At the recommendation of my archery coach, I finally got my paws on a really nifty book, Core Archery by Larry Wise. It's a really good outline on how to improve my form and execution and I really like the biomechanical/physics approach that the author (a hard-core archer) takes. The bias is definitely towards compound and Olympic recurve, but a lot of the material, such as the use of back-tension and the core (aka the spine) is also very relevant to traditional archery. Longbow and horsebow are going to be very interesting for me because of the way the shelves are constructed on these bows, if there is a shelf -- I have to cant (tilt) these types of bows to keep the arrow stable while I'm drawing and aiming. As far as trusty little Sorondil-Telcontar goes, I'm at my best when I'm leaning in and canting like a madwoman, but then again, I'm also usually shooting in cramped conditions where I'm lucky if I can even stand up straight! The real emphasis though is on the Equalizer, where I do have a lot more competetive opportunities to keep me sane.
So far, I've been experimenting with my stance and realized that I really need to work on that open stance now that I know I have a strong tendency to drift right. It was also cool realizing that I'm actually supposed to get kick-back -- so apparently the kickback my coach's bow is actually a good thing, even if it looks awful! I really enjoy doing these drills with a video camera to really nail my form down, although there's no substitute for having someone who has their form down like their breathing. That's where my coach comes in when my weekends aren't being hogged by other stuff.
I swear, archery training is far superior to other non-academic things I could be doing on a Friday night. I almost pity the creepy people who'd rather be watching TV or sitting in these hell-holes called clubs and bars. Of course, acdemics does trump everything, but in an ideal world, I would be training at every chance I get! The only things that would make my training even better are the presence of someone who can help me correct my bad habits and being out in the wilderness under a star-lit night. And as I like to tell a lot of my colleagues, "Why even bother with a pesky, annoying human significant other when there's a trusty bow (traditional or compound), the wilderness, and a lot of training to become an even deadlier shot?"
Oh, nearly forgot... food tastes a lot better after jogging / biking / swimming / lifting weights for at least an hour or two! And no training for anything (academics included) in my opinion is complete without intense exercise... if only I could politely but very firmly explain that in easy-to-understand terms to a certain handful of people who think that students are supposed to be sedentary potatoes!
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