Shooting at 20 meters and some Bulls Eyes!

I made progress today! I measured out 10 meters from my target and shot my first round of arrows. All 5 hit the target and 2 hit the bulls eye! I'm finally doing something right here I thought! (You bet I took pictures! Sidenote: I sent one in a text to my husband and he'll think I'm strange ;) Then naturally my next 10 rounds were not as stellar but I was hitting the target more often. Really beats hunting arrows in the woods since my fletching basically blends into the leaves.

Then I thought, what have I to lose? I'll go out to 20 meters. So I measured it and finished my hour of archery with 2 more bulls eyes and lots of groupings on the ground on the hill. Super beats hunting arrows in the woods!

What did I do differently? I think that everything was so fresh in my mind when I started shooting that I wasn't thinking specifically about all the little points to remember. I don't even remember checking my feet or even noticing my peripheral vision when I shot my first round. It all just came together in sort of a tunnel vision. Then I think I missed more as the hour went on because I started thinking too much about what I was doing. That is not say I don't need to concentrate but I should allow the correct muscle memory to take over and simply aim.

My anchor point is bugging me-sometimes my bow string slapped my chin, even my chest. I'm trying to figure out if it's better to curl my fingers after my release like Khatuna Lorig does or if I should keep them straight like one of the top female Chinese archers. I don't remember what I was doing when I hit the bulls eye and maybe I should keep it that way for now.

I definitely need to remember to aim lower. I have a traditional bare bow right now. I can't see my way to shelling out more money for a sight to take the guesswork out of aiming but it really affects my aim. I have to consciously remember to aim lower than I am inclined in order to hit the target. Until I get a sight and it becomes part of the muscle memory to aim down I am going to be shooting over the target or hitting the ground a lot.

I think when I first meet this recurve coach I've been e-mailing, I'll ask him to tune up my bow. I'm curious if the brace height is correct and if it's affecting the flight of my arrows. I also need to know which color fletching should be up when I nock my arrow. I remember hearing something specific in some video on you tube but I can't find it now and it doesn't seem to matter when I shoot. But it is rubbing against my bow creating marks.

So next time-aim lower, lower, lower!