Shooting Tip Gems...hidden in plain sight

     One thing that I keep finding out when shooting in the Hill style, is that so many things I do when shooting, I take for granted.  I don't focus on them as something to practice, as they happen naturally during my progression.  When I step back and listen to what John Schulz said, in his video, to myself and others in private conversations, I realize that same thing happened to him.  As it does to most teachers of physical sports.  We tend to forget to say what we are doing, we forget to say sometimes, what and why the process is because it has become a part of us.

     If someone asked to you explain one of the simplest of everyday hand and eye coordinated movements that you do every day, in detail, you surely would forget some of those details in your explanation. If someone recorded your explanation for you to examine later, you would recognize the omitted items.  It happens to all of us.  So it happened to Howard Hill in his lessons to Schulz and also Schulz's lessons to us.  We see things on film that were not explained during the film. So there is much to be gleaned from private conversations and sharing of those conversations as they apply to our circumstances.  One thing that Schulz told me about bowmaking...he said he noticed things that Howard omitted, that became incorporated in John's own bowmaking. (as he understood where they applied).  Here is some more of that knowledge, a couple of hidden gems that we see in John's video, but are not explained there.

    The first has to do with body position in relation to the target.  John stressed what Howard stressed, the angle of the bow arm shoulder to the target...90 degrees.  That never varies, whatever your body or shot angle position.  It is a constant for proper control of the bow via shoulder strength position.  But what John didn't mention is the core strength of the body to help stabilize and control the shot.  When I see some of the body positions taken by hunting archers in shooting, and some of the instinctive shooting coaching where the archer faces the target relatively square-on...I see a weak, sloppy, floating bow arm.  Hill's lessons taught by Schulz were to enable a strong stable platform.  In the video of John's first form shots, you can't really see what he was doing with his core...but the full body shooting shots during the speed shooting show his stance in relation to the target.

      John told students over the years in some of his private lessons, about dropping the rear foot off the perpendicular 90 degree line to the target.  This is visible in the speed shooting sequence. If this happens, before the bow is even raised, it forces the body to be faced further than 90 degrees to the target and to get back to 90 degrees the body has to twist slightly.  This tightens the core muscles of the body, brings the shoulder around in a strong position and absolutely ensures that the bow arm shoulder is in a strong, stable position.  This is contrary to teaching by Mr. Fred Asbell, whom I admire, in which Fred taught just the opposite.  I've always wondered why, when Fred actually took shooting lessons from John in the Hill style.  Maybe Fred didn't want to do it, maybe thought his way was better, but I find it very interesting that Fred acknowledged over the years that he had fits shooting a Hill style longbow.  I wonder if his bow arm shoulder was a key element in his difficulties?  Interesting to ponder.  Anyway, this is something that John doesn't say, he just shows what to do.

      And now one of the greatest tips I think John ever taught, visible in the video, but not mentioned in its entirety...    you'll have to read in part 2.

       Shoot straight.