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Strength exercises
Rod:
As you say, what you describe is a natural consequence of drawing to a length that is greater than the length you can achieve whilst remaining in-line.
What I was describing was the means of drawing efficiently, not the consequence of drawing beyond your in-line draw-length.
In this case the difficulty in control is one of allowing rotation in the loose which can be prone to throwing the string hand up or out as the elbow goes round or down out of line during the loose.
Given that my corner of the mouth length is a little over 29" I would not have too much trouble holding a line at 32", whereas someone with shorter arms might be obliged to roll out of line with this shaft length.
This rotation off-line then comes into play for me at draw-lengths longer than 32".
Whilst it is true that post Horace Ford the shorter draw has become the prevalent style in lawn archery, it should perhaps be noted that the long draw is not entirely unknown still in these quarters, but that the shorter draw is employed where ease of precise alignment under the dominant eye is prioritised over maximising cast.
But this is only of any real benefit to those who can also control their length and loose and consequently have precise control over their arrow speed, and still have sufficient cast to obtain a useful mark.
It can also be noted that amongst heavy bow shooters, the draw weight itself is often instrumental in pulling the wrist into line during the draw, which is as it should be if the draw is intitiated with a bent wrist.
That someone with shorter arms or a shaft longer than their in line draw, is obliged go through from being in-line to out of line as they rotate the elbow out of line through the loose is another matter entirely, and only natural, since you can only go so far back in-line until you are obliged to drop or take the elbow round out of line.
As it affects accuracy the trick is then to let the elbow go round or down in further extension without throwing the hand out of line before the arrow departs.
Rod.
robby:
Swamp Bow, Technique is important. A relatively small man with proper technique and practice can out draw a muscle man, with no technique and practice, any day of the week. If you are determined and, shoot a lot, these things will come to you as naturally as learning to walk. I have never found one exercise that can truly prepare you for shooting a heavy bow other than shooting a heavy bow. However you have to get yourself into some kind of shape to even start on that journey. One thing I found when I was starting out is that there is no one set of muscles that you can develop alone. It has to be the whole body, even the legs. A form of exercise that, to me anyway, was as beneficial as anything is the simple push-up. You carry the equipment with you and can drop and crank out fifty or more in less than a minute, done throughout the day, and varying the placement of your hands, far apart, close together, ahead of your body mass, on flat hands, on your fists, the variety is endless. Always use good form and technique, slacking only cheats yourself. The thing is you don't want to build one line of muscle, spread the wealth. You can do it anywhere, who cares what people think. Another thing I use to do was grab two or three bows of lesser weight and practice drawing, its terribly uncomfortable, but makes handling A single heavy bow seem so much more manageable. I hope this helps a little, and good luck!
Robby
ratty:
hello Swamp Bow ;)
here's my tip.
do regular exercise to keep fit ,and shoot regular. increase your bow weight when you feel confident.
draw as large as you can. ive been known to draw & shoot arrows of over 34" and i'm 5ft 9"
as seen in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlBUlQ0vvLw&feature=player_profilepage#
respond to your bodys pain, and adjust your shooting accordingly. :)
copying other peoples shooting techniques is a good idea, there are plenty of vids on youtube to watch. :)
there are many better archers than my self, and many not as good, but with better technical techniques. so i think its a thing you need to develop intune with your own body
anyway goodluck. 8)
ps. i completely agree with this statement by yeomanbowman .
(It is very difficult for me to prove but I find it hard to believe there was one universal style of draw in the medieval/Tudor period.)
here's one of my favorite paintings of medieval archers about to draw there bows
[IMG]http://picture removed due to possible copyright issues
Swamp Bow:
Robby/Ratty, I think you are right. Lots of shooting with lower poundage bows, and limited "pushing it" with higher poundage bows. I'll just take it nice and slow.
Been an interesting discussion all the way around. Carry on...
Thanks
Swamp
Davepim:
--- Quote from: ratty on October 13, 2009, 11:33:09 am ---hello Swamp Bow ;)
here's my tip.
do regular exercise to keep fit ,and shoot regular. increase your bow weight when you feel confident.
draw as large as you can. ive been known to draw & shoot arrows of over 34" and i'm 5ft 9"
as seen in this clip http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlBUlQ0vvLw&feature=player_profilepage#
respond to your bodys pain, and adjust your shooting accordingly. :)
copying other peoples shooting techniques is a good idea, there are plenty of vids on youtube to watch. :)
there are many better archers than my self, and many not as good, but with better technical techniques. so i think its a thing you need to develop intune with your own body
anyway goodluck. 8)
ps. i completely agree with this statement by yeomanbowman .
(It is very difficult for me to prove but I find it hard to believe there was one universal style of draw in the medieval/Tudor period.)
here's one of my favorite paintings of medieval archers about to draw there bows
--- End quote ---
Hi Simon,
I have been searching for that picture of the archers drawing-up for ages. Where does it come from exactly? I remember it from the old warbow forum.
Dave
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