comments on my form

[Bede]

I think Stephen's point about the hand position on the grip is valid, but with modern bows you really have to check the tiller of the bow to make sure where the arrow should go. This involves putting the bow on a tiller stick and drawing it with various support positions on the grip, moving the arrow nock on the string to compensate.

Sometimes bowyers simply make the bow to conform to normal Mediterranean draws. In my experience, the thumb draw allows the arrow position on the string to be much nearer to perpendicular than the three finger approach. At the same time, it also localises the pressure on the string to a narrow section of the string. This means that there is a bit of tuning of the archer's style required for each bow.

One additional advantage of Stephen's suggestion is that it can increase the effective brace height by a centimetre or so. This can affect the arrow flight slightly.

[Justin Ma]

Here it is with the new grip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQJv7Gd7tN8

I was pretty tired today, so my grouping wasn't so consistent (the release may look a bit rough). Nonetheless, I tried to emphasize loading more tension into my back muscles for the release.

[Stephen Selby]

This is very subjective, but look for example at your release (0:20 - 0:22 seconds into your latest video). At the point of release your bow arm should be still; but actually you drop it sharply down and to the left. That may be due to the high position of your full draw. Try to focus on releasing without any movement of the bow arm.

[Justin Ma]

Yeah, you raise a good point about the level of the draw. I feel like I exert more effort keeping the arrow at cheek level. So I had to try shooting at shoulder level: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKNVkAyh9QE

I'm giving serious consideration to developing the shoulder-level draw further. Pros: the draw felt easier because the shoulders and elbows were aligned, and it was easier to keep the bow arm still during the shot. Cons: my sight picture is quite different now --- I had to rely more on intuition to "throw" the arrow. I imagine this becomes less of an issue at longer distances.

Btw, let me know if you're getting tired of these posts.

[Stephen Selby]

Yeah! Look at 0.22 seconds on that video and contrast it with the other ones. How was the accuracy?

I think a lot of learners will find this discussion very instructive. Keep it coming.

[Justin Ma]

Yeah! Look at 0.22 seconds on that video and contrast it with the other ones. How was the accuracy?

Haha, I think my accuracy is a work in progress. For those two arrows at 25 yds, I felt dialed-in. For the rounds at 10 and 15, I had to spare the first few arrows for calibration before I could form anything that resembled a group.

I found that my best rounds occurred when I was being less analytical and more intuitive with my aiming. If I focused too much on the minutiae of my sight picture (e.g., "align this edge of the bow w/ that line of the target"), I risked ignoring arm/hand alignment and having a poor shot. If I focused more on the feel of my arm/hand alignment and thought "this feels like the arrow will land at that location," I had a better shot.

I'm a ways off from developing "archer's vision," but I'd welcome any tips on additional drills to develop instinctive aiming. I know people like to say "think of shooting an arrow like throwing a ball." But with throwing you _feel_ the ball's acceleration, whereas with a bow you're one step removed from feeling the arrow's acceleration. I guess a lot of instinctive shooting is overcoming this disconnect.

[Stephen Selby]

I think you're basically there. The rest is repetition and experience. Do that both while standing and walking and hopping on one leg. Also, see if you can get a chance to shoot out to 100 yards so that you can really see the arrow fly and your brain can log onto what is actually happening. You won't hit the target; but that's not the point. The point is to understand why you miss. As in Lie Zi, the important thing is not hit hit the target but to be able to understand why you hit it when you do.

[Justin Ma]

The walking and hopping drills have been useful. They definitely force me to work on my nocking ability (to make it faster and more secure) and to learn to keep a clear head under those circumstances.

My best grouping of the day was walking to shoot a target at 25 yds, walking left-to-right, trying to loose a shot before walking past an obstruction [1st photo]. Walking to shoot targets at 10 yds and 25 yds in sequence yielded sloppy groups at 10 and a no group at 25. A work in progress, for sure.

Also, as a result of the walking drill, I unconsciously (at the time) adjusted my draw hand technique so that my thumb touched below the middle finger's middle segment and my hand tilted with pinky below index [2nd, 3rd photos]. This positioning actually felt comfortable, with less of index finger crowding against the arrow nock. Because walking didn't give me time to think, my hand naturally assumed this position.

[Justin Ma]

I decided to shorten my arrows to 35" in length so that I could hold my bow hand in a fist (rather than pointing my index finger). I've also started holding my draw hand a little bit away from my body to avoid the string hitting my left pectoral muscle.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YLOtlDtamQ

All in all, this feels more relaxed to me, especially since I'm no longer straining my bow hand to extend the index finger.

[MupKo]

I dont know very much, but it looks great. I should start practicing thumb draw also. I tried to draw my 45# recurve with thumb, and decided that for thumb technique I'll need 30# bow. It was imposible.
On moving practice... I like to walk away from target and shoot backwards. It's actualy easier than shooting when walking side to side.

[CaesarSPQR]

Greetings from Canada!

Just saw some of your most recent videos, was impressed by ur form.

I have the same bow as you but i didnt manage to shoot often.

How does that 60lb snake-han bow perform? Also I noticed in this one

http://www.youtube.com/user/jtma04#p/u/2/yua7TkRlWRM

you used a different bow, what bow is it?

[Justin Ma]

Aye, my form is still a work in progress, but thank you.

The snake bow feels good, solid. Initially the string was too long, so I made a shorter string for it, which in turn reduced the vibrations hand shock during the shot (this makes sense since getting the right brace height for your bow is critical). I'm expecting new shipments of bows w/in the next month, so I'll have a better reference for comparison at that point.

The second bow is an Entry-Level Han Bow, 35# I believe.

[CaesarSPQR]

and what is the shipment of new bow you are waiting for?
From the same bow maker?

[Justin Ma]

I'm waiting for a Qing bow and a Qinghai bow from Zhang Li (40# each). I'm also expecting a Qing bow from Peter Dekker (at 60#).

[CaesarSPQR]

Nice. How did you get the bow from Peter Dekker? I searched, but found nothing.