Very good information.

I do drills that are very similar. I actually learned them from Gary Sentman, and Jim Ploen.

I will work at around 5-7 yards, sometimes with a multi dot target, sometimes a single dow. Come to full draw, find my sighting reference/anchor, aim at the target. Then I will intentionally move the arrow of line, moving the arrow in a figure eight either vertically or horizontally. Come back in line to aim. And then move the arrow again. I'll do this 2 to 3 times, and then let down.

The alignmnet drill is imilar as well. I work on the "feeling" of good alignmnet. To me that means that I have my bow shoulder down and in the socket. The bowstring actually touches the left side of my chest between my pectoral muscle and my arm pit. String hand comes back to full draw until I can feel the string side shoulder blade actually anchor the shot. I want the drawing motion of the shot sequence to be as compact, and as close to my body as possible, That allows for better overall alignmnet for me, including both shoulders, and th string side elbow. If I draw across my chest as many do, it causes me to have to move my head unnaturally (again for me) to obtain good alignmnet. I don't like that. Also. it eliviates the problem of clothing intefereing with my bowstring regaardless of the time of year.

After I have spent some time on these 2 things, then I begin to work on the relase portion. If I have my alignment correct, and my string shoulder actually amchored, the release is straight in line with the draw force line of the bow and target. The flight of the arrow is nearly lazer like, and even the sound of the shot is different.

I also do the same type of figuer 8 drills when shooting on the course that we have here at the house, as well as when out stump shoting.

As you noted, it teachers you to actually contro the shote segunce and shot, rather than the shot being in control.

I try to do these drills at least 1 or times a week. And following the advice of Fred Anderson, I keep a log of my progress, as well as my outcomes.

Good stuff.

Thanks guys. Bale work has always helped me, and I love doing it. I always get excited hearing others talking about it because it is such a great tool. I think any of the “draw, anchor, but not release” excercises are very helpful.

Without a doubt Lenny's wall drill was the thing that turned it all around for me. Its a practice to see how well you can physically maintain your shot, everybody different, nothing written in stone. You draw back on a wall or something you wont shoot (I aim at a clock on the wall just to see how many seconds Im doing) get to anchor and set up the shot like you want and then see how long, physically, you can maintain all the correct tensions.

What was an eye opener for me is that I shoot a clicker and as I did his wall drill I noticed, with out any influence from me at all, that if I maintained my shot that clicker was going off ALL the time in that period of maintenance. It gave me confidence to know that if I arrange my shot correctly its going off. It's a good feeling ;)

All good stuff.I use the closed eye method which has served me well.At 15 yds if you execute, the shots will be close to that bull,and i get a good feel of the string coming off of my fingers, and if you do not execute you will see shot spread.I do this 10 to 15 times before i start shooting for score.Just another way.Do what works best for you.

LT, et al -

I don't like doing bale drills and only recommend them in two scenarios.

In most cases people need temporary time at the bale to learn a new technique. The second is to correct a mistake. The reason for using the bale is to be able to forget about aiming entirely and work on a specific task.

I believe that without a specific goal, blank bale shooting ad infinitum does more harm than good. Except for the two reasons I gave, bale work is synthetic and can lull you into a false sense of security. Since there's no aiming, the brain is working in an unnatural mode.

A while back some body came up with the them "bridging" or "the bridge" from the bale to a real shot. It's a buzz word for transitioning from one to the other and that's the part that takes the most effort.

Lets be honest, most people can look like Robinhood at the bale in a few minutes. It's a no pressure situation and you're focused 100% on form. But add a real target in front of you beyond spitting distance (your comfort zone) and things change pretty quickly.

I'll go as far as saying that except for some very few elite shooters, most people's bale form don't look exactly like their real shooting form. The closer the two look, the better the shooter. Again, making that happen is usually the hard part.

I'm not saying don't bale, but do it with a purpose and get off of it asap.

Viper out.

Yes, the Bale is the Cornerstone of training all aspects of form. The bale is for everyone all the time to keep your shot cleaned up, tuned up, and in working order.

I think Anthony is one of the best in the World for a knowledge base but also think he is 100 times better and surpassed his objectivity by drawing upon his own ability threshold.

I need the bale!

Anthony may not?

I respect my elders in the field of Toxo and draw from their wisdom but also think there is a constant that is in concrete.

That single constant is Bale work.

LT, Sam -

Don't misunderstand what I said. The "bale" has a purpose, but in isolation it can be false sense of security. The second you have to "hit something" outside of your comfort zone, the approach changes. That's why, the "bale" is only 1/2 of the equation, the other half, and IMHO, the harder half to accomplish is the transition. IOWs, under pressure we revert back to our instincts. I don't believe the bale alone (without the transition training) can change those instincts.

Seriously, watch someone shooting at a blank bale and then shooting for real. I can guarantee you that in 95% of cases, after an end or two, their two forms will be different. It's just the way our brains work.

And for the record, not that many years ago, I had a follow-through (BT) problem and spent two months doing nothing but bale work, but that was followed by gradually reintroducing a real target. Without that transition, after a few arrows, my old from would have returned. Even now, the two forms aren't identical, but happily, they are pretty darn close.

Viper out.

I agree with that clarification but, the goal is to have the same form always. That is the Grail!

Sam -

Of course you're right. But in my experience it's pretty rare with us humans, at least over a full shooting session.

Viper out.

Aye Sir!

For me, the best way to train for form these days is to go out and shoot at my point on distance - between 45 to 60m depending the bow and arrow combo. It's my blank bale session since I can't hit that far with crooked form and I don't need to "overaim" (if there is a such term) either.

I'm the farthest thing from an elite archer so take this with a grain of salt. Viper's comments about the difference between bale form and shooting form remind me so much of watching people golf. I've had friends complaining about their game so I'd give them a club and say, "show me your swing." 3 practice swings with no ball in front of them = perfect swing/tempo/etc.. Put a ball down and it's like someone else jumped in and swung the club! So I'd have to say the "bridge" is the key. Humbly, Jim

Larry Bloomer, 7 time Iowa State Champion with a 290 average on a 300 barebow (read that again) split finger with his index finger in the corner of his mouth, 80lb recurve with an 80 yard point on (read that again) said shooting ANYTHING under 60 yards wouldn't tell you anything about your tuning or form.

who here has a 290 average on a 300 round.. and in competition?

Larry had Bale Proof form which allowed him to be sooo consistent.

we have forgotten how to shoot....

I guess if you were string walking on a beach with a warm summer breeze, bale work might be kinda nice :)

Enlighten us Hal, how do you recommend us to train our shot?

I think Hal always tells us about How others did it or how Jim Ploen supposedly showed him how to shoot arrows too stiff.

It seems like he has a habit of telling us something not relative to the conversation using only a reference to how someone did something without any further explanation.

Kind of like saying the wind blew one time or a fat dog may have flatulated. Lol

Great advice here, thank you for the information

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