I had my first lesson with MJ Rogers this past Friday. I learned so much in two hours-I can't believe how much my shot sequence has improved already.
I am now using the 'barrel of the gun' set up...
I have an open stance and square my shoulders up to the target.
I pull slightly on the string with my left hand to create tension and feel responding pressure from the riser in my right hand. With the tension in my left arm I make a right angle with my left elbow and flex my wrist while my thumb and fingers are curled neatly around the tab. Any fingers not on the string are curled back towards my wrist.
At this point I raise the bow from left to right across the target and in the process, I am drawing back on the string.
By the time I am at my anchor point, with the string resting along the right side of my nose, I should only have to expand internally, like a spring compressing between my shoulder blades.
Once that expansion happens, and the clicker goes off, the string should leap out of my fingers while the arrow flies to the target.
But in the space of seconds between shots, I forget things.
I forget to check the pressure on the string from my fingers. Too much of a deep hook will block the string and too shallow of a string hook will kill my fingers.
I have to find the balance between keeping my riser stable and not gripping it.
I also forget to check the distribution of weight in my feet.
I would really love it if I could remember to swing my shoulder back along that tightrope of bones I am trying to construct with each shot.
Shooting like this is different than any shooting I've ever done before. I can feel my muscles responding differently because their supporting bones in the different positions than before. My upper traps gets sore very fast and so do my shoulder blades. And tonight at practice I could feel my left deltoid muscle working in a way I've never felt it work. But overall it feels much better to be shooting off my bone structure as opposed to muscle alone.
MJ had me shoot fairly close to the target and so that's what I'm doing now. Perfecting in close proximity and than challenging myself with some distance. Because I finally understand, that if you can't perfect it up close, how can you shoot well at 70m, when there are more variables at play with the arrow and your shot sequence?
Lastly, I'm teaching myself not to aim. I may glance briefly at my sight aperture but I am more interested in watching the arrow slide past the clicker as I feel the string slipping past my fingers towards the target. If I have lined up everything correctly my bow may even give me a bit of flip forward as a finish.
Lots to practice and learn!
