Pause for thought

[Deemon]

Hi All. During the indoor season a coach (and a book) advised me that Recurvers shouldn’t pause at full draw, we should just slow down, pull through the clicker et voila! (I was trying to get my head around my new clicker at that time).

This theory worked well for me towards the end of the indoor season. I achieved a PB.

Now that the outdoor season has arrived the not stopping theory no longer seems to be working. I find that I am inadvertently pausing at full draw and it’s a real conscious effort to do otherwise. It has also not escaped my notice that other Recurvers on the line seem to stop (sometimes for ages) at full draw. Doesn't this go against the recommended technique?

So, what gives? Do all Recurve archers pause at full draw? Or are they just moving too slowly to detect with the human eye . Is it impractical (given wind factor etc.) to achieve consistent results outdoors without pausing?

Reluctance to completely abandon a technique that worked so well for me indoors combined with the realisation that other Recurvers achieve good/excellent results from pausing at full draw has left me in a bit of a quandary. As a result I seem to find myself pursuing two separate techniques (one where I pause and one where I don’t) and clearly need to pick one before I can hope to achieve a repeatable/consistent shot.

SO, it’s not essential to keep your shot moving right? If pausing at full draw works for other archers then it follows that it should work for me right?

Be interested in some other opinions and thoughts on this.

[Jerry Tee]

If it's not pointing at the center or there is a gust of wind that has just pushed your bow out of line what is the point of going on? You can't come down every time during bad conditions or you would not get enough arrows off. If you are going to shoot in adverse conditions then some thing has to change to take in to account those conditions.

[madmac]

I set my hand come up to full draw make sure everything feels right ,sight on gold and release but thenagain maybe thats why im a 560 ports shooter and not higher
In kyudo it should be one flowing movement the string hand always coming slowing down before release but still moving back through the release and ending up pointing behind the archer .
The problem is that one person can say this is the way of doing this and another says no do it that way try both see what is good for you and stick with it, sorry not much help

[Erika]

Keep moving. The ideal shot takes 1-3 seconds from point of aim. Any longer and everything is going down hill.

It isn't easy and I can honsetly say I'm not good at it. The reason it gets hard is because of over aiming. The sight moves around and the archer freezes up trying to aim better.

[ThePinkOne]

Also don't assume that just because the other recurvers on the line look like they've stopped moving that they actually have......

P.

[geoffretired]

It might be worth asking, at what point does this pause occur; in your outdoor shooting and in the other recurve archers you mention?
I think I remember reading that Ki Sik Lee says that after the draw reaches the references and before the aim is refined, there should be a pause to rest the arms but no longer than half a second.(I think I have remembered that correctly)
It would seem very different to be paused at full draw for what seems like ages.
What would that achieve? Very tired arms and back muscles.
I have seen archers on the line at full draw and "stopped".Usually they have no clicker and are deciding when to release. Those with clickers are frequently struggling with the last m.m.and are not stopped, just not gaining on it!
Turn this round, and put a pause in your sequence on purpose. How long does it last? What is the reason for the pause? At what signal do you restart the draw?

[Kae]

My shot routine (Highly abreviated);

1. Come into "two cirlce" position with sight towards gold (ref. BE below)
2. Draw bow coming to anchor point (bad name, an anchor infers that you are stopping, your not!)
3. Float sight on center of target
4. Continue "expanding" my draw through the clicker
5. Click - Release (no pause)

There is no pause in my shot routine. I am continually expanding throughout the shot, it just gets a lot slower towards the end.
Also there is no rush up to anchor point (ok, reference point, that's a better word!). That should be a smooth motion as well.

Smooth, flowing, relaxed are all words that you should be able to use to describe your drawing of the bow.

Kae.

[Bald Eagle]

If you use the "T" draw you may have difficulty expanding!! The "V" or "Y" draw gets you on your back and reference/anchor far more smoothly to execute the shot. "T" draw archers tend to be "arm" shooters in my coaching experience.In Anatomy of Archery, the "T" draw is not advised as the muscles used in this tecnique won't allow the archer to get the proper rotation of the shoulder. I teach my students the "two circle" method of drawing the bow to get the correct muscle groups working!

[Kae]

Originally Posted by Bald Eagle

I teach my students the "two circle" method of drawing the bow to get the correct muscle groups working!

That explains my technique better, and is exactly what I do.

Archery is much better explained with pictures......

Kae.

[geoffretired]

Bald Eagle, I have never heard of the two circle method of drawing the bow. Would you explain that please? It sounds interesting.