coaching new members

[elastoplastscavenger]

we quite often get new people coming along to the strathclyde uni club to try out archery for the first time ever, or "i tried it at centre parks/school camp 10 yeas ago" kinda style.

the most difficult thing i find to explain or show to some people is that when shooting barebow you have to aim the arrow tip at the ground infront of the boss due to the parallax type effect from the knock/anchor point being held a considerable distance below eye level (under the chin).

i find people fall in to 4 categories; 1)they know what i mean instantly, 2)they understand after a couple of minutes explaining and looking along arrow shafts or observing someone else "aiming at the ground", 3)they dont ask for further explanation and destroy arrows by shooting them at the wall above the netting and 4)they will never understand and just accept that "aiming at the ground gets it on the target".

How do any of you guys explain it?

my personal favorite is trying to explain it to people with pigin english! people with pigin english generally fall into category 3 but with a lot of work can be put into category 2 or 4.

[Rik]

Show them? "this is what it looks like when I aim the arrow at the target - see it's pointing upwards. This is what it looks when I aim the arrow below the target - see it's flat and pointed at the target...". People generally take in pictures better than words.

If they don't get it from that, try talking them through a shot "lower, lower, lower... now let go".

[geoffretired]

I explain that if they had a rifle they would look along the barrel and "see" where the bullet was going to land. Then show them how far below the rifle barrel the arrow is. When they see another archer's arrow, pointing towards the target, they can usually how low it is. If they are still lost, I aim the arrow point at the target, the way they want to, and ask if they can work out where the arrow is going. They see it is aimed over the top of the boss.
If that doesn't work I go back to the rifle................................

[elastoplastscavenger]

show them?

yeh that usually works and i figured thats how other people would do it.

im actually trying to use my hideously limited artistic skill to draw a diagram showing lines of sight and flight with a properly and improperly aimed drawn bow and arrow. its actually quite hard to draw stick men holding bows :S

[simon m]

Flip chart diagram?.

Worked for me with a mate.





Something like that?.

[simon m]

Done in autocad and pasted onto a .jpg feel free to steal and use at will

Originals are hosted here http://www.twock.com/photos/randombike

[elastoplastscavenger]

Originally Posted by simon m

Done in autocad and pasted onto a .jpg feel free to steal and use at will

Originals are hosted here http://www.twock.com/photos/randombike

thats exactly what i was doing,cheers, thats saved me fannying around in stupid rubish autocad for ages.

[simon m]

Originally Posted by elastoplastscavenger

thats exactly what i was doing,cheers, thats saved me fannying around in stupid rubish autocad for ages.

I quite like autocad...lol.....but then i do work with it 5 days a week 8 hrs a day.......

[elastoplastscavenger]

solid works is much better for producing 3D models and engineering drawings. iv used both but prefer solid works. also solid works has really good tutorials in the help files. taught myself how to use it in 2 days. Autocad is pretty mcuh only usefull for 2D diagrams and circuit and flow diagrams etc. imho.

[TJ Mason]

Originally Posted by elastoplastscavenger

the most difficult thing i find to explain or show to some people is that when shooting barebow you have to aim the arrow tip at the ground infront of the boss due to the parallax type effect from the knock/anchor point being held a considerable distance below eye level (under the chin).

On the YAA Level 1 course we're doig in Wetherby, we were told to use a higher reference point when showing beginners how to shoot barebow -- three fingers under the arrow, tip of middle finger touching corner of mouth. This brings the arrow closer to the eye and allows the archer to sight along it. This gets them close to hitting the middle of the target. After that, they can be introduced to point-of-aim, then to a lower reference point and use of a sight.