The Bit We Can't Teach

[geoffretired]

Whenever I coach anyone for the first time, I explain that I will mention swimming and riding a bike in my coaching, as they have strong similarities to archery. In swimming and cycling there are bits we can't teach. We can make the learning environment safe and helpful to the learning process, but in the end, the students have to make that final step for themselves. In swimming, it is the learner who finds out how to float. In cycling it is the learner, again, who learns how to balance.
Once they can float they very soon become swimmers. Once they can balance they very soon become cyclists. Until that time, everyone knows that they are not swimmers or cyclists.
In my opinion,there is a part of the shot that can't be taught.It is that part that takes place while the arrow is on the string after the fingers have started to relax.It can be given a safe environment in which to develop but it is the students that learn it for themselves. This is where archery and the other two activities differ. In archery, the part that can't be taught, can be left till later because it is possible to shoot arrows quite well without first learning to execute the special part properly.
I wondered if anyone else has views on this aspect of the shot sequence.

Yes, I find that time rather odd and unique.

You can read books, talk about it and buy stuff, but only when you are stood on the line and at full draw does all this stuff pail into the distance, on the line, you have to walk the walk...all alone.

[JohnK]

I think you can't coach the release because what happens during followthrough is a reaction rather than an action. If someone is taught about correct finger placement, good alignment, reaching a good anchor point and employing the correct muscles, I think the release will take care of itself. Easier said than done of course.

To draw an analogy, you can't coach someone to make the bow react in a particular way after the shot, because it's a symptom rather than a cause. Same for the bow arm. If someone's bow arm drops like a stone you have to address the actual cause, not the symptom.

Hope this makes some sense.

[geoffretired]

It makes sense John. I was curious about the way other people feel or what they do about it.

[Marcus26]

Spent some time in discussion with KiSik Lee about how to activate what muscles in getting a good release and it is interesting stuff. It is certainly teachable.
The problems with things like this are:
• Most students don't have the muscle control to recognize the movements. This is fine control stuff.
• Most coaches can't do it themselves, so can't teach it
• Many low to mid level coaches are trying to fix the wrong part to get it to work.

It's all teachable, problem is that it can only be taught at the right time in someone's archery career, particulary if they are spending time trying to shoot rounds instead of working on technique.

[JohnK]

Thanks for that Marcus. While I realise there's a limit to what can be conveyed about this in writing, any chance of giving us a summary of the basics required?

[Marcus26]

Not really easy to describe in writing as it could lead too much open to misinterpretation.
One of the real gems was
You want only 100% effort required to hold the string at full draw. Not 150% or 200% which most people try and use. Then on release you drop that by 2%. Most try to drop it to 0%.
That is how you get those nice releases that look like the fingers never even opened (because they didn't)

[JohnK]

I see what you mean, and I sort of try to achieve that myself when I shoot by just gently scooping my fingers around the string. I'm not that successful at it, mind you

My release started doing that seemingly of its own accord in 2002, a few months before I received some bad coaching and then hurt my shoulder. There's no feeling to compare to a release like that, but as I'm not sure how I got there in the first place I'm having trouble finding my way back.

Thanks for the clarification.

[geoffretired]

Hi Marcus,
Thanks for the insight into that bit of the shot. Perhaps I need to change the title to "That bit that doesn't get taught very often"
I try to put the student into the position where they know that the surprise release is an option and offer as much help as I can give them. I explain the feelings as the shot develops and the feelings they can nexpect when the release is a surprise. When they get it right we work together to make more of them go right. That is the level of coaching that I am at. I do not want to teach/coach at that level if there is a better way. I may never coach a student who has the level of muscle control you talked about, but I would like the knowledge, just in case.
Any suggestions?
Thanks again.
Geoff