November 4 2012
We had a great Pumpkin shoot last week-cold and windy, but the pumpkins , ghosts, and zombies were pummelled!
Eye focus-what are you aiming at?
Seems so simple, doesn’t it? Just aim at the gold and
release!
Then why don’t all the arrows land in that sweet spot in the
center?
Yes there are many factors in form that need to be
addressed, but learning the technique for aiming can add improved results. The
goal is to hit the target…so, be sure you are aiming at a very specific
point on the target-not the aperture,
not toward a target area, but a very specific point. Aiming is not done
until the archer reaches “hold”. Aiming before that, produces inconsistent results.
Aiming requires just a few seconds- but does require the few seconds, and we
teach the basic 1,2,3 timing from the beginning.
Look around at trees, flags, items
moved by wind. Feel the wind on your skin at “set”. The decision to aim at the
x, or slightly off, is made at this point, not at full draw. Consciously
getting to hold, then allow the time to focus through the aperture to the point you are aiming at (and if windy, that
point may be a little left, right, above, below). For barebow shooters-although
there is no focus through the
aperture-the training is the same.
A common break in eye focus is watching the arrow in
flight-a quick turn of the head results in a change of eye focus right at the
last second, changing the aiming point. Eyes should remain on the target
at the chosen aiming point –“laser pointed”; head remains steady, fingers are
released by the last rotation of the scapula to the spine.
We
will review some focus drills students can do at home and in practice, to gain a
calm, relaxed “moment of stillness”, and avoid the natural incessant scanning
of the eye. Take a look at Brady Ellison and how his eye focus remains at the target after the release of the arrow.
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