Body Posture

If you don't like this regimented/form orientated shooting, you don't need to comment. DON'T DO IT BECAUSE I DO IT, DO IT BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE TO YOU.

This is complicated, but done correctly helps strengthen the shot. By that I mean better control of the shot because your 'building' on a solid foundation. This probably should have been addressed right after 'Stance', because it's almost part of the stance. In my thought process (sequence) I address it right after 'stance' but comes pretty natural and I do it without thinking. It's nice sometimes I think of it before or after the shot and know I've done it without thinking about it.

I think the reason I didn't address it with or after 'Stance' is because grip and hook are more fun to discuss and the only two places where you touch the bow, which makes them very important also. This will be about the archer's back, core, hips and shoulders. (Maybe shoulders and alignment could be it's own topic. I'll address the others and see how long it get.)

We should address this with the reflection of marital arts in mind to build a powerful foundation. As mentioned in 'stance' the archer's weight should rest on the feet in a 40/60 heels to balls of the feet ratio. Here's where that point of the feet 30 degrees to the target will start to make real sense. The hips should be tilted down and forward. This is done by flexing the lower stomach muscles, which also straightens the spine.

If your sitting in a chair before your computer, your lower spine curves forward before continuing straight up to your head. This is the curve we're trying to eliminate. Think of pushing your rib cage down.

Although, we want to eliminate all torque in the bow hand, we want a solid base to create torque/strength with the twist of the shoulders at the draw. Once those hips are set, we have the base. We then can use the strength of the shoulder/back (not the arms) to draw the string. Now, maybe some of you that thought the feet 30 degrees to the target was not for you, could revisit the **Stance** thread.

The year that I went total KSL (except for the below the chin anchor and thrust of the wrist at the shot) I found that everything he did was interconnected. Things that I thought I'd never do were connected to other parts that I thought were great ideas.

Let me address a common stance. It's been advance, by some very good archers that you adjust your stance so that when you draw back you end up on target. Sounds good on paper to me, but I ask you what the 'H' for. Are you not going to aim sometime in your sequence? Do you use Arne Moe's rotational draw? Or the KSL draw which will be one of the Monday segments.

The stance/body position I'm suggesting here give you more strength at the draw and on to follow through. It incorporates the back muscles creating torque on the solid foundation we just built. The more towards 90 your feet move the more the arm muscles come into play.

Bowmania

To reference past subjects search by clicking on key word:

**Stance**

**Grip**

**Hook**

I've been having problems getting enought time to put these together. The devil dog is a house wrecking machine. I thought I puppy proofed the kitchen - been too long since I've had a puppy.

Meet Sharps aka devil dog.

Bowmania

Cute puppy -the green apple spray will help keep keep from chewing on stuff not to be chewed (like chair legs etc) and give plenty of ok to chew toys

After I started shooting at a local archery club in 1967, I was given a copy of Power Archery, by Dave Keaggy, that turned out to be the best thing I ever read when I applied it to my own shooting. The pamphlet/book is out of print now. It's just 96 pages long but well worth reading as well. That gave me a solid foundation on which to build my own form.

Cute puppy, I like his relaxed stance. If you want to go "there" - archery is a martial art - anything you are saying should be done as relaxed as possible while learning otherwise you'll feel awkward and you will refuse to do it because it will feel unnatural.

Yea Jeff Bezos tried that stiff posture- apparently had some problems with it?

You can ship that puppy to Texas!

A solid foundation to shoot from doesn't mean stiff or tense.

So... if I'm reading this correctly, you want to eliminate the anterio-flexion curve of the thoracic spine ... good luck with that

Yea, Phil I might want to eliminate that, but don't know what it its, so maybe not.

AndyMan the stuff I've been using is called 'bitter apple'.

Sharps might go To TX, but it would be with me. White Falcon was that an invitation? It's cold in WI.

Bowmania

Talk about a pup like that shows your teaching then don't it? LOL

Body posture.LOL

You wrangle this nonsense when your hunting? LOL

Stance, stand erect with the feet about shoulder width. shoulders at a right angle to the target. Raise the bow, draw back rotationally to anchor. Hold for 2 to 4 seconds, while squeezitching your shoulder blades tight. You ain't gonna have much fun hunting where i do.

Gents, Bowmania topics talk about ideal body postures while learning something under supervision. Once someone learnt the correct posture, is very easy to adapt it based on necessities. Too many are talking about specific situations like they learnt hunched walking the moment they stood up when they were infants because that’s the way they should walk while stalking. Give him a break please.

That is exactly how I shot my target bows. Not all journeys start at the same place.

Everything you do will eventually ingrain and become relatively automatic. It's not like you carry a paper with you describing what you need to do. Your brain is actually an amazing thing if you let if work for you. Stance is part of form, whether or not it's regimented for target, or recalled automatically when needed. Just keep an open mind.

Dean, and where the hunting stance starts? Don’t say when you watched Hill or read Asbel. Because their stance starts with hips and shoulders too. I realy would love someone to explain “hunting stance” they teach the kids and the differences between that and how they would teach them for target archery.

How can that sweet cuddly little face be the devil dog? Now I can't believe anything. Just kidding. You told me about the 30 degrees,and 40 60% heels to balls of feet,torquing the shoulders,using the the back to get the bow drawn months ago and it has helped me a lot.Many folks have a hard time thinking that the right way to practice in grains movements.It will only make the off balance,awkward shots that much easier. Mussels will do what they have practiced easier,with out much thought.Some act like we never have killed anything. The pictures and records tell a far different story. Carry on coach. >>>>-----> ken

Bowmania - That's a cool looking Lab pup... They are hard headed though...8^)

George, Draven, some guys are above LEARNING. They won't even pay attention to the first sentence of the thread!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Bowmania

By "hips" I assume you mean pelvis ..

By "flexing" I assume you mean contracting ...

Just a technical note, the stomach muscles have absolutely no influence on the orientation of the pelvis. The muscles Iliacus and Psoas Major tilt the pelvis and have nothing to do with the stomach.

I have a martial arts background, particularly T'ai Chi and Kung Fu. Stance is important but grounding is more important. You can have a perfect stance, but if you don't let your weight sink down through all the joints into the bottoms of your feet and onto the ground, you will be off balance. This means relaxing all parts, from head to ankles and feet. Relaxation with the proper stance creates grounding, IME.

I have a 2 year old golden, had a yellow lab before that. The #1 and #2 chewers of all dogs. The first 6 months were hell. Good thing he was so cute. Ice and carrots for chewing helped. After 6 months it got a lot better.

Phil, you are correct. What clenching the muscles of the stomach does is bring the rib cage down and straightens out the spne. But I'm sure you know that.

Renewed Archery, you are also correct, but sometimes we are 20 feet above the ground. LOL. On a more serious note, that's exactly were the 60/40 ration comes into play. In one of these thread I mentioned everything was interconnected. One of the next threads or at least, in the future, I'll discuss head position and how abd why it relates to the base we just built.

LT, very cute.

Bowmania

Certainly, the shoulders are key to all alignments, that never changes. How to adapt to specific conditions, without throwing the baby out with the bath water is where things are different.

Thanks Dean, this is what I wanted to know. Adaptation of something is nothing but this: adapt a recipe to the situation. Bowmania is giving a recipe used in first class restaurant. Someone can take that recipe and use it in a B&B too. What I find interesting is the resistance to this exchange of recipes just because "home made recipe" is good enough.

PS The B&B recipe can add local flavors as needed based on the consumer's needs.

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