Importance of little finger

EYE FOCUS

EYE POSITION

A more face-on position to the target is possible when employing a slight side anchor, which is biomechanically stronger. Even though a more face-on position to the target is recommended, over rotation must be avoided as this could reduce the blood flow to the arteries embedded in the muscles of the neck.

To demonstrate that a more face-on position gives greater strength to the bow arm, carry out the following experiment.

Have the archer stand with both arms out to the side raised horizontally and with the head and eyes looking straight ahead. Tell the archer that you are going to press the archer's left arm down, pushing down on the wrist. The archer must resist this push down as much as possible, while continuing to look straight ahead.

You will find that the archer is able to strongly resist this push down.

Now repeat this exercise with the archer maintaining the same position, but now have the archer look left as much as possible with the eyes only, without rotating the head. It will be found that it is easier to push the arm down, as biomechanically the archer is now weaker. It will also be found that the shoulder will come up resisting the push.

Therefore, this is another important reason to employ a side anchor position.

As discussed in Chapter 3, The Shot, eye focus must be maintained from 'holding', throughout aiming, expansion, release and follow-through, until the arrow hits the target.

Eye focus is especially critical when aiming off, due to varying wind conditions throughout a competition. The eye focus, when aiming off, must not be allowed to wander to the Gold during the execution of the shot. The subconscious mind otherwise, will automatically move the sight pin towards the Gold on release.

A good exercise for aiming off and practicing eye focus is to draw horizontal lines from the top and bottom of the nine across the target face. The area where we want the arrows to land is between the two horizontal lines in the red scoring area of the 8 and 7. If the cross wind goes right to left, we will use the right hand side reds and the left hand side when the wind is left to right. The objective is to group the arrows in the red area between the two horizontal lines, without going past the 8 ring into the Gold. At the same time, this will take the focus off the Gold.

There is a separate muscle, the 'extensor digiti minimi' muscle which controls the little finger of the drawing hand. Any change in position of this little finger will also affect the tension in the muscles of the other drawing fingers. Therefore, the position of the little finger during the holding and release is extremely important and must be in the same position from shot to shot.

To demonstrate this fact, carry out the following experiment. Bend the little finger until it touches the pad just below the bottom joint of the little finger. While keeping the little finger bent, try to straighten out the other fingers without creating tension in the other fingers. Also, wriggle the little finger up and down and see what happens to the other fingers. It will be found that it is near impossible to straighten the ring finger and to a lesser extent the other fingers.

Therefore, it is necessary to maintain a consistent position of the little finger from shot to shot, as it can change the tension in the drawing fingers and affect the way the string conies off the fingers.

There are a couple of ways to maintain a constant little finger position from shot to shot. One is, to have the archer touch the tip of the thumb and the tip or first joint of the little finger, but must it be the same for every shot.

However, it is strongly recommended to have the little finger touch the neck when at full draw, so take note of clothing, e.g. the little finger could get caught up in a shirt collar, with obvious consequences.

Дата добавления: 2015-06-25