accurately reproduce them. And the more, the better!
You're anchor point is therefore only 'wrong' if it's inconsistent. Providing the arrow comes to the same position each time, and you're holding your bow the same, you're fine. Don't forget the part about holding the bow the same though. Some shooting styles involve a slightly bent elbow on your bow arm. If you bend it differently you change your draw length, which ultimately causes vertical variation in there your arrows land.
Personally though I never anchor under my chin. I started with field archery where you're never shooting from the same range twice, so we typically didn't use sights, so my anchor is my middle finger touching the corner of my mouth. Works well for barebow, but I have to change it when using a sight because it has to be so low that the arrow would hit it on release. Then for my longbow it's slightly different again. Not great for consistency, but it makes it more interesting. I'd get bored of shooting 10's every time! :)
Actually from a coaching point of view we were taught that 'anchor' is just an old term. We don't like it from a coaching point of view as it encourages common errors i.e. the 'hoik the string back, land it on your face, STOP! As you've 'ANCHORED'! Do a bit of aiming, then let go'.. It leads to a very dead release. Beginners can tell that they're doing this if it feels pretty easy once they've 'anchored' - if you do it correctly its much harder work at full draw as you're still pulling and extending, albeit very slowly, when you're touching your reference point.
What we actually want is one fluid draw which touches a reference point (primary ref usually under chin at the front or side, secondary ref often nose but this isn't necessary if your face doesn't work that way) and then continues with chest expansion and front arm extension, moving load onto back muscles and as the fingers are very gently pulled open by the extension you get a lovely smooth release. This is best represented by the KSL shot cycle.
http://www.kslinternationalarchery.com/Technique/KSLShotCycle/KSLShotCycle-USA.html
Ah that's interesting. When I said "To prevent confusion" it was more in the context of my comment, since I do use the term anchor and reference points as described (I suppose 'contact points' would work as an alternative).
I can understand the problem of people 'hoiking' the string and stopping, but think that's more a misunderstanding of the concept than the word used. In a similar way to how your riser might have 'a grip' but your shouldn't 'GRIP' it. I guess it's a moot point really. If it saves time explaining and people don't get confused, I guess it's all good.
I guess I'm just old fashioned (but so is this sport, so I'm in good company). Let this be a lesson to all new-comers! In the world of archery, EVERYONE has differing opinions.
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