We have seen so many archers deal with injuries, inconsistency, and slowed progress simply because they were not prioritizing and working their form properly!
The most important thing for accuracy and improvement in archery is safe, consistent form. No matter what gear you buy, your scores and achievement will always be limited by how well you execute the form. Prioritize the form, and you will grow quickly to higher levels than you anticipated!
To help you get started in archery, here are a few of the most important things to work on while shooting your bow:
1. Set your stance the same every time (try a square stance to start): Set your feet the same every time you shoot the bow. Feet control hips, and hips influence the shoulders, so you need to have a good stance to shoot good shots. An easy way to set the feet is with the toes and heels lined up so that if an arrow were to pass through your feet, it would land in the target. There are many options for a good stance in archery, so this square stance gives you an easy place to start!
2. Master the front hand on the bow: Placing the front hand properly and relaxing the front hand (don’t squeeze that bow handle!) will produce more accuracy and protect your front arm from injury. Here’s a quick visual guide to good front hand placement.
3. Draw the bow with your rear elbow at or above the line of the arrow to prevent injury, maximize stability and control, and use less arm muscle and more back muscle.
4. Use your ANCHOR every single shot. The anchor is the place where you stop pulling the bow back and place your hand on your face. There are many details to make a great anchor, but for starters anyone shooting with their fingers should use the corner of their mouth and those with release aids can use the back of their jawbone or their earlobe.
5. Shoot multiple arrows doing the exact same thing before making any changes. One bullseye tells you nothing, whereas three arrows tightly grouped together shows consistency and allows your results to be analyzed. By focusing on your form and shooting groups, you can see your consistency on target. Once that is established, you can move your aim and shoot bullseyes all day!
If you focus on these few things, you will prevent injury, progress more quickly, and see stronger results than many other archers you see on the range. Remember to focus on these aspects of form rather than just where the arrows hit the target while shooting and you will see your accuracy improve.Â
Many archers find that it helps them to have someone watching them and providing feedback as they work to improve their archery skills. If you found this email series helpful or if you want to further your development, Coach Sheila and I work with archers of all styles to improve their skills and subsequent scores. Please simply reply to this email if you are interested in further coaching in person or online. We will get back to you with the opportunities that are currently available to work with us.
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