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Practice 5/12/2020 to 5/18/2020

May 10, 2020 No comments

This week we are focusing on the Angular Draw and arriving at Load Position.

Angular Draw forces us to use our back muscles to draw the bow. Since we use the back muscles, we cannot injure the rotator cuff muscles (in the shoulders).

Angular Draw follows Set. The Set position is very important to achieve Angular Draw. Your Set position must have the Draw Hand properly position so that the Bow and Arrow points across the target face with the arrow pointing behind the archer.

Once you have complete Draw you drawing hand arrives at Load Position. When you draw hand arrives at Load Position, make sure you are feeling about 80% of the drawing force in you middle and lower back muscles. The majority of tension should have moved from the Draw Arm into the back muscles. If you do not feel the tension in your back, make sure you move LAN2 backwards a bit more to get the 80% of drawing tension into you back.

LAN2 is the area in the Draw Shoulder and Draw Arm on the backside of the draw arm, from the shoulder joint to about 1/3 of the way towards the draw elbow. We push LAN2 in a circular motion to Draw the Bow.

While we are Drawing, Transfer into Holding, and during Expansion, we focus on moving LAN2 in an angular motion.

Recurve Archer

From the Set Position, push LAN2 in a circle around the archer towards the back. Allow the Draw Forearm, Wrist, and Hand feel as if the Draw Elbow is a rope. The only tension in the “rope” is what is caused by moving LAN2 angularly. The Draw Elbow comes around in a circle and the Draw Hand moves in a circular motion also. The Draw Elbow should come around the corner of the Draw Shoulder as the Draw Hand approaches Load Position.

Compound Archer

From the Set Position, Coil the upper body and bring the Shoulder in line with the Bow Arm and Hand. Use the Coil to engage the abdominal core muscles to draw the bow. During the Coil the compound bow “rolls over” in to the let-off area of your compound bow. Once the Coil is completed, push LAN2 in a circle around the archer towards the back. Allow the Draw Forearm, Wrist, and Hand feel as if the Draw Elbow is a rope. The only tension in the “rope” is what is caused by moving LAN2 angularly. (If you put tension into the Draw Forearm or Draw Hand, then the arrow will flop off the arrow rest and you will have to restart the shot cycle from the beginning.) The Draw Elbow comes around in a circle and the Draw Hand moves in a circular motion also. The Draw Elbow should come around the corner of the Draw Shoulder as the Draw Hand approaches Load Position.

The Load Position for all archers is related to the Anchor Position. Load Position is about 1” forward of the Anchor, about 1” below the Anchor, and about 1” closer to the target than the Anchor. The purpose of Load Position is to make sure the tension in the back muscles, not the Draw Arm and Draw Shoulder.

Practice Activities:

  1. Our Warm-up is arm circles, do about ten out to the sides, at shoulder level, 10 with the circles more in front of the shoulders, and finally 10 with the arm wind milling in front of the body.
  2. Once the body is warmed up, perform some stretching to get the body ready to move comfortably and well.
  3. Next we move on to 30 Stretch Band shots in front of the mirror. Remember the focus is on Angular Draw and Load Position. Make sure you use Mind Set to focus on the shot but especially the Angular Draw and Load Position.
  4. For those using a Recurve or Longbow, move onto 30 shots in front of a mirror with a Light Draw Weight Bow. Keep the focus on proper Set through Set-up including Mind Set.
    1. If you are using a Compound Bow, skip this step.
  5. For the Recurve, Longbow, and Compound archers, transition to your Tournament Bow in front of the mirror. Once again focus on proper Posture and Stance. You need to complete 30 shot cycles.
  6. Move on to shooting arrows at 18 meters 40 cm or 60 cm target face.
    1. For Recurve and Longbow Archers, shoot 8 ends of 6 arrows each for a total of 48 arrows.
    2. For Compound Archers, shoot 13 ends of 6 arrows each for a total of 78 arrows.
  7. Once you have completed shooting arrows, more onto Resistive Training. You need to perform:
    1. Recurve: SPT3 – 3 sets of 10 reps, with 2-minute rest between sets.
    2. Compound: SPT5 – Draw to Holding and stay there for 30 seconds to 1 minute – Rest twice as long as you held up the bow – 2-minute rest between sets – 3 sets of 10 Reps.
    3. Crunches – 3 sets of 15 Reps
    4. Push-ups – 3 sets of 15 Reps
    5. Lunges Each Leg – 2 sets of 15 reps
    6. Squats – 5 sets of 10 reps
    7. Remember Resistive Training is a marathon not a sprint. Start slow, keep doing your training and you will become very strong with great endurance.
  8. You need to cool down with arm circles and some stretching.

This week’s practice is focused on the Angular Draw and Loading with 168 shots, proper warm-up and cool down, with stretching to ensure the body recovers well from the resistive exercise and shooting.

As always, we need at least 120 shots per session to ensure we are getting better!

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