String picture

BOW ELBOW JOINT POSITION

HOLDING

One of the more difficult points for a coach to teach the archer is the loading/transfer phase. It should normally take about half a second from anchoring to get to holding. See diagram No.9 below. Initially, half a second is generally too short a time to execute this phase. For this reason, tell the archer to take approximately 2 seconds for this phase. Usually they can then achieve this. Once they have learned and understood this important part of the process, it should take them no more than about half a second with practice.

A common fault with many archers, including many experienced archers, is that the inner surface of the elbow joint is rotated anti-clockwise, facing upwards. This is biomechanically very weak and it will tend to push the front shoulder up and create muscle antagonism.

The Humerus (upper arm bone) should be rotated clockwise (right-hand archer) so that the inner surface of the elbow joint is near vertical. This will align the bone structure of the arm into the strongest possible unit. This, coupled with a low front shoulder, will permit the strong compressive force of the drawn bow weight, to be distributed most efficiently.

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

String picture is strongly recommended to be on center shot position. Refer to Diagram No. 10, String Picture on the following page.

There are varying thoughts on the best place to align the string, which range from aligning it with the outside of the sight pin to aligning it with the outside of the riser. However, having the string positioned, as shown above, is strongly recommended, as it offers various advantages.

Firstly, the eye is aligned with the arrow and with the center of the bow permitting a good head position.

Secondly, the string is easily seen at all times especially during the aiming, expansion and follow-through. If the string is in a position other than center shot, it is easy to lose sight of the string position, especially during the expansion time when the string picture could move. Basically, it is like the rear sight of a rifle, at all times keep the sights aligned.

Дата добавления: 2015-06-25