Anchor and alignment and form..and still learning

[Chase N. Nocks]

I was chatting with Perry the other night...funny how his phone is never engaged anyway, we were annoying our wives by delving into even the most obscure or even taken for granted archery subjects and yakking on about them tirelessly. Intermingled with references to guns and boobs.

We were talking about release and anchor points etc and Perry made the observation about my anchor which is not the anchor I started archery with but I think happened sometime that I came back to archery after a bit of a layoff and has stuck. I only really noticed I was doing it it in the last 5-6 years or so as I have been looking more closely at form and technique in general and mine in particular. And more so again since starting FITA/Target shooting. (technique highlighted below)

Any save typing here is what I said in the Leatherwall as part of another conversation.

Tradbh, that is interesting what you say about head alignment and something I have rediscovered last night in fact. For the last 20 years or so I have shot with the thumb of my drawing hand pointed up alongside my head in front of my ear.
I alway felt comfortable doing this and thought it gave good alignment as well as another contact reference point but last night I decided to change (for more than a one shot test before giving up).

As I am trying to relearn Gapping I am trying some different things...so now with the thumb tucked under like normal people it was a little unusual but not uncomfortable. Most interesting was it gave me a new and scarily better alignment as I felt my eye closer and more over the arrow.

I say scary but excited would be more accurate because while my scores did not improve that evening they did not drop away either and even this morning I feel like my shooting is about to make one of those quantum leaps we so look forward to...very exciting.

Cheers

Has anyone else made a form change lately that they are keen on pursuing or one they have initiated and would not go back

[Nephew]

Yes, I recently have started using my usual open stance, but making sure my hips and bow arm shoulder are lined up with the target. Seems to work for me, anyway.

[g_r]

Yes, i changed my anchorpoint. I used to use my middle finger in the corner of my mouth, but that was soft tissue and not constant enough i realized, now i still use this anchor but only as an indication to finish "the aiming process", then i pull slowly through with my back muscles till my thunmb knuckle locks with my upper jawbone, thats the time for relaese.
Works like a charm.

With my stand i try to not get into any pattern. My upper body needs to be the same position ("T") every time, but my legs and hip should work also when twisted
To practicethis, for example i stand in the opposite direction of the target, then turn around without moving my feet, just from the hip and the upper body. Or i draw and "aim" in standing position, when i reach full draw i get down to a crouchwith my bow at full draw and on target. I relaese when im crouched down.

I do alot of these kind of exercises lately and one thing obviously is i get better hitting my target while doing these excercises, the other thing is when i have a normal shooting position it gets so so easy! And i dont mind anymore if theres a possibility for a perfect stance when out in the brush, it just doesnt matter anymore.

[Brumbies Country]

Me too. I've changed my anchor point, but a couple of changes to go along with it. My anchor point has been index finger in contact with the cheek bone, ideally feeling for contact with the third upper molar. thats been in conjunction with a Mediterranean release. Trouble has been a bad tendency for a premature release last thre years. This has been using a selfbow/conventional longbow. I stuck with the same anchor initially using a recurve, but have progressively switched to 3 under over a bit more than three months. Very recently I decided I needed a more definitive anchor and have gone for the point of the jaw with first knuckle and thumb at the point of the jaw. Wasn't quite getting it consistent so I went o a system of drawing same first knuckle to earlobe and then coming slightly forward. Long as I hold as I come forward to the point of jaw, and hold, it is working well. Come to the jaw and don't hold is recipe for shooting short. I do the overdraw every now and again. Withe point of jaw anchor I'm also trying to do the right thing with back tension. The overdraw and coming slightly forward is a recipe for loosing any back tension I have, but it is also a recipe for counteracting premature release which for me is a worse evil. I reckon I' doing the overdraw (also known as a sliding draw) less after a bit of concentrated effort, but at this point I ned to do it every now and again.

[GrahameA]

Hi Troy.

For the last 20 years or so I have shot with the thumb of my drawing hand pointed up alongside my head in front of my ear.

When shooting my Yumi I have a number of issues getting a constant draw. Plus the occasional flick of my ear with the fletches is a bit disconcerting. (If I shot using the correct release the clips would not happen.) Anyhow, I have been working with anchoring with an extended thumb behind my ear. It does me a more consistent anchor along with a long draw length - which goes with the Yumi - and no more clips of the ear.

(On the downside - it increases the load on the brain as it becomes another option you have and you need to consciously put the brain in gear to be certain you are using the appropriate release that matches the bow you are using. If you are shooting a few different types on a regular basis it can be easy to do the wrong thing. If you intend to shoot comp' I recommend staying with only one bow type shot in a consistent manner for at least a couple of weeks before events.)

[longbowinfected]

Grahame, I would go further and say same bow not even same bowtype. Also the same arrows and the same shoes, same quiver and al the other gear in an efort to feel the same so you can reproduce everything consciously and subconsciously. Also eat and drink healthy food plus get plenty of rest after aplaned training program. You have to practice shooting more arrows each day than the number you will shoot at the competition.

Kev

[Stephen Georgiou]

Hello Troy,

I agree that keeping to the same gear is an important step to consistent results.
But who can resist a new bow???
When a comp is coming up it takes all of my willpower to keep to the one bow

When I read the preceding posts, I analysed my own anchor point.

I anchor to the corner of the mouth with my middle finger and also rest the upper bone of my thumb along my jawbone.

The main thing for me is that I do not dwell on the anchor but keep the shoot routine as consistent as possible.

Step 1 - knock an arrow and focus on a point on the target/game to hit.
Step 2 - bring my bow arm to target,
Step 3 - bring my grip hand to anchor and
Step 4 - follow through. I finish my shot routine by touching the point on my shoulder directly in line with the arrow at full draw

Very simplistic but it means that the whole process becomes more important than any one aspect.

Any time I feel my form slip I fall back to this shoot routine and things come back together for me.

Cheers.

[Chuditch]

Made a decision to have only longbows (Howard Hill and Gary Sentman) in my stable after noticing a great increase in accuracy in everything from quick hunting shots to measured target style shooting. No more recurves means my shooting style has settled down greatly. I was not dealing well with moving between the two different shooting styles of recurve and longbow.

Closed down my stance a little, bent that bow arm a bit and got that back tension going on for a better follow through on draw/release and I'm not looking back.

[Stephen Georgiou]

Good choice of bows!

I have a Howard Hill Big 5 that was made for a mate but found too heavy. So I helped him out by buying it!
It was not his intention to sell it but I found it easier to part with the money than I did to part with the bow

(Thanks Dennis just love this bow.)

Cheers