SMU Archery 100109

I feel that I’m more in c0ntrol of the click now. Now I need to work on sustaining the peak form for a prolonged period to give me the necessary scores that I need to do well for the upcoming competitions.

Have reached a stage where I am able to obtain the full turn, observe the clicker coming in, re aim, then go for the bow arm shoulder push for the shot to land where I want it to hit. Not withstanding any error in sight adjustments and pressure point deviations, the shot shot travel in a beautiful trajectory into the gold.

The result? While trying out for my FITA 900 today I managed to place my shots mainly with the red and gold at 60m which is an improving result week by week. The need for good form is back again, and it has come at the right time.

SMU Archery 201208 – Clicker command

Still in the motion of perfecting this technique but I guess what I had done over the past few weeks was some good stuff.

Realised that by revisiting the basics I managed to have a better grasp of the BEST 10 steps. Like I said, sometimes the onlyway to go forward is to go backwards. Re-learned the clicker set to have a better idea of how to command the click since I was struggling with the click over the last few months.

My mistake was that I was unable to obtain a full push on the bow arm shoulder. Having got winston to observe my shooting stance, the drawing arm was never an issue as I am able to get a full turn on the elbow (more than required in most times). The main issue here is that I tense up during the clicking motion therefore resulting in a high bow arm shoulder.

Another mistake includes not setting the bow properly before performing the 10 steps. Coach has taught me to ‘lock’ the bow arm shoulder and start off with a strong push, maintaining it even while drawing the bow. This way the ‘push’ is maintained throughout and there will not be the instance whereby the draw will be shortened at any point in time of the draw.

The 5th step of the BEST shooting technique requires one to breathe out and obtain a relaxed state of the upper body. It is after doing so that I realised one is able to obtain a fuller turn (while maintaining the push). Now this is the nest part and I can say that it is totally legen – wait for it – dary!

The euphoria that you obtain from performing a strong shot and see it landing where you want it to be is totally AWESOME. Having finished the turn, go for a quick re-aim while maintaining your muscles in the fixated position, then the crucially important move – the bow arm back shoulder push aka commanding the click.

I managed this successfully only 4 times during training yesterday despite having completed 100+ arrows. Shooting time is still a lil’ longer than norml but I’m still not too bothered for the fact that I wish to perform a strong shot at every attempt. I have come to realise that at the end of the day, it is not all about having to score the highest points. At the stage of ‘rehab’, I have to relearn everything all over again and set the motion right if I am to catch up with the rest. Plateau broken and I have come to terms with having to perform strong shots and not forcing the click.

Like what Mr Wee always says: Be the master of the clicker. Command it else be the slave of it, waiting for it to click.

SMU Archery 200808- Don’t think so much, just shoot.

The title as mentioned is the final piece of the jigsaw as what coach has advised us all these while, which I had been oblivious to.

Realised that my euipment had been wrong all these while and it had naturally affected by performance -

1) Brace Height 8.0 (when measured to the throat of the grip)- its a killer especially when you are drawing 66″

2) Incorrect nock fletch alignment – explains why some of the shots fall awkwardly left/right even when I had performed everything correctly. The fletches had been knocking against the plunger button and affected the arrow flight in the process.

**Going for the gold**

At predraw, align the bow to the target. Check the top and bottom limb to the target and make sure that it is in line with the target. Give your bow a slight push to lock your elbow and with your drawing arm, give a little tug on the string. Breathe in as you take the bow up for the draw.

Keep looking at the yellow on the target.

Breathe out about 2/3 of what you had breathed in earlier as you draw the bow string to your anchor point. Your shoulders, especially the bow arm shoulder should be relaxed, with the arrow above the shoulders as a reference point. As you draw, feel the back muscles acting as they close up to aid in the draw. You should not be using your draw arm strength to aid in the draw as you will be applying too much pressure on your draw fingers. Only the middle finger should be kept locked in the 90 degrees position.

Keep looking at the yellow on the target.

What you should see now is the sight pin falling nicely onto the yellow. This is the crucial 4 second period.

Second 1 – Anchor. Ensure that the reference points of the nose and the lips are met, with the bow string resting on the chest guard.

Second 2 – Drawing arm elbow turn. You have to visualize the the drawing elbow is in line with the arrow.

Second 3 – Check for the clicker moving in and go for the last aim. Maintain the back shoulder muscle with the bow arm to keep the sight there.

Second 4 – The most important step. You have only this second to go for the push the moment you take a last look at the sight. You only have this very one chance in the yellow. Once there, go for the push by using the bow arm shoulder back muscle.

The follow through step is important as well. Keep the eyes fixated on the arrow as it takes flight as maintain the bow arm height as you ‘punch’ towards the target. This is to avoid the shots from falling too low.

The result?

01x ‘X’

03x ’10’s

02x ‘9’s

01x ‘8′               56 points in total

Sighting at 50m : 4.6

Sighting at 30m: 1.6

So ultimately it is the timing that is critical. Korean archers may take slightly longer, but goodness they train everyday while college students like us only train twice weekly. Anything longer than the 5 secs, put the bow down and perform the sequence all over again.

Remember, timing is the key.

Scarred

It is rare to pen it out in english but when this does happen..very often than not it is when really bad things do happen.

This is all that can happen for SMU Archery Team.

It is really weird as to how difficult it can be to fix supposedly an outing and yet incur the wrath of many in the team. As the team captain, it is certainly the worst nightmare that can ever happen when the team members fall out with one another.

All I can say is that different people have different priorities in life and there is absolutely no need for one to impose their thinking on other people. Let them do what they want, coz that’s what they deem to be important to them at that point in time.

It really pains to see your loved one get bullied while you stand there helpless, not even being able to mutter a word simply because of the capacity of the captain. It pains to see the team senior blow up, taking it out on everyone. Team spirit is crucial to a team success, yet all the hard work I had done to foster good relations amongst every member seems to have been undone by a casual msn conversation. It is at times like this when my faith in the team has wavered, while offers from other clubs ring in my head, inching me closer to the exit door of SMU Archery.

Why the sarcasm? Why the insensitivity? I do not see why the need to take it out on other people when things are not running your way and you do not like the way it is. There are no need for personal attacks launched at people and the jacking issue is getting out of hand. Yes, it may be fun, but not everyone has the same tolerance level like some people do.

The individualistic nature of this sport does not have the team spirit and dynamics like sports such as basketball do, so people tend to think for themselves. Eyeing the budget, not willing to fork out money for school items fearing that the school will owe you money, thinking that the school is hindering your progress..all these ugly side of people..selfishness..shows up as time passes.

I feel the segregation from the team now..as the year has passed. I am merely helping out only as a ‘quick fix’ guy where ppl come to me just to get their equipment done up or have special requests. The interaction with the team members is reduced…and this is not what I am looking for in a team.

Why for then, am I working so hard, for a club that seemed doomed for internal struggle? Wouldnt I be better off just shooting, representing PPCC,PREAC or TBAC? There is no one ready to fill the role of captaincy and the candidates seem disinterested. Why for then, am I slogging so hard, pleasing everyone and yet not making things happy for myself? Am I really the silly one in the process, being made use of while others ascend?

If any SMU Archer were ever to chance this entry, I hope that you will understand my pain and disappointment of the way things turned out to be. It is not that I want to leave the club in search of trophies and medals, but it is with such a heavy heart that I leave behind that I have failed to achieve what I had set out to do – fostering team spirit.

Probably the person I feel most apologetic towards will have to be Winston, who has to accept my decision and cope with the situation in time to come. He’s been a great dude, who has to tolerate my nonsense at times while having to deal with so many issues concurrently. Sorry dude, probably you had known that I will leave the team someday but I guess you probably had not guessed that it will be so soon.

My passion is scarred. This sport to me, will no longer involve anymore management issues. I just want to shoot well and with shoot a clear mind. My apologies to SMU Archery, that the captain has lost faith and will be leaving.

230 arrows and beyond

FINALLY GOT TO PLAY WITH EXTENDER THIS WEEKEND HAHAS

Improved bow swing (pretty wild one though) but there’s definitely room to compare and contrast between the full setup with and without the stabilizer.

The added stabilzer can offer a bigger bow swing but winston noticed that my follow through step is compromised with the bow arm falling down rapidly after the release, ending up in low shots in the long run. However, I somehow found the extra stability that it offered me, something which I havenet experienced before and no one in the club had ever tried before.

The setup without the stabilizer does not offer the ‘jump-up’ motion that clement and I were discussing about while talking about tyler benner’s shots and watching his video. Clement and I acknowledges the fact that it will be in the best of motions to forcefully push down the bow grip to permit the bow to fall in its most natural cast and maintain the arrow’s true flight. The old man however, offers the perspective that with such a wild bow cast it will tend to ‘knock’ the arrow and result in the arrow flight leading to six o’clock.

Managed to brush up on the expansion method this weekend (for the bow arm to push out and the drawing elbow to turn fully concurrently), hence improving the clicking time in the process. Saturday was bad, considering my injury and I had lots of problems getting the 4 second speed shot. Today however, was much better considering that the muscles were more warmed up and it allowed the increased flexibility of the back muscles to perform strong shots.

Bow arm pressure point was emphasized too, considering I had to abandon the jager (medium to high grip) and revert to my low grip. Cant force myself to train to a high grip so might as well stick to my perfect form low grip.

The stance was the worst. No checking of the torso and feet aligment and both feets were spaced so wide apart that while stability was attained, it significantly reduced the arrow draw length, hence resulting in the difficulty to click. 5 to 10 degrees, torso perpendicular to the target, thats all that needs to be attained.

Equipment problem too. The 27″ arrows are 0.5″ too long for my draw length and the 40 pd limbs does not offer the extra advantage. Will have to reduce arrow length to 26.5″ and reduce the poundage to 38 pds [but the old man refuses to give me 36 pds which i want =( ]

Loads of catching up to do, especially if I want to give the world uni games a try in summer 2009. It is my last chance at the international stage before I’m reduced to only regional exposure. Bunny thinks that I can do it, and bunny will always be there for me encouraging me after every bad shot. Bunny knows me well to not affect me when I’ve entered the training mode and will constantly ask about my progress. Thanks for the encouragement and asking winston to look out for me, even when I’m not in the best of performance states.

As long as I know you are shooting and see ya shoot with me, the route to the world uni championships will be much less tougher.

Archery brushups

An eventful training session yesterday indeed.

True perfect form never stays consistent, and that was what i found out after some guidance from clement and the old man.

The true essence of the clicker set is to minimise the wastage of energy and the seek for stability and consistency. If one looks at the way how Natalie Valeeyna does it, notice that the moment she anchors, it only takes approximately 2.5 seconds for her to perform her clean release and perform a strong shot in the process.

The elbow turn and the bow arm push synchronization has to be rectified. It has to occur concurrently, like an expansion motion. Doesnt matter if the ring is falling out of the gold. Go for the smooth motion and ‘punch’ to the gold target. The follow through is essential, for that an archer’s release subconciously determines the arrow speed and affects the arrow’s true flight and direction.  

Currently facing a plateau and seeking a breakthrough in the process. Managed to obtain a good group at 30m while practicing on the 60cm target paper and only realised that the 66″ 40pd is a poundage too high for me to handle. The thirst for both stability and consistency cannot be attained unless I move 4 pds lower but that will mean compromising on my 70m arrow flight.   

Good form has been attained. The consistency is there but the stability is seriously lacking and I cant perform stong shots regularly. I want the feeling of winning again, just like how I did it at pesta sukan 2007.

Like what the old man said, it’s all in my head and my determination to win the prize.

xxxxxx

Emu’s being made an offer again, but its from a fellow archery friend. It’s not right to leave the team in pursuit of medal glory, but any logical person will definitely do that.

“Follow the heart, or the head?

But i know that whatever I do bunny will support me. And I’ll support bunny too.”

I will work harder for pesta sukan to prove a point. In the meanwhile, thanks bunny.

I forgot to tell ya to add one more to the PF list yesterday lol.