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Drawing to the ear or chest, aiming and anchoring?
Nance:
In days past, longbow archers have been known to draw to the ear or even to the chest (clavicle). Sunday was my first clout shoot and to get most out of my bow and light arrows I drew the full 28 inches. The string gave a satisfying twang and my arrows just got to the furthest clout at 140 meters. To do this I tried drawing to the ear but got smacked in the face with the string. Don't worry, no damage done. So I changed it to the chest (clavicle). No more smacking and the arrows landed really close. I have to work on form through the hips though.
I normally use a jaw anchor with the cock feather just touching my cheek at the corner of my mouth. I use that to check for height differences. The string touches my eyebrow.
I liked the long draw even if it's a tad too long for me. How would you use it for normal target archery? How would you get consistency? Can you use anchor or touch points etc.? How did they do it?
Pat B:
I anchor with my index finger at the corner of my mouth and release as soon as I get there. Where you anchor doesn't matter as long as it is the same every time. Consistency in shooting comes with consistent anchor and consistent release. I had a friend that drew to the center of his chest. Looked goofy but he shot as well as anyone because he was consistent.
Once you find the most comfortable anchor point stick with it. Your brain will make any corrections for you.
Urufu_Shinjiro:
I use a thumb ring and anchor with my thumb knuckle resting in that hollow spot behind the jaw under the ear. Like Pat said, consistency is key.
Nance:
I wondered about consistency. Drawing to the ear may get you a more consistent form than drawing to the chest. My husband shoots with a thumb ring also and he draws even beyond the ear, with the fletchings on his face as a touch point.
This is more of an interest question. I really like history and when I get to shoot like days past, it really makes me smile. I'm actually overdrawing when I draw back that far with a Mediterranean draw so I won't really be using it besides distance shooting.
Urufu_Shinjiro:
I have really long arms so when I draw to just under the ear with the thumb ring it's about 33"-34" (I use a 35" bamboo arrow meant for Japanese Yumi). Traditionally the Manchus drew almost to their draw arm shoulder (keeping in mind these were smaller people) and practically leaned into the middle of the bow. They used the lower string across their chest as an anchor point.
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