Anchor vs. Anchor Point

Here recently I have been watching and listening to some top-level archery coaches and one little thing that I have found is how they view the anchor point is quite different than how many “Traditional” archers do.

Now, before I go any further I must say that I’m not an Olympic archer, nor do I use their system. But I do employ different concepts from them into my shot cycle. So, to an Olympic Archer, yes, I do know that I’m not following the exact meaning or use of how you do it. Rather, I’m taking it and adapting it to what I do.

First let me ask you a few questions:

• What is your anchor?
• What is your anchor point?
• What is the purpose of your anchor point?
• Why did you choose that location for your anchor point?

For most the answer to the first question is the second question.

For the second question, the most answer will be corner of the mouth or somewhere around there.

For the third question, most will answer that it ensures they draw the same every time

For the fourth question, if you are like me, will have no real reason besides, that is what everyone does.

So why an anchor and anchor point? You see in Olympic archery they have both. The anchor point is a place where you hand Is when you are at anchor. Make sense, right?

So, what is your Anchor?

Your anchor is when you are at Skeletal Alignment or Bone on Bone.

To see what I mean, raise your arms like you are holding a bow and move your draw elbow back till you reach skeletal alignment. That position there, the skeletal alignment, that is your anchor. You will also notice that your hand is past your traditional anchor point. More on that later.

We all know the shot cycle, right? Lift the bow, draw and then anchor. Notice it did not say, “Lift the bow, draw then Anchor Point”. But that is what we do right?

By doing it our way, we draw, reach our anchor point and then try to reach skeletal alignment. If you are like me, your mind is busy at this point trying to figure out if you hit that alignment or not. In fact, on some shots your mind is racing isn’t it? We are far from relaxed and calm and it affects our shot.

Instead, what we should be doing is drawing, reaching anchor and then you set your anchor point. Yes, I know that is a small difference, but it can really help.

 

The Secret to Instinctive Archery

The Secret to Instinctive Archery is your Shot Cycle (a Shot Cycle is everything you do to shoot an arrow), plain and simple. I have the books, the DVD’s, I have been to seminars and all I ever heard or read was for you to “Focus on the Target”. Let me tell you I have been doing that and guess what, I was not getting any better. I was getting frustrated, I had plateaued and I had no clue as to what to do next.

 Being an Instructor myself (I train people in Muay Thai and I teach kids Martial Arts) for the past twenty years I know a thing or two about teaching / learning.  So I thought about it and found the one group that trains the most archers, the Olympics.  To train a large number of people you need to have …… a system. One that is repeatable, adaptable, teachable.

 What I found is that they have broken the Shot Cycle into different phases or parts. This simple revelation has helped me get past that plateau and has helped me to teach archery in a more efficient manner (yes, I teach archery for a leadership group by of West Point). I took what they did and adapted it to what I do and it is a great tool to help you clean up your shooting.

 The beauty of this was proven yet again yesterday for me. I was at the range and I was shooting like crap. The worst I have done in a long time. Instead of getting frustrated, I went over my shot cycle, step by step, I got better as I went and I fixed a nagging problem I have had. Ever since I switched to the under the chin anchor, from time to time, my arrows will fishtail, not all the time just some. I couldn’t figure it out and neither could those I asked, wrote to or even those I had watch me shoot. No, it was re-focusing on my shot cycle. I realized what was causing it was my Anchor. For some reason I would let the bottom of my hand turn out, which in turn twisted the string slightly and when I released the arrow, this twist would undo and cause the fishtailing.  

 Want to get better, then write down and practice your shot cycle, know it inside and out, so when things go wrong you won’t be in the dark as to why.

 Here is the Shot Cycle: (Now I could go for days on each, but I won’t)

 STANCE: How you stand can and will affect your shot. There are many ways to stand and yes, over time you will be able to shoot from almost any position. The point is that when you are learning or trying to get better you need to use the same stance every time. Remember the more variations in your shot cycle will show up in your accuracy.

 NOCKING THEW ARROW: How you not doesn’t really affect accuracy and can be done how you like.

 GRIP THE BOW: An often over looked area. How you grip you bow really does affect you shot. Squeeze too much on your pinky and you’ll shoot low, too much on the index and you’ll go high. The grip should be firm but relaxed. The bow should not be able to move around in your hand. You can take you fingers out of it altogether. The key is to grip the bow the same way each time.

 GRIPPING THE STRING: Again, there are many ways to grip the string; Split Finger, Three Under, Pinch, Thumb Ring, etc. The key is to ensure that you grip it the same way every time.

 SET POSITION: This is the stage where you’re ready to draw, at this point in time you start to “Focus” on the target, this one is more mental than physical.

 DRAWING: Many ways to draw, Low, Middle or High. But do you do it the same way each time?

 ANCHORING: Again many ways, but is you’re the same each time?

 HOLDING: If you’re not a snap shooter, you do this, it might only be for a second or two. When in this stage you should feel the pressure through your arm and into your shoulder. I you feel the pressure on your arm and chest, you have not “locked it in” and your accuracy will suffer. This is what many people mean when they say “Use you Back muscles”

 RELEASE / FOLLOW THROUGH: There is a nice debate on this, when you release does your hand stay put or move back to your shoulder? I find myself doing one way for a while and then the other and my accuracy shows it.

 FEEDBACK: After you have shot think about the cycle and how it felt. If it was good then try to duplicate it. If the shot was bad, think about how it felt and see what was different.

You will learn it, when you are ready to learn it

Besides archery I also studied a Japanese sword art and in that art they have a philosophy of “You will learn it, when you are ready to learn it” and I have found that to be true in Archery also.

 What they mean is that you may know it, but you have yet to understand it fully, absorb it into you, and make it a part of you. To learn takes time and practice and only through those two can you learn.

 I still remember when I learned how to draw with my back instead of my hand. For that was the day I went from an average archer to a better than average (I will never admit to being “good” or better than anyone else) archer. I knew how to draw using my back, I could tell you how to and all about why you should do it, I thought I knew it and believed I was doing it.

 At the time I was an okay shot, but the vast majority of time I was always just off to the right of where I wanted (I shoot instinctive).  Because I thought I had my shot cycle down, I just knew it had to be the spine of my arrows and the fact that I never “tuned” my bow that was causing me to miss. 

 Well guess what, even after doing that I was still off to the right. That was when I realized that something had to be off in my shot cycle. It baffled me, I tried all different types of things to no avail. This went on for a few months, then one day at the range, I drew the bow and it just felt different, a good different, I just knew that this was going to be a good shot, and it was. I thought about how it “felt” physically and drew again trying to get that same feeling, which I did and got the same result.

 All I could do was smile because I realized that I was finally ready to learn how to draw using my back. Yep, what I was really doing was my pulling the string back with my hand, not my back. That was the problem all along. It was something I thought I knew how to do, but in reality I wasn’t ready to learn it.