My form

[SLOWHAND]

It pains me to say it but I have to agree with Buzz.

Overall your form is good but your head is tilted back by a small amount, this may cause problems with the shoulders and back. One other thing that is more of an impression than anything concrete is that you do not look totally relaxed at full draw. It may be that you were concious of the camera or you may have held the draw longer than usual for the picture, but if you look at any pics of the elite archers the thing that impresses me most is the total lack of tension or strain in the whole of their body. You can only achieve consistantly good scores by being totally relaxed at full draw, not just for the first few arrows but right through to the end . You only get to this state by shooting the correct draw weight and lots of practice. I never shot with more than 42lbs on my fingers, I could have pulled more quite comfortably, but I knew that I would not be fully relaxed after shooting 140 arrows.

I shot recurve for a few years gaining World, European and National Records, I then bought a compound and thought I could shoot both. It became obvious to me fairly quickly, that if you want to shoot to a reasonably high standard you can't do both. The main reason for this is that you simply cannot put the required amount of practice into two disciplines.

[Hidden Hippo]

I'll get to the practicing both issue when I come to it. However, I'm certain to shoot compound indoors, but I don't want to give up recurve. Thankfully at home (and at university) I'm fortunate enough to have clubs that have 24/7 shooting facilities so should hopefully be getting a decent amount of practice in with the recurve over the summer.

I think the relaxation was partially due to the fact that I only picked up my recurve again a week ago after about 6 weeks of not shooting anything but compound. I'm still building the muscles up for full draw which could explain the tension when I was holding it.

[Allvyn]

I think you might have a little bit too much hand on the riser, try rotating your hand a little so the knuckles are around 45 degrees at full draw.

I have to agree with the rest on your high bow shoulder and your slight overdraw too. Not much we can tell from just pictures, perhaps a video to supplement would help.

[ASW1973]

martin was right
so how do you sort out the information that you have been given that is absolute tosh from the usefull, and there is some of both
drop rhys a pm and find out how he did it
it is the nature of the internet that you will be given information of varying worth

[Rhys]

Feel more than free to PM me if you want to know how i got my technique improved.

It looks to me like there could be quite a bit to work on. I could literally write out a list of things which are wrong, but thats not going to help you. You need to spend some time with a coach, so do you have a coach you really trust who could spend some time with you or are you willing to pay for some time with a pro coach?

Seriously, some weird things have been written on this thread, spend some time with a coach.

[JohnK]

Originally Posted by SLOWHAND

I shot recurve for a few years gaining World, European and National Records, I then bought a compound and thought I could shoot both. It became obvious to me fairly quickly, that if you want to shoot to a reasonably high standard you can't do both. The main reason for this is that you simply cannot put the required amount of practice into two disciplines.

No disrespect intended to your achievements in any way (you're a damn sight better shot than I am), but Erika is living proof that you can shoot both disciplines side-by-side to a world-class standard.

[Hidden Hippo]

I think that it is possible in some exceptional cases, Erika being the foremost. However, I choose to shoot compound indoors simply because I can't stand shooting recurve and still want to shoot over the winter. As for coaching, I'll have a look into it over the season and see whether I can get some time with one.

[Alandee]

You could go the NHS route, don't pay and hope it is OK

[Mufti]

A request:

With your improved stance, can I ask you to aim at something at "eye level" giving back and side views please Hippo?

Just something I wish to comment on and am looking for a confirmation.

[SLOWHAND]

Originally Posted by JohnK

No disrespect intended to your achievements in any way (you're a damn sight better shot than I am), but Erika is living proof that you can shoot both disciplines side-by-side to a world-class standard.

Yes you are right Erika is a truly gifted individual, BUT I dare say that she is also able to put in a bit more practice time than the average joe like me can manage. Unless you are one of the .0001% you simply have to put in the time and effort practicing, in the indoor season I manage three sessions of two hours a week plus a tournament every other weekend. For me, at least, this is about what is needed to maintain a standard. If you divide this by two then it isn't.