Shoulder use

[steve58]

Look at this video of Erika Anear, which has been posted ont he forum elsewhere before (and google her if you want to know what level she shoots at, it's impressive) YouTube - Erika Anear recurve back usage. Different angle
What I think I'm seeing is that the bow arm is set and then the rest of the shot rotates around that as a fixed unit.
How many of you shoot the longbow in a similar way? Why? How successful is it for you?
If you don't shoot in this way, how do you shoot? Why that way? How well do you succeed?
Bear in mind that I shoot longbow in GNAS target and I'm looking to improve my understanding in that area.

[link]

i would say that since you are GNAS target you are shooting like any other recurve (olympic style) shooter.

[Murray]

I don't mean to be critical, but I can see a few flaws in Erika's videos. I'd be interested to know how highly she shot with recurve back in the day.

Longbow - I know nothing about so I'll keep schtum

[The Meggy]

Have to say I was also thinking her front shoulder looks a bit "hunched up" although if she has shot at top level then maybe it works for her. The Koreans generally have their front shoulders lower than this (from what I've read/observed) and I also note John Dudley emphasizing the importance of keeping it down (but not back) in some of his recent articles, including the one about switching from compound to recurve. But I guess the most important thing is to be consistent.

[English Bowman]

Originally Posted by sp220

Steve
PS: to add to that and relate it to your own shooting (although im sure in your experience you already know), those who tend to score the highest have adopted a similar style of shooting longbow as those who shoot well with recurve.

This is because (against contrary belief) there is no such thing as a "recurve" or "longbow" technique. There is either a good technique, or a bad one. Nothing more, nothing less. The only difference between shooting a longbow and shooting a recurve is the kit.

If you look you can see those who have embraced this often do very well with longbow, and those that pull back and fling the arrow as quickly as possible with the belief a longbow shouldn't be held at full draw usually get a crap score. It's not a mere coincidence...

You should think about aquiring yourself a very light longbow to shoot at home, purely for the purposes of practising proper posture and structure. It's one thing that if you get right, it can make all the difference. Especially with the current trend of longbow being exceptionally competetive down your neck of the woods!

You're right there SP, but I would like to add that you shouldn't hold a longbow for too long if you want it to last. I reckon 2 to 3 secs at full draw is enough, any more than that and you are damaging the bow. So whilst I wouldn't recommend snap-shooting, holding too long is a bad thing too

Daniel

[steve58]

Thanks for all the comments guys. I hve been thinking a lot about this recently as my form has gone walkies at the moment. On good form I would reckon to put 10/12 on at 60 yards and would be annoyed to miss at 50.

[Murray]

Originally Posted by sp220

I thought Erika currently shoots a recurve aswell as compound, both at an international level?

For the record, according to Urban Archery, Erika's PB with a recurve is/was 1252 - this is good but isn't internationally competitive . (my wife's PB is 1260 and I wouldn't call her an international level by a long way)

No pop at Erika intended - I'm sure she's good archer, but I'm just setting the reality levels here!

[steve58]

Originally Posted by Yorker

Concentrate on the good arrows and make more of them.
Then check your arrows are all shooting the same way all the time (serious), with a longbow a Miss CAN realistically be attributed to a strange arrow.

That's a sound thought, and I once had an indoor set where number 5 always went high and number 6 low, once I had sussed this out and straightened them they worked rather better! Recently it has been far too many poor arrows for the kit to be at fault. Last night I had a moment of insight and realised that I have been turning my head more square on to the target and this has been throwing everything else out of alignment. Working on this has produced a sharp improvement. Will see how tomorow's Western goes.