Shooting tips...the hidden gems pt. 2

        One of the most important things that John Schulz reiterated over and over again to me in the shooting lessons was the aspect of being fluid.  He said being fluid can be like water, or syrup, different speeds but the idea was to maintain the fluid aspect throughout the entire shot process.  Mind you, this teaching was directed totally to shooting a longbow with a hunting perspective, and not target shooting.

       An archer has to keep in mind that the shooting of targets is part of our fun, our practice.  It's not simply shooting targets that deviates the target teaching methods currently in favor from the Hill hunting style shot, but rather the mental approach of shooting a fixed target over and over.  Grouping arrows. Consistency for dozens if not hundreds of shots.  The benefit of a target that will never move during the time it takes to get set and shoot an arrow. 

       We shoot at targets to ingrain the system into our muscle memory and train the eye, but our mental approach should be to practice with a hunting mentality and that's where being fluid comes into focus. This approach to shooting targets, which can be a dandelion in a field or a face on a bale, used for practicing hunting style shots is to be always remembered as a different approach than tournament target style.  And also remember that 3d shooting wasn't popular when Hill and Schulz taught, but the approach to 3d is similar to field archery common in their day, in its methods of shooting stationary targets at unmarked ranges. The end result of target tournament shooting is a score, whether written or kept in the shooter's head, versus an animal reduced to possession.

      As Schulz watched me shoot the bales, the roving shots, the intricate and the moving shots, he never said a word about anchor points or back tension or anything along those lines. He wasn't negligent, as he said over and over, "Nate, slow down, you're shooting too quickly, be fluid but more like syrup than water".  He was watching closely, but only keyed on the things that were important to the Hill method and as long as I wasn't too far off, there was no reason to change things. Eventually I asked him about my release, if I was doing it right, because I couldn't quite get my thumb under the ear at anchor like he did in the video.

      "Nate,  I wish I'd never had said that in the video.  I've received many questions about how to do it right and when I realized that people get more static in their approach to get the double anchor correct, that's had the opposite effect than I wanted. People are trying to get both anchors accomplished before they release and are thinking too much at the shot about things other than the target".  John went on to remind me what he said... "that if you learn to do it right, in reality you'll have two reference points, or two anchors".  The reference point is the key thing.  Not the anchor.  Anchor implies being stationary, being static.  A stopping point of sorts.  Anchoring the shot.  While this is desired in tournament target style of shooting, it's the opposite of what is desired in the fluid, sometimes fast and reactionary style of shooting needed to shoot game under varied conditions.

        Schulz said "that if you learn to do it right"....  He said to me that what he meant was you'd eventually arrive at a place where you recognized two reference points as your hand came back.  One was the initial contact on the face (the area around the corner of the mouth) and the secondary reference point is the thumb under the jaw...as that second position anchors the shot. Here is the point that I referenced in the earlier "gems" blog where I mention that someone can forget to say or teach something they are doing and later realize what they should have said.  John recognized sometime after the video went out that he should've clarified this part of the teaching.  That's why I'm saying it here as I believe it's a key part to being fluid, as he continued to tell me and some others of his students.

       As you are drawing the bow, pulling with the rear of the shoulder more than the rhomboids of the middle back, there is no need to consciously shift the attention or focus of the draw to different sets of muscles.  Concentration should be on the target at all times, not on form. (Unless you're just form shooting at the blank bale).  If the concentration is full on the target, the first reference point is the area of the corner of the mouth, but the draw doesn't stop there. The pulling continues as the fingers release the string and the natural recoil allows the hand to go back to the second reference point...thumb under the jaw, which in reality anchors the shot. This is done in one smooth fluid motion.  Consistency of draw before the fingers release happens when the mind recognizes (through much practice) the fingers start the release when the face is touched. Back tension allows a pull through dynamic release and the hand is never allowed to drift back beyond the second "anchor" of thumb under the jaw.  That's just enough movement to continue the proper tension needed for a crisp release, but not enough movement to allow a jerky release.  Just enough of a first reference point to keep the string from being released prematurely and correctly align the nock of the arrow under the eye and the string pulled to full draw.

       Where this approach to shooting is so important and different from other teaching, is that there is a dynamic part of the release, which remains fluid even during the release of the string off the fingers, on the way to a static, consistent anchoring of the shot.  Two parts. This dynamic fluidity allows for minute adjustments in the field as reactionary shots take place yet there remains a solid anchor to the shot. By that I mean that the release hand isn't flopping around at the release, causing plucks or short draws.  The hand stays in the face as Schulz's video and Hill's teaching says to do. If we release without a place for the hand to end up, where is it going ? Teaching today says to touch your shoulder. That's a lot of rearward movement that has to be very consistent to allow accurate shooting. Can you concentrate on a target so well that you do not know if your hand touches your shoulder the same every time?  Probably not. So if you're thinking about the hand touching the shoulder after you release, where is your concentration prior to release? Probably not fully on the target, where it should be and this will affect hunting accuracy to put the arrow in a live target that may only give you a second or two to shoot.  

       Holding an anchor at the corner of the mouth, to make sure you retain a consistent release turns into a static, motion-stopper. Then you must restart the motion rearward to get a good release. Hence the need for a clicker or extra thought process in the shooting steps.  Why not just perform a single fluid motion in which you never stop pulling the string, the muscles of the rear shoulder and back never lose tension, and the release happens on the way to a solid anchoring of the shot at completion.  To me, this lesson gem by Schulz is of paramount importance to a dynamic, fluid, Hill style shot. 

       If this approach is taken, then you can see in his video in the first form shots that his first "anchor" isn't really that.  It's almost floating, but if you look at the arrow point, the arrow is drawn fully the same each time.  His draw length doesn't change even if his first "anchor" varies slightly.  The pulling of the string continues to the secondary reference point or the "anchor" of the shot.  You can see variations of this same style and form of shooting by Hill in his various movie shorts.  Whatever the shot situation that may dictate the first reference point to be flexible, the second reference point anchor is the "real" anchor.  One of John's students told me he and John discussed this for probably 30 or so minutes...that anchor is probably a bit of a monomer, insofar as thinking it precipitates the release.  In reality anchor is after the release, when the dynamic process has stopped.  I can't think of a better way to say it.  

       This explains the shooting sequence I've mentioned before in which John drew his arrows to full length, but his fingers were not touching his face as they began letting go of the string.  With each shot upon release, the string hand moved slightly back to its resting place at the secondary anchor, thumb under the jaw and the shot was finalized.  This is dynamic consistency of form, without needing to stop the draw or shot cycle at any point to retain that consistency.  I like to remember Tom Schulz's words for it...."a deepening of anchor".  That's what it is.  A moving from one reference point to another as the string is released. This is the basic Hill form as John outlines. One moving targets he gave permission to be flexible and move according to and in rhythm with the target which may vary the anchor or follow-through somewhat.

The more that this is practiced and ingrained into the mind and muscle memory, the better shot that one can become, especially in a hunting situation where there is little time to think, but consistent form is needed for accuracy.  Practice this, especially with the thought of hunting in mind, even if you're shooting the targets in the back yard or on the 3d range. Practice shooting fluid and allowing the release to happen as you pull through the first anchor into your second anchor.  Your hits will improve in the kill zone and your hunting success will improve as well. With the better, more dynamic release, you'll probably find, as myself and others have found, a benefit of shooting a wider variety of arrow spines straight to the target. With this second gem, hidden in plain sight but not really explained by John, you'll be thinking, Wow...that's really important to a great shot.  You'd be partially right, but the string hand isn't the most important.  Remember...Hill was quoted as saying "the secret is in the hands".  Until the next gem...

       Shoot Straight.