Some thoughts and Instagram

1.) I've been reading this article to learn all I can about tuning because my carbon foam Winex limbs are verrry different than my fiber glass/wood Samick Privilege limbs. Almost makes me miss those twigs.

almost

2.) I have some equipment changes/experimentation in the works=lots of tuning at the range. And it's absolutely lovely when used equipment comes with no manual. And I end up googling everything. Did I mention I am not a natural "tinkerer" and am learning all of this as I go along?

3.) I have accomplished almost every archery related goal that i set out for myself in 2016. And I still have 5 months left to complete the last, which is to set up my blog on a new blogging platform with my own custom domain. It's good to see where I'm headed and know what to do to get there. I am on Instagram (I practically read it like the daily news these days) and I've already met several archers from around the world through it. It's also how I watched the archery matches in the olympics thanks to Crystal Gauvin posting videos of it online.

Reality Check

I fell prey to a terrible trap for new archers. We see archers competing on the world circuit and analyze every.single.thing.about.them. How do they stand? Which brand do they use? Are those foam or wood limbs? Her release is like that but his release is like that. And what is their poundage?

We totally forget that most of these archers have been shooting for a very long time and have earned that high poundage.

Then other more experienced archers tell you, it's not about the poundage. It's about the form. The poundage will come with strength gained from proper form; however only injury will come from shooting too much poundage too soon.

I heard the more experienced archers, worked really hard at achieving the strength to increase poundage and then it sunk in...it really isn't about the numbers. You don't need fancy equipment. It just needs to be tuned. And then you need to work very hard.

I had to make a judgement call this past Sunday. I had intended to find my 70m sight mark and also tune my bow with new Winex limbs. I had literally started the process of sighting in different distances when another archer showed up and advised me to choose. She pointed out I would reach the 70m faster in the long run with the Winex limbs because of the speed, but I would be struggling with the heavier poundage and would have to wait a bit to actually reach 70m.

Do you see my dilemma?

If I can't shoot 70m yet, there is no state competition for me end of August. I would focus the rest of the summer on distances such as 40m and so on until I reach it. The reason why I am over complicating this is because I want to compete safely. And I don't want to lose my arrows needlessly in the field trying to find my sight marks. I also am having head placement problems. My arrows keep grouping right and I am troubleshooting it, some pun intended there.

My gut is telling me I need to focus on strength training with these new limbs to handle the weight. And since so much of archery is instinctual, I am going to trust my gut and let go of attending state in August. My new long term goal is to master this current poundage (again the number is NOT important) by this time next year without losing any of the form I've worked so hard to build. And if I can only tackle 70m next August, then so be it.

I do not care if I don't screw my limb bolts in for another 4 years to increase the poundage and maximize the limbs. I would rather shoot with strength and perfect form now then hurt myself and risk never shooting again or for a very long time.

The higher poundage will always come. And something tells me, call it instinct, that my coach and 2 others archers I trust, and my gut will all concur when that time comes.

Rio 2016 Olympic thoughts and Form Updates

Like everyone else, I am very excited for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympics. I have it all planned out, where I will watch the opening ceremonies with my family and with this drink  in hand. I saw archery for the first time watching the Atlanta Games in 1996. Athough I don't remember watching the archery finals in the olympics (were they even covered?), I do remember features on the American men's recurve team. I stayed up late to watch the USA women's gymnastics team win team gold and Kerri Strug's vaults and injury. It's a very special memory for me because not only was it in my home country but also introduced me to the world of competitive sports. And now one of the men going is from my very own state too! Go Zach! Good luck to all our teams and all the athletes competing in Rio, from other countries, that as I know as well! It's not all about the gold, it's about good sportsmanship too!

On that note, last time I met my archery club, a friend took some videos of me. I can finally feel my back tension! It took a lot of picturing it, description from my coach and trying to mimic motions sans bow. I started to cover ground, figuratively, pretty fast at the range. My focus is now 90% on my back muscles and how they compress versus aiming alone. But do you know how hard it is to watch a video of your progress and see how much farther you have to go? I am very happy with all the progress I've made and I know to phrase everything I still need to learn positively in my journal. It's all about the positive reinforcement. 

I took myself to MJ Rogers for another lesson. It was hot, super sunny (I have the sunburn to prove it) and not a ton of shade when you are surrounded by corn fields, but every once in awhile a cool breeze blew by us. I practice relatively close to the target there. Then MJ walks around and corrects my technique or demonstrates the right technique. Today I was focusing on my release. Apparently I was wasting energy letting my hand go to far behind my head. But if I can harness it and stop it at the right point, I can maintain alignment, angular motion around my spine, and have a much cleaner shot. Then I can shoot A LOT more arrows without getting tired half as fast.

Speaking of arrows...I ordered more Easton Apollos since half of mine are buried in the archery club field, haha! Due to a measuring error, on my part, I told Lancaster Archery's made to order service a number shorter than my draw length according to their system. MJ pointed out that the shorter length was actually better for me and I was pulling through the clicker a lot more. So my draw length is a little bit shorter than 28" now. I am not hung up about the number as long as it gives me the results I want. I'm trying out Spider Vanes which are really durable. Pink Easton pin nocks still. I'm thinking I may stick with this set up for a lot longer than I originally thought. I eventually want to try a barreled arrow and am leaning towards Easton A/C/Es. Apparently X10s won't do me any good until I am at least 40lbs in draw weight. I'm all for that because it will save me money as I get stronger and increase my draw weight.

Something told me that I was shooting higher than the 30# draw weight marked on my limbs. MJ hooked a scale on my string and drew an arrow through the clicker. After the 3 pulls through the clicker the average weight was around 32#s. And there was still room to bottom out my limb bolts. So we screwed them in all the way and low and behold, it cranked my humble 30# limbs up to 34#s! This has been a major goal for me to reach this year. I wanted to reach it by the end of the year and here I am already at it in mid summer! It feels SO GOOD! Better yet, I found a pair of 34# Winex limbs for cheap on eBay and they are on their way to me. So with a little bit readjustment I can pop those lovely, smooth Winex limbs on to my riser and shoot. I'm hoping I can crank them out to about 38#s before I replace them with a higher poundage limb. But I'll have to see how the Winex's behave. 

It's amazing how things come together suddenly. I'll be trudging along, running into walls, wondering what am I doing wrong? why aren't things working out? Turns out I needed to be stubborn and put in some long hard hours at the range this summer to reach my poundage goal for the year. In other ways my life has been sifted. I thought I had picked out the right degree program and found a great job for me. Then poof! the job went up in smoke and the degree program I am currently in could not be a worse choice for me. It was for a safe job and definitely needed by the world, but dear Lord I could never sit at a desk for that long cranking away at logs and numbers and policies and government regs. Give me sunshine, fresh air, nature, and room to stretch! I realized I had already started the right path back when I received my NASM CPT. But I need to learn more, receive more certs in different forms of exercise and conditioning and performance, and a bachelors in exercise science. I really want my bachelors but I also want it to be in the right field for me. Luckily I found a completely online program that fits the bill. I will start my courses Aug 8. 

So I will learn everything I can about exercise and how it helps us use our bodies to the fullest. I use it on my own life as much as I can-listening to my body told me I was eating too much and when I decreased my portions and kept moving, I lost a few stubborn pounds. I also have been doing lots of pilates sessions on the reformer with my pilates teacher for overall strength to shoot better and love the results I see, not only in my shooting, but in my muscles. I am so much stronger and leaner than I used to be. And I am not hung up about the number on the scale. I've been skinny weak-literally a wraith, due to depression and anxiety, and I've been skinny strong. I know which one I prefer. I proved this to myself fighting the wind on a nearby lake as I steered a standup paddle board for two hours. That's no joke people. It's a full body workout, like archery, and keeping myself upright meant I was so sore the next day! There were a few times when I thought I might lose my balance but I bent my knees to absorb the shock of the waves. If I could absorb the shock, I wouldn't fall. I'm looking forward to using that knowledge on dry land too. 

So lots of good things happening-physically and mentally in my life! I am so thrilled to be in this brain space; I am old enough to know myself and what I want, and young enough to chase my dreams. I'm going to do what I love doing and see where it leads to me. And it's going to be dang near impossible to dissuade me. No rose colored glasses on my face, I simply think this is the only way to live life. 

Practice Goals

***Edit*** 
A fellow archery club friend informed me that I will only be shooting at 70m at the State championship. Gulp-better move that sight soon!

I've decided to compete at my state championship later in August. This means more practice and more focus all around.

I've been working for so long on my form that I've haven't sighted in different distances. The competition takes place at 50m, 60m, and 70m. I have 50m figured out but not dialed into incrementally. The others will come as soon as the weather cooperates. Today it was raining off and on and the wind was just strong enough that I didn't want to risk any long distances. As soon as I have another day, I will work at sighting in 60m.

Apart from safety, the other reason for not risking arrows in the wind is I am low on them. Nocks have popped off and I may have lost a point or two to an arrow kiss with a target stand. Time to re-glue and in some cases I will have to re-fletch. Note to self-order twice the amount of spare parts you think you will need because you will inevitably use them up. I'm sticking to the cheap stuff for now because I really want my next major purchase to be new limbs. I've reconciled myself that it may not be as high as 34# but I will make the first jump by the end of the year. Still using Easton Apollo carbon shafts for now although I could see myself playing around with carbon ones, next time I order. I'm also interested in trying out a few other brands. No point in spending money on items I'll use up very fast. I am tempted to try these vanes but not until they cost less than my arrows. Lastly, I may need to invest in a jig for accurate vane placement and strings-ugh, I need to learn more about how bow strings are made and string count and all that jazz.

My shot sequence is coming along! The work will never end there but for now, I've figured out muscle position to align that tightrope of bones between my arms and shoulders. Remembering to shift my weight makes a huge difference. I couldn't figure out why my arrows were hugging the upper right side of my blank bale and I've realized there are so many planes that I have to line up between my bow and my body. If one thing is off everything will be off. My arrows were going to the right because my release was very sloppy and was my string alignment. It's tighter now but still evolving. I've watched so many archers now to learn form that I don't want to force my hand and shoulder to move a way that isn't natural to me. I tried out a few things today with my release that seemed natural and made my arrows fly straighter and group better. Once I'm comfortable with the release I'll make it tighter and repeat it over and over.

I'm hoping to have another archery lesson before state and show my coach major improvement from our previous lesson.

Shot Sequence Update

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!

Watching and Waiting

Like most archery fans I'm keeping tabs on the USA olympic trials and all the athletes competing. One female recurve archer from my own club placed 9th at the Arizona cup. The final scores were very close which shows how much talent is on the field. Best of luck to my fellow recurve gal and friend Darcy in the next tournament!

Despite tons of rain, switching jobs and parenting and deciding to go back to school, I have not forgotten my own archery dreams. Most of my training right now is visual. I'm watching videos like crazy of the best to learn technique and reading resources through kisikleeinternationalacademy.com to learn more technical aspects of each shot. For example, "transferring and holding" was very vague to me. But once a friend pointed out how my shoulders should move and I practiced with my bow trainer, it became more clear and I practiced the motion to obtain that familiar feeling in my back muscles over and over. I could finally see the results of mimicking the motion after shooting my bow this past week. I could set up with correct shoulder position and load, transfer and hold much better. There are other technical feats to chase now, like my release, which although a lot smoother, is still really sloppy.

I can only get to the range once a week now so most nights after my kids are in bed, I plug in my earbuds with my favorite music and pull out my finger tab and bow trainer. Although slightly different, I try to stay as close to the form I use on the field and after a few pulls of the third band on the bow trainer, I feel much looser and my back starts responding as it should. For me right now it's about quality over quantity, resistance training, visualizing the shot process and also trusting the process. I am so impatient but I've been told 'time is your friend'. I won't be moving higher in weight until I master 30#s. It may happen by the end of the summer or in December. Whenever it happens, I will gladly make the jump into 32# or 34# winex limbs. I can't WAIT to feel that smoothness from the carbon foam again. Light as a feather yet strong and quick.

I've noticed that most risers jump out of the archer's hand and into the finger sling after each shot. Right now mine doesn't. I would put weights on the end of the stabs except my riser doesn't want to seem to move at all after the shot and I am not gripping it tight at all. I'm curious to see after this season of outdoor shooting if that will change especially if I can get higher limbs by the end of the year.

So here's to another week of waiting, learning, bow training, technical reading on the shot sequence, new job training and general life all around. I can see it will all come together eventually. Can't wait to get back to the range!

2016 Archery Resolutions

Wow...I've had this blog 2 years and started it as a journal for my archery progress. I'd heard of other bloggers talking about blog analytics but thought, yeah right that'll never happen to me. At first, I didn't even make this blog public. Imagine my eyes bulging a foot in front of my head  shock as I saw I had viewers from Egypt? Hong Kong? Mexico! This is truly amazing. I've met quite a few archers from the US and other countries on tumblr and as one said recently though a message, 'Meeting archers online is always bittersweet.' But you never know, I have many travels in my future and I hope that the majority of them are archery related. And I will always try to reach out to fellow archers. That's what's so great about the archery community.

As everything else in my life is getting a revamp, why not the ol' blog too? Let's be honest, even my tumblr account colors make me cross eyed. I want to offer my readers a polished, quirky place to read about my journey and all things archery obsessed. I don't know about you all, but the airplane window template and the dandelions in the grass with the blue sky just aren't cutting it for me anymore.

Some equipment news-I finally managed to sell my yellow infitec challenger riser to a JOAD club in Florida. And my SF axiom + stabs and Beiter vbar, are on their way to another archer in California. Great thing about selling archery equipment? I suddenly had money to buy HMC+ stabs I found on archerytalk. I got them for a great deal (hi Scott!). I've ordered this vbar and the thing most archers seem to swear by, a bow trainer. There's no other way for me to build strength since my ceilings are too low for my bow and it's too cold to shoot outside. And honestly, shooting at an indoor range is a luxury right now so it doesn't happen often. Can I move here yet?

I really want Winex limbs. So archery resolution #2 for 2016 is to be at 34# draw weight by the end of the year. The only way I will get there is if I can pull a bow string or something similar every day. And the only way I can justify paying that much is if I can make a 4# jump. And get my family to chip in for maybe half the price? (Good thing Christmas and my birthday pretty much rub their backs together lol.) And with new limbs will come new arrows but I'll cross that  bill erm bridge when I come to it. I don't anticipate X10's happening this year.

So a recap:

Archery resolution #1:  to upgrade to HMC+ stabs
Archery resolution #2: to upgrade A Southpaw Archer Girl-make it worth reading and easy to navigate!
Archery resolution #2: to buy 34# Winex limbs by the end of  2016.   Accomplished in July 2016!

And that's only my archery list. But I'm already good on goal #1 on my other list-I passed my CPT exam! I'm starting out at a gym soon and I don't think "NEWBIE" could be written bigger on my forehead but I everyone starts somewhere! I've picked up Pilates seriously again and am loaning my new trainer my archery book put out by Kisik Lee and his team of coaches and archers. I'm really interested in getting more certifications through NASM and getting certified in Pilates too.

If you've hung in there with this post for this long I applaud you! Lots more to accomplish this year!

New Year, New Plans

Wow...2015 was one hell of a year. I faced major personal issues and although they are not resolved yet, some aspects of them will be closed soon. I am figuring out who I am, how I want to parent my kids and how to provide for them.

I started taking my certified personal trainer course last year and I will test out of it in 2 days. Then I can be hired at a gym as a trainer, build my business and provide for myself and my kids. I have a very strong desire to be my own boss, decide my own hours and be completely independent. It will take awhile to build my own business as a trainer but I am not afraid of hard work and sharing my passion about fitness and health with other people.

Archery is by no means going by the way side. But I learned some hard lessons. I learned after I had already been strength training awhile that I was on the wrong track for archery strength training. My upper back started getting much too built for my comfort, while I shook and struggled at a draw weight I had been shooting prior for months comfortably. It seriously freaked me out that I was building muscle that didn't help me shoot better. So I am training myself and doing pilates to help build long and lean muscle. I focus a lot on core and back strength. I will be working with much lighter weights than before so as to prevent my back muscles from getting any bigger. I will also be using my bow and hopefully a bow trainer once I can swing it, to gain the strength I need to increase draw weight. The weather is much warmer than normal for my area but still too cold to shoot outside. (Hey I'm not Korean and not on the Korean team!)

The most important lessons I learned last year is that success takes time, independence and skill take time to achieve and build. But there's nothing to be afraid of. I will stick with my crappy 30# limbs till I have mastered them and save and work my butt off to provide for my kids and save for these limbs at 68, 34#, mediums. The best deal brand new is on alternativess.com. But I will keep my eyes out for deals on used ones. I will also be on the hunt for a better stab set and then of course i will have to budget for new arrows along with the 34# limbs. I am already researching for indoor arrows to have at ready for competition next indoor season.

I joined tumblr recently! I found a bunch of other archers on it. It's a great way to share bits and spurts of info with pics quickly. It's very cool to see fellow recurve archers in other countries work hard to achieve their archery dreams too. My color scheme looks revolting but I am waiting on better pictures to update it.

Here's to a year of super hard work and hustle; this year I can be whom I choose to be!

My first local tournament-300 round

I participated yesterday in my first local tournament. I can honestly say, if it wasn't for a friend who was also competing i would not have made it all the way through.

It's been a difficult past 3 weeks and I am bone tired. Compound that with a tough back workout the day before, personal life issues flooding me, and rotten sleep....I was a real peace of work. I kept making excuses and telling people all sorts of weird things. But inside I was really mad at myself. Mad at not preparing better and mad that I was letting so many things effect my shooting. I had a conversation with my club president and i told him, 'I know I'm doing this for fun but I keep making excuses. But when you shoot you can't do that.' He said, 'You either shoot well or you don't.'

So although I walked away with a rotten score, I learned a very valuable lesson. It doesn't matter what is going on in your personal life, job hunting, and family issues. When you step up to the line you must be there to simply shoot and, to shoot well, your mind must be empty. I think I've heard every single major archer talk about this in one way or the other. This is the mental part of archery. And it's just as important as the physical preparation.

So my takeaway from this tournament-put on a good face away from the line, put on your game face and have an empty mind when stepping up to the line and have fun and be humble. These will make you shoot well. Thank you again to the friend who cheered for me and coached me between games and ends. I'm sorry I was so cranky.

And now to blank bale.

On a side note, I tried out my friends W&W winex carbon foam limbs and they were amazing. So smooth and fast. I currently have wood limbs and I don't like their snappiness. So another thing to put on my wish list. I definitely want carbon foam limbs in the future.

A Jaunt to Springfield

This past Friday I drove 2.5 hours to Springfield for my first lesson with Amy Francka. She's a Level 3 NTS coach and helped me quite a bit.

She let me warm up with shooting while watching my style and then she asked me to adjust a few things. She moved my feet so they are diagonal to the target with the left foot slightly forward. Then she had me rotate my hips so they are line with the target. She also told me to lock my knees as part of my shot sequence. This makes me a much more stable base and foundation in preparation for shooting outside in wind. Next up was upper body adjustment.  She changed the pressure point and pivot point on my bow hand and that made a world of difference. She helped me realize I didn't need to pull back and rotate my shoulder as much. She taught me "holding" which is basically lining up a spot on my tricep in line with my bow arm when fully pulled back. Holding strengthens the shot and makes you shoot off your bone structure versus muscle alone. While loading, my arrow slid through the last 1/4 inch of the clicker for each shot. Lastly she helped me with my left hand on my release. Before I wasn't completely pulling it back but she helped me figure out the motion to make it go farther behind me with each release. I have to work on keeping my release hand (left hand) flat and rearranging the pressure on my finger tips. That way the string can basically slip off my fingers even though I deliberately let go of it, and my arm will swing back behind my head, in a straight line.

I would shoot a bit and then she had me watch a bunch of videos of stations led by archery coaches who train archers at the OTC in Chula Vista. They helped clarify technique and Amy also demonstrated with bands different positions and helped me do them too.

By the end I was shooting much better and my bow swung forward easily. She took some videos of me on her ipad and on my phone for me too. It was super helpful to see myself shooting and analyze it. I passed one video on to a fellow archer and he even helped me see that I needed to raise my bow arm because it was tilting down. Amy even tried to get me to raise my bow arm but I think she gave up for that particular lesson, afraid she might overwhelm me.

After 2 hours I was shaking from fatigue. And I got back in my car and started to drive back. I was an 1,5 away when Amy let me know I had left my string and stringer behind! So I drove back to get it and turned around again for my 2nd attempt at driving home.

It was an extremely worthwhile experience. Amy is a very good and patient coach. She passes through my city occasionally so I'll try to meet up with her then for more coaching. I don't know how long my back can handle the long over 2 hour ride in the car to and from but it's definitely worth it for the lessons.

As a follow up to my lesson I had a personal training session the next day. I asked my trainer to show me how to relax and lower my shoulders and she showed me stretches and warm ups to do before I shoot. In addition to training I am eating smaller meals more frequently with higher protein. I have to admit I'm pretty bored with chicken breast but I'll figure out some new recipes to keep eating healthy. I still have chocolate and sugar cravings so although I'm happy to indulge them, I need to figure out what's missing from my meals so I don't crave them. Sweets=more belly fat for me, sadly. And sleep! I need so much more sleep now with my workouts and shooting. I get sooo tired.

So lots of good things happening! It's just going to take more practice and workouts and time to shoot better each day.

I am trying to arrange 32# Kaya K2 limbs because I've had it with my Samick Privilege limbs. Problem is they are around 200$. That's not really in my budget. I put it out there to my family that christmas and my birthday are coming up soon. Gift card to buy the limbs? Why how thoughtful of you sibs and padres!

At a crossroad

So...I figured out two days ago that my unofficial "coach" doesn't really have time to coach me. Not what I was expecting at all. Aside from the occasional tip while shooting together at the range, it won't be the arrangement I was picturing.

I'd rather have someone else coach me anyway (just saying) so no problem, not a big deal. He recommended I find a Level 3 NTS coach. The problem is, the one he recommended is in Springfield. That's over 3 hours away. I sent her an e-mail and am waiting to hear back. I'm wondering if I can meet with her once a month and shoot on my own the rest of the time? I'm basically doing 99% self coaching anyway, and that's what they want. I watch lots of videos of the top archers and although they each have their own unique style, I notice patterns in their form and it clues me into my own sloppy habits.

That being said, I did have an official lesson with the former coach. He had me shoot blank bale in my garage after some fine tuning on my bow. He clued me into yet another aspect of my form that I have to change-my head position. Before I turned my head to completely face the target. He told me to turn my head so really only my eyes are in line with my body and bow. My line of sight=head turned about 45 degrees to my left, eyes in line with the target but peered down, string to the front right side of my nose, string between inside right of the riser (and to the left of the sight aperture?).

My clicker is back on my bow and not near the struggle it use to be. Since changing my anchor point to farther back under my chin, I've increased my draw length to 28". So now my arrows are too short but I won't order more until I'm ready for a new set of limbs. I can make due for now with the current arrows because my budget dictates it.

My homework is to practice 3 times a week, 50 arrows very close to a blank bale. It's the only way to know what I'm doing wrong.

So today at the range I tried to apply everything that I had picked up in my lesson. I watched my arrow dance around that elusive bulls eye. I did manage to zero in on it a few times but for the most part, there was always something missing in my form. After an hour, and I'm pretty sure more than 50 shots, I called it in.

This is where it gets hard. I've sort of hurtled through this summer trying to accomplish goals all over the place as fast as I can. I'm constantly reminded to master each stage before moving up in draw weight or equipment. I'm constantly frustrated with seeing how I should be shooting and trying it for myself and not being able to shoot that way. 

I'm not even going to mention what my job situation has been lately. Fingers crossed I'm headed to a better company soon.

I've turned my hobby into something more than a hobby. Just like I'm trying to figure out my form, my release and how to make the dang arrow go where I want it to, I'm trying to juggle multiple things going on in other parts of my life. It's pretty exhausting and overwhelming to think about it all at once.

I simply don't want to lose the enjoyment and the fun part of this sport even if I don't see leaps and bounds every practice. Archery has filled my life and given me lots of joy and fulfillment where my marriage used to, but I am not married to this sport-yet. Sometimes the practices are draining, other times they are empowering and up lifting. Today I really had to trudge through the practice and motions seeing incremental progress, rather than the leaps and bounds I'd rather make. I'm definitely getting familiar with the daily grind that comes with learning any sport out there.

Trying to find a way through it all, with my sport and my life in general. All that being said, I will be competing in an indoor tournament on January 9. It will only be at 20 yards but apparently that's pretty far as my crazy arrows remind me. It will be good to get some concrete feedback with scores to measure my progress. I'm planning a tiny reward for myself after completing my first competition.

New Equipment...again

I randomly bought a Kaya riser on eBay. It's a K3 and she shoots so smoothly. She makes shots with my yellow infinitec (brand?) riser feel all clumsy and heavy. There's something about the Kaya riser, since it's all carbon, that makes it shoot very quietly with more of a dead feeling in your hand. The arrows seem to fly rather than act like a shotput throw. Honestly it's probably all in my technique and the "magical" feeling of new equipment but I had one of my best practices ever yesterday.

Let me back up. On Sunday my informal coach helped me tune the riser a bit and he moved everything that he had already tuned on my old riser. The only thing missing from the riser is the clicker. Shooting without it is a lot more fun. My coach says the clicker is really a mental thing and that I am drawing back as far as I need to without it. I'll take that with the clicker! But this wasn't the best practice though. I'm still missing a few of my arrows argh. 

I went back by myself yesterday to shoot. It was a picturesque fall day and windy (which didn't turn out to be a big problem.) The range is surrounded by trees turning colors and the weather was cool but not too cold to numb my fingers. I put together my new rig and walked over to the public targets for some more practice. Apart from a bit of sight adjustment since I was practicing so close to the targets, i was shooting better than I ever have. I really focused on keeping my bow arm up and keeping my grip light on the bow so I could let it fall forward. And it made a huge difference! Everything seemed to flow better. Before long, I had been shooting almost 2 hours and i wasn't shaking at all. I attribute this to using the right muscle groups and all the workouts I do with my trainer. We're already a month in but I feel stronger already. Perhaps having a chest workout the day before helped me pull back farther? I am worried that I really only shoot my best when I am alone. I love being alone at a range and focusing only on shooting but I also need to show improvement when I'm with my coach. And after my coach left on Sunday there was this other guy who wanted analyze every single freaking shot I made. I should've told him to shut up because he was sucking all the joy out of it for me but after awhile he stopped talking to me and i was so ready for it. I'm a chatty kathy but when it comes to shooting I am very selective with whom I listen to for advice.

So I am ready for more practices like that one. Here's looking forward to my next day off and at the range with my new riser.

The Clicker Struggles

Granted, I have only had the clicker on my bow for a few weeks and have not been able to practice every week, but every time I get out the bow to practice, I remember-dang this is hard.

I'm gauging the safest place downstairs in my basement to shoot. Then I need to build a target that I can stand at and shoot all winter. Because I won't get better until I shoot every day. It's a fine balance that needs to be controlled by strength and I simply don't have either yet.

I workout twice a week with my personal trainer and once on my own. I am not sure if it's really the right strength training program for my sport but maybe it's too early to tell? I want to add pilates to the  mix to build core strength and maintain lean muscle. I think my PT thinks I know more than I actually do, since I told her I am taking an online course to become a CPT. Nothing like heading to the range to practice after a back workout with aching chest muscles from a previous workout. I am so much hungrier than before. And it's fall and I want all the fall desserts-boo. I have to get a grip on my diet to build muscle and strength. It's very easy to simply build frustration but I tell myself take my time, be patient and it's okay to get a hooked nose from repeated string pressure during my anchor point ;)

Clicker Practice

I managed to get out on my own 3 times to practice at my local range. I am trying to remember and pull together all the technical aspects I learned at my last lesson with my coach. There's a lot to remember.

1.) My stance-open with 75% of my weight on my back foot and my weight more forward on the balls of my feet.
2.) My bow starting open and as I draw pulling more to a close.
3.) My grip-lightly holding the bow with my pointer finger and thumb with the rest of my hand relaxed. With my weight balanced right I should be able to "push" my thumb towards the target.
4.)My draw-extending the time for the last .25" of the arrow to pull through the clicker to about 3-4 seconds.
5.) keeping my arm steady and not rushing the shot.
6.) release and follow through.

It's a complete balancing act. And I mess up a lot.

The good news is that I can feel when I'm warmed up and my left shoulder suddenly moves the way I envision and my release is better and my shots are more consistent.

The bad news is that it's exhausting using the clicker and I constantly have to remember to conserve my energy.

I am working out now with a personal trainer twice a week with the goal of gaining long and lean muscle. And to gain strength. I am also doing yoga inversion classes every other week because that will also help me get strong. And I am going to pay for archery lessons from now on. They are pretty cheap to begin with. I've nixed buying a better bow right now considering that I'm just beginning and have a lot of debt to pay off. It will come when I am ready and am in a better financial position. And to add to that I started a full time job this month and am taking an online course to become a certified personal trainer.

All I need now is some decent sleep and I'd be in good shape! I e-mail pictures to my coach after every practice and he says I'm making good progress. Just have to outweigh my fatigue with my enthusiasm ;)

The Ol' Clicker

I've received a few hand me downs from Rod White via my coach for my bow. One of the them included a Beiter clicker. I mentioned before that I bought new arrows, coach fletched them and put them together for me and that they were my correct draw length. Since all that is done I can now learn how to shoot with a clicker.

A clicker is a piece of metal that the arrow slides against during the draw. If the archer is at full draw the clicker blade will be at the point of the arrow at almost full draw. Once that happens, the archer needs to pull back about .25" more over a period of 4 seconds and then the clicker blade will snap off the arrow point. At that point the archer can release the arrow. It sounds easy right? I thought so too.

Using a clicker is actually pretty damn difficult. It's meant to help with consistency and help the archer achieve full draw every time. But it's hard enough to be pulling the arrow back. Add your coach adjusting your stance and your grip and your bow arm is already shaking before you are at full draw. At least I am. This is where quantity over quality really helps.

Using the clicker I could only get 2 or 3 decent shots off my bow. The rest would go all over the place. And my coach, having just fletched them all, looked a bit peeved when he had to get out the metal detector and dig one under the dirt, bless him. I'm trying to build a shot sequence now. It starts with looking at the direction of the wind, grounding myself through my feet in an open stance, with 75% of my bodyweight on my back foot. Then I raise my bow and pull my string back with my arrow at the same time. While trying to keep the bow steady, I try to remember the light grip and touch my coach demonstrated for me. Then there's the ol' clicker, sliding along my arrow till I'm at almost full draw. With a definite 'click' it snaps of my arrow point and I release the nock and string. It's important to remember not to anchor at my nose and chin until I've reached that almost full draw point. Also, I am trying to work on lining up my string with inside right side of my riser. Loading another arrow is the last step in the shot sequence. It's a lot of minute detail that you can't really see with the naked eye. Lots of adjustments and lining up and straightening. Lots of strength behind the scenes. Frankly, I need to be stronger so I joined a gym and am working on building long lean muscle for strength. My main machine is the rowing machine for my back. I am also doing some yoga classes that focus on core work.

My shoulders had spazzed out by the end of the lesson. They screamed at me all day long and well into the night. But wait! There's homework!

I have clicker drills to do. I'm supposed to stand 5 feet away from a target and practice using that dang ol' clicker. I have to develop technique and muscle memory and not fight the clicker. Lord help me, this is going to hurt for a little bit.

Last big piece of news. Due to a recent bad experience, I asked the guy whom I refer to as 'my coach' to let me pay him for the 2 sessions we shoot together a month. I want to continue it into the winter as we shoot indoors.

1 step forward and 2 backwards

Everything has come together for my first ILF rig. Today was the first day I shot it completely together (with all my own parts.) My arrows will come back to me with veins and knocks and pins and points in a couple days, hopefully.

I have noticed major progress:

Stabilizers make my shots much smoother. It's like the difference between shooting a handgun and a rifle. They do make the bow heavier but you can rest it on the long stabilizer before each shot which helps. If I move correctly and release the shot well it's as if I am shooting of a ledge and the arrow flies in a beautiful arc through the air. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing that followed by the thunk of the arrow in the target face. Only thing that could make it better would be hitting an X!

My new sight is a DREAM. It's built like a tank and doesn't move unless I crank the dials to turn it. Then it moves in tiny increments so it can adjust to the smallest change. Well worth the money and I can use it for 20 years.

My whole release has greatly improved. I still have to remind myself to use my shoulder but when I do, everything flows better. Hold straight, engage shoulder, pull to anchor point. My coach is helping me develop a checklist for each shot. It's a lot to remember!

Slippery new things to learn:

Since I shoot southpaw style I need to bring the string to my nose at the same time my anchor reaches my chin. Then I need to keep the blur of the string in my peripheral on the right side of my riser handle. And the aperture on the far right. So it goes riser+blurry string+sight aperture on my target=baddabaddabing a nicer shot. It's a lot harder than it sounds because I am trying to manage the limb weight and line everything up. By the time I get everything on line I'm already shaking. This is where slowing down and thinking through each shot before I shoot is really helpful.

Keep my elbow down, stay up right. And I'm sure there will be another slew of things to remember once I start using my clicker. I'm hoping to have my arrows back within a couple days. Then everything will change again. I've been warned not to fight the clicker. If we measured the draw length correctly and if I move correctly, then hopefully that won't happen.

Workouts are going well. I just need to keep doing them and follow up with eating right. I can already tell I'm stronger than 2 weeks ago when I started intense workouts. I was sorta letting my cardio go because I was focusing so much on my arms and core. But really I need to do that too, not only for keeping in shape and getting stronger, leaner legs, but also for the mental discipline. Lordy oh lordy...am I going to need it.

I had to stop shooting today, due to fatigue, much sooner than I wanted to stop. But I was only training bad habits and shooting very shaky shots, so there was no point in continuing. It's so hard to stop when I look forward to it each day of the week. But now since I have my own equipment I can shoot every week on my own. It's good to receive instruction but it's also good to shoot on your own with a quiet mind and without interference.

Maybe if I can get in enough practice, I can compete in the club tournament at the end of the season.

My first ILF rig

Well, I've been shooting with a borrowed ILF rig from a friend/coach for a couple months now. The first time I shot with it, I knew I wanted to head into olympic recurve style for sure. It was always my main goal and I was happy to confirm it.

Wading through the best traditional recurve bows seemed tough, but this is a whole new world!

Do I stick with ILF or try out Formula limbs? Do I go all out on a sight or save money on a cheaper one? Which riser geometry do I like better? Compound that with the fact that it's very hard to try left handed equipment before you buy it, meaning the riser and the sight, and I felt completely overwhelmed!

But then I took a step back and more experienced archers encouraged me to start cheap which determined an ILF rig. Then it was a matter of SF forged plus riser or something else available sooner. Luck would have it, there was an Infinitec riser for sale on eBay and it was LH! Said friend said it would last me 1 or 2 years and since the price was right plus I bargained, I took the plunge and bought it. My very own lovely, erm, mustard yellow lefty riser.

Next, I had to answer the limb question; do I keep borrowing or buy my own? I really want to go shoot every week, not every 2 weeks so I bit the bullet and decided to buy my own limbs. The same friend came through again and found a pair of used limbs comparable in performance and cheaper than the ones I was looking at brand new. It's such a significant price reduction that I'll buy them on Sunday. This same friend also got lucky in his own major haul from Rod White and has a intermediate clicker and plunger to lend me. Did I mention that he's also making me a string? This is guy is a archer girl on a beer budget's true pal.

I also need to shout out to the person who lent me his riser and limbs for so long. Without you I would have progressed at a snail's pace and had a much longer and harder road to plough. You've put me leap years ahead of that and I am truly grateful. I'm looking forward to many more club days of shooting with you.

Now-arrows! Since I want to eventually be shooting a very thin spine for optimal flight and apparently, the arrow's spine size will change according to the poundage, it was best to start cheap yet again. (I know, I know-I'm still researching all this scattered information that seems passed down from teacher to student rather than in a good ol' book. Thank goodness for the www!) Friend making the bow string recommended two types to choose from: carbon express medallion xrs or easton apollos. Xrs are over $8 an arrow while apollos are under $6 an arrow, so I picked the latter. The next step is truly, accurately measuring my draw length, which I will do, again, this Sunday at the archery club. Then I can type in a number, press ship-and I will have new arrows and corresponding points (the arrow tip), nocks and pins. Again...I will be lent blue fletchings. But whether they are still passable after I'm ready to move on to a different spine, I don't know.

That being said, a new sight will be under way too, the shibuya ultima, so it's one I'll never have to replace. And while I'm at it-why not buy a new case to haul all this stuff around? I'm looking at the Easton Club XT Recurve Pack in blue. It's cheaper than Hoyt and will do the job well. I guess I'll have to get over the fact that it looks like it has a diagram of CNS on the outside. Sorry Easton, design team, I guess you thought it looked like a dynamic arrow?

The riser and limbs will eventually be replaced. So will the clicker and plunger. I have others that are pricier on my wish list, but they can wait.

Wait-there's more!

On the workout front-I really have to get stronger. Shooting itself is a good workout but I'm rounding it out with core and ab workouts 3 additional times a week. I also plan on leg workouts with cardio and the occasional SUP on a lake nearby. I am consciously reaching for protein, veggies, healthy fats and whole grains over sweets and empty calories in chips and I can really tell the difference already. I increased my free weights mostly from 5lbs in each hand to 10 lbs in each hand. I am going to price out gyms in my area so I can get access to weight machines that will strengthen my back. This is all for improving my shooting and maintaining a healthy weight and lifestyle. (I do have the occasional treat-I'm human ;)

So, it's been a long time researching and weighing and finally I can make some purchases. I can't imagine not shooting right now-I'm simply not very happy when I can't shoot my bow frequently. Along with my kids and the support of my family, archery is really a lifeline for me and giving me a much needed direction for my life.

I will post pics as soon as I can upload them!

Equipment Decisions

Part of the fun of archery is picking out equipment!

I have so many questions....what's the difference between Hoyt grand prix gpx risers and gmx risers? Are they ILF or formula? Often the answer I get is personal preference. But I don't have a preference until I can try it out. Too bad I don't live in Lancaster PA-or taking a trip there soon-hah!

So until then, I am scouring the internet for sales, information and insight. A riser that will click with me when I pick it up and try it out-and won't break the bank.

I know it is well worth it, because it's one of the few things that make me happy these days. Nothing better than kicking my personal life and legal world to the curb right now and shooting in a sunny field with the blue sky and soft clouds above me. I can't wait for the day when I can merely pick up my equipment and go to the range.

Workouts keep happening. I keep working on my core and arms and shoulders. I consciously have to remind myself how to move my shoulder for the correct release. One day it will come, the muscle memory will kick in. Until then I'm a newbie working to get better every day.

Back to the drawing board...

Later

strand count? string length? strand number in my string? What's the difference between 1/4# and 1/8#? what do I need?

More Practice

I got to the range for the first time in 2 weeks. I am borrowing equipment from another recurve archer and he's coaching me a lot too. I've decreased my poundage so I can concentrate on my form, incorporating my shoulder mechanics into each shot instead of only using my arms. I switched from a 30# draw to 18# and then back up to 24#. It is so nice shooting an ILF rig instead of a traditional bow. The traditional bow has lots of pros and is great for beginners but I am somewhere between beginner and intermediate and an ILF better suits my style right now. I usually start with fairly tight groups and get frustrated when they loosen up to the size of a basketball. I got frustrated because it seemed to happen pretty fast today and I still wanted to shoot. I shot more for over an hour. It's amazing how tired I get considering how short a time it is. I've been doing quite a few arm exercises but I am going to increase them and make sure I eat enough protein to build more muscle. I also need to slooow down. I tend to shoot my arrows pretty fast and my fellow archer pointed out how much weight I am holding. He said, 'Give your muscle time to rest and take a deep breath and then shoot.' I really need to work on that.

These days I've been reading as much as I can and watching as many archery videos as I can to learn better technique. And I just may be drooling over my archery equipment wish lists online. But that will come when I have the funds. I have to get a few other ducks in a row before I can splurge on some equipment.

I also met some other recurve archers today and one who actually competes. It was great to talk more with another archer and get some more perspective, ogle her equipment and talk about how hard it is to test equipment physically yourself before investing in it.

On the exercise front, I've been waking up early to go running around my neighborhood. It keeps my weight down and is great for mental discipline. The actual shooting is a workout in itself. My arms are much more toned and have more muscle then they did 6 months ago. I can also notice more definition in my core muscles. Ideally I want to be doing daily weight lifting and programs like crossfit, barre workouts, yoga inversion classes to increase my strength and overall fitness. SUP is a great core workout and fun. I hope one day to complete an ironman triathlon. This is all in the hopes of improving my archery ability, remaining fit and taking care of myself.

I never want to take the joy out of archery that I feel now. I look forward to shooting so much and love the challenging process of each shot. I get super excited when I shoot a tight group and it's a plus when they are all in the gold. I must look like a 3 year old with how excited I get but honestly it's just sheer joy. And I haven't felt that in so long that I will never give up that feeling ever again. Here's hoping I can take it to the next level soon.

Little By little...

I've practiced a few more times since my last post. I am learning enough to make me realize I still have tons more to learn about archery. It is frustrating at first. Then I focus and work through each shot.

I am also learning that people mean to be helpful when they don't know a whole lot. And they jump on me after one shot when I haven't shot for a few days and need to warm up. You're doing this wrong and this wrong and you need to fix thissss....till I can't remember the beginning of what they said. If you have one bad shot they assume you don't know anything and that you need all  of their advice, which is honestly probably true. I am grateful to have the free coaching I am getting though, after I warm up after 15 minutes, 'mkay?

On a more concrete note, I got to shoot an ILF rig today for the first time! Another archer brought a Hoyt Excel riser for me to shoot with SF axiom limbs. It was difficult until he switched them out for lighter limbs. The lighter weight meant I could focus more on my form. I worked on sighting in the bow and moving my shoulder the right way. I saw progress. Just mentally tired from all the coaching and the shooting. It's pretty difficult to shoot from 9:15-12:30 as a newbie archer.

I guess I basically feel like I'm getting my hand slapped a lot, figuratively speaking.