I gotta work on my form...

[martelvonc]

Maybe if I practice with a 1 lb weight tied to my elbow I'll learn to get in alignment.
I'm also taking too long to aim. I already know where the target is I just need to concentrate on what I'm doing.

But I have learned some things at practice since "On Target". Thanks to Gustav, Janyn, Robert, Godai, Katarzyna and Seamus these lessons finally stuck in my head and have improved my shooting-
1) if an arrow comes out of your quiver you don't like it, let fall to the ground and grab another. Don't futz with it.
2) in speed rounds don't worry about shooting a lot of arrows. Shoot fewer arrows but make them count. It does you no good to loose a lot of arrows and not score with any of them.
3) for distance, raise your bow by bending your body at the hip, stay in alignment and do not raise your arms to raise your bow.

I have not been wearing an arm guard every time I shoot. I'm learning to keep my inner arm and elbow out of the way.

Either way I'm shooting better and getting better scores. I'm no great shakes yet but I am improving measurably.

Comments

Ah-Ha! Zee light bulb--eet goes off (or rather "on")

[francesca-tessa.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh....so thaaaaats why you sometimes see images of archers with their back bent back all graceful......

Re: Ah-Ha! Zee light bulb--eet goes off (or rather "on")

[martelvonc.livejournal.com]

Yep, dat's it.Your arms and arrow should all stay in line with your shoulders. You get the height by using your back hip and leg.

[elmsley-rose.livejournal.com]

and you have lovely thick hair. (can see your ponytail at the back there)

[martelvonc.livejournal.com]

Thank you!
My hair is thick and I shed like a cheap rug but my hair is not coarse. It's just like my grandma's. :-)

[elmsley-rose.livejournal.com]

My hair is very thin after 15 years of dying it black (Gothdom).
It was dirty blonde when I started, but is now a red/brown. Use henna on it sometimes.
So I am very envious of you!

[albreda.livejournal.com]

Congrats! You are learning stuff at an astounding pace!

That island shoot, btw? AWESOMENESS. Lucky girl!

[martelvonc.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Oh you don't know the half. we had to do a clout shoot from the TOP of the hill to our right down to that island. There were many arrows sleeping with fishes!

Fortuantely, the autocrat had a canoe that he paddled out and used to fished arrows out of the river for us. :-)

[cozit.livejournal.com]

Hey, that's always my favorite shot to watch... yeah, number one reason is that you can actually *see* it from the pavillion... but a close number two is that you then get to watch someone go paddling around out there, retrieving arrows afterward :-)

And of *course* there was a canoe available... there's no way that they want all those arrows lost - I've always been surprised just *how* many get recovered - and how relatively few disappear forever with that shot.

What was out on the island? The new knight on horseback, or something else? (that's the only re-done target I saw - everything but a portion of the painting on that had been done by the time I got there... and I know the old one has been out on the water shot before)

[martelvonc.livejournal.com]

The big knight was not on the "island" but on a little butt out from the shore then on the lower butt-out were some small targets of rodents like ground hogs/muskrats I think it was. The other large target next to the shark was that beserker or wildman.

I didn't even try to shoot at the floating shark. I knew I'd have been full of fail at that. :-)

For such a small area they had a lot of difficult targets for us.

[albreda.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'd never try that shot - I'd lose several arrows in the water, trying to find my distance!