Practice for 4/28/2020 to 5/5/2020

by | Apr 24, 2020 | Uncategorized

This week we are focusing on the Posture and Stance. Stance is how we hold the lower part of our body, from the hips down. Posture is how we hold the entire body, from the top of your head to the soles of your feet.

Speaking of feet, you need to wear elevation neutral footwear; neither the heels are elevated, nor the toes are elevated. Something like a skater shoe or sneaker or a slipper. We also need to follow the World Archery Rules, but most of all common sense.

World Archery Rules, in rule 31.1 specify:

“Sport shoes or walking boots shall be worn by all athletes and officials, these may be different styles but shall cover the entire foot.”

Common sense shows us that we should cover the entire foot, to prevent us from stepping on arrows and stabbing our feet or stubbing our toes with the nock or point of an arrow.

For NTS (National Training System) Form, we use an Open Stance. The Open Stance allows us to put a twist in the abdominal muscles while we are aiming the Arrow at the Target and making us very stable.

The Open Stance starts with:

  • Feet, which should be shoulder width apart
  • Feet slightly pointed outward (away from each other), but very close to parallel
  • Legs are straight
  • Hips are always over the Feet
  • Tuck the Hips under a little by pushing the groin forward
  • Between the Hip bones, just under the belt line, squeeze the “One Spot” a little
  • Squeeze the Buttocks a little, just as if you are holding a coin between the Buttocks

Now that the Stance is developed, we must add the rest of the body to complete the Posture:

  • Drop the sternum (breastbone) about 1” to flatten the back from the bottom of the Shoulder Blades to the Waist. Allow your neck and head to remain in the same position as when you were standing normally. Don’t lift up your head and neck; but allow you face to be slightly canted forward. We call this “Chest Down.”
  • You may have to be very careful when you lift your Bow to make sure you keep your Chest Down to make sure the Bow String clears your chest.
  • Lean Forward, the way your body is facing, at the ankles, to move your face about 1”. This moves your weight from the Heels to the Balls of your Feet so about 60% to 70% of the body weight is on the Balls of your Feet.
  • If someone would drop a plumb bob from you ear, the plumb bob would be in the middle of your foot.

Now that you have a correct Posture and Stance, you must maintain the Posture and Stance through the entire shot. When we lift the Bow, the Hips must remain over the Feet. Do not allow the Hips to twist with Shoulders. The Hips must maintain over the Feet to increase stability of the Open Stance.

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 proper Posture and Stance with the Hips over the feet all the time.
  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 Posture and Stance.
    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 3 meters using six separate target spots. Either two 40 cm 3-spot targets or two reduced size (20 cm) 3-spot targets are best. Put one arrow into each spot.
    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: SPT1 – 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 14 Reps
    4. Push-ups – 3 sets of 14 Reps
    5. Lunges Each Leg – 2 sets of 14 reps
    6. Squats – 4 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 Posture and Stance 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!