I've got a hunch.... Have you?

       I've got a hunch, and it's about shooting a longbow in the hunting Hill method versus the commonly taught, current target style of shooting which has been incorporated into the methods of longbow shooting being taught on various mediums.  The hunch...  Hill had one...  I shoot with a hunch, do you?

      What is the hunch?  I liken it to what Hill said when he said he shot his bows and arrows like you "shoot 'em with a shotgun".  If you take one of his photos...and pick one because there's many, he is in the posture of a shotgun swinging clay shooter or bird hunter.  Rounded shoulders, head tilted downward and eye over the arrow, bow arm is low and supportive like he's holding the forestock of his gun.  

     Hill is "hunched" over.  Notice how low his bow arm is coming from the shoulder socket.  Bob Wesley keyed on this factor as vital to the Hill form.  Schulz shows it but didn't elaborate on it much.  But the hunch is there.  It's a compressing of the upper body, shoulders, spine, neck and head.  It's a stomach crunch to tighten the core.  It's all these things which happen in a split second sometimes but it is a very powerful stance in a different way than the erect target shooting stance promoted by teachers today.  Look at this photo of Hill, alongside Ted Ekin to his right and Dick Garver to Hill's left.  Notice their head and shoulder position compared to Hill's.  Hill is hunched over, they are not.

   

               And a few more...

        Why is this position so powerful and not taught by instructors today?  Well...it's not as popular as the "bone on bone" structural alignment taught by instructors teaching target / tournament style archery where you have all the time necessary to get off a shot.  In the target method, the bow is raised towards the target, the string hand reaches forward and draws the string back.  The drawing hand elbow and arm is reaching forward...a very compromised position to begin a draw...not nearly as powerful as drawing the string with the arms in a lower position.  "Bone on bone" alignment makes for a steady shot...basically almost rock steady. Therein is the issue.  Lost is the fluid form vital to the Hill system to make the fast-paced moving or flying shots.  The shots where the action is quick response with little forethought.  Target form means setting up a shot situation to allow the necessary time and body position to get everything aligned and just right before a shot can happen.  Gone is the fluid reaction to the situation at hand.  

      Here again, I refer the ready to Steve Graf's book "The American Longbow".  Chapter 13. He discusses the stability of muscles holding the bow instead of skeletal support.  Get it and read it.

        The Hill method of shooting with a low bow shoulder, starting the draw from a lower arm position and being fluid will allow a heavier bow weight to be controlled.  The muscles are holding the bow, not the skeletal structure of the "bone on bone" system.  

       The very best image I have to prove my point on the power and fluid mobility of this stance and form...a boxer or martial artist throwing a uppercut- jab - punch at the opponent's jaw or throat.  The extreme power is all there; the push of the arm, the low shoulder, bent elbow and hand in a position similar to holding a longbow.  The blow is struck with the arm still bent.  The force of the blow is absorbed in the bent elbow and shoulder girdle.  The last photo of Hill looks like he just threw a punch.  The power of his heavy bows is easily handled by the muscles...no need for "bone on bone" and a lightweight bow because the bones can't handle the shock of the bow recoil.  His bow recoil is all absorbed by the muscles...as it should be.  The shoulder deltoid and triceps muscles are very strong for a fluid motion "push" or "punch".  The Hill shooting form allows powerful fluidity.  

        Gym goers working on their shoulder routines and triceps will use a cable machine, pushing out against the weight.  Their shoulders are low in the socket as they swing up against the weight, the arm bent.  You do not see them straightening their arms to a locked-out position. That's hard on elbows.  The following photo is of the late Arne Moe.  An archery instructor who taught shooting a longbow as "bone on bone" rigid form.  I would think with this shooting form he was limited to lightweight bows and his joints susceptible to the shock.  

        Another view of proper target shooting form as taught today.  Very rigid and different looking to how Hill taught.  And remember...shooting fast is not necessarily Hill style.  Fast and fluid shooting is a product that comes with time and thousands upon thousands of shots.   

        I see quite a few shooters of longbows today, leaning over their bows and arrows.  Sometimes the archer is bent 45* at the waist. This isn't to be confused with the "hunch".   A Hillstyle hunch can be done almost totally in the vertical position, but the stomach crunch / core-tightening move and the compressing of the upper body along with the bent, downward facing bow arm elbow and foreward tilting head is a dead giveaway to proper Hill style form.  Watch Tom Schulz shoot his arrows in the Schulz video...his upper body is hunched and he's standing fairly erect.  Beautiful and powerful,  ready for fluid movement as the shot may call for.  Another good source to see great Hillstyle hunch is on Youtube.  Reme Raymond aka Wilderness 70 Howard Hill style shooting videos.  He shows a lot of shot angles from the rear, which really helps the visual aspect of what to look for.   The hunch allows for a fluid adaptive shot in the various body positions one may find themselves in the field when shooting at game.

       Try it for yourself...learn the hunch.  Pretend you're shooting a shotgun and someone took the gun and slid a bow into your hands mid-shot.  Learn to tighten the stomach a bit as you draw...It helps to exhale slightly as you compress (another lesson to come).  Learn to drop that eye down over the arrow like it's the gun barrel.  Remember what it feels like to point your bow arm elbow more downward than sideways...between 7-8:00 instead of 9:00 position.  Feel the power of a boxer's punch...all muscle controlling the bow.  Suddenly the bow will feel lighter to draw as you are drawing the bow while swinging up the arm to "punch".

            I've got a hunch... that if you work on this, you'll get a hunch as well, to

            Shoot Straight.