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. 

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!

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.

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.