collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: Drawing Breath  (Read 1237 times)

Offline konrad

  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • ****
  • Join Date: Sep 2009
  • Posts: 253
  • Location: South Lake Whatcom, Puget Sound
Drawing Breath
« on: August 21, 2010, 01:32:45 PM »
Drawing Breath

My last installment found us standing at the firing line. We have set our stance and main frame skeleton in a stabile, powerful position. I apologize for the length of this post and repeat this is primarily aimed at those just beginning the pursuit of the World’s Oldest Sport. Criticism and additional insights are most welcome.

I contend that a quiet mind is the single most important factor in the proper drawing and firing of the bow. Controlled, focused breath control is the easiest method to achieve that quiet state of mind during “The Heat of Battle”.

Many archers, particularly after having just made a poor shot, will tend to over-think their mistakes and react negatively to the things that went wrong. Feelings of foolishness and/or incompetence can easily stir up confusion and cause distraction within the mind. It is at these moments we need to forget what just went wrong and focus on what will contribute to making the next perfect shot. The archer with the clear mind will be the one who mentally recovers within the shortest time. Those critical moments between shots are more precious than gold. Breath control is the single greatest tool available to bridge from one poor shot to the next X-ring or heart shot score.

The more practiced the archer or marksman becomes in the use of breath control, the more he will be able to insulate himself from the stresses of competition, hunting or those inevitable bad shots. Focus on skeletal position, a regular, specific breathing pattern and attention to some other small details will leave little time for developing mental stress about the past shot. During competition, most poor shots are directly attributable to distractions associated with large numbers of unfamiliar people on and around the firing line. A deer walking toward our hide, with or without antlers, can produce exactly the same lack of focus prior to making a shot.

When I began the earnest pursuit of this sport, I had very high expectations regarding accuracy. I was disappointed by the long time required to develop the potential I felt I had. With each poor shot, the frustration would mount until I had virtually strangulated any chance of accuracy by virtue of my own anger and frustration.

Eventually, I was able to separate my poor performance from my emotions and examine exactly what I was doing at each step along the way. Conscious, controlled breathing allowed me to take the time to carefully focus on each part of my shot sequence. Experimentation with small, predetermined changes in my form and sorting out what worked from what did not became part of my daily routine. This practice allowed control of the mental stress produced by the poor shots and made focus on the things I needed to be doing more easy. I never claimed to be smart; however, persistence is a quality I own in large quantities. My mother used to say it was just being “Bone-Headed”. That may be true in large part because I got it from her!

The breathing steps outlined below are what have worked for me. Over time, I have learned to be able to skip ahead or even return to a specific point in the process without disturbing my concentration. After all, when Mr. Bucky Buck is strolling into your shooting lane, you won’t be able to say “Hold it right there. I’m not up to step nine!”

A word on “concentration”: My performance always excels when there is a lack of active thought. Some say that’s how I live most of my life…but I digress. Perhaps concentration is not the best word to use in relation to marksmanship. That lack of thought can best be described calm satisfaction. Elation can be just as detrimental to performance as anger. Another description would be more akin to “objective observation of technique combined with positive expectations”. Call it what you will. Getting wrapped around the axle, in either direction, produces poor results.

A: On setting my foot position relative to the target face, lean slightly forward at the hips and then pull that imaginary string up through the spine and out the top of the head while inhaling.
Count 1…

B: Exhale and then when inhaling, close the eyes (I have found closed eyes provide better awareness of body positions and muscle tension) and focus on the angle of the knees. They should be slightly bent. This places a greater force on the balls of the foot rather than the heel (60/40) and promotes circulation to the lower extremities.
Exhale and count 2.

C: Inhale and focus upon the lower abdomen trying to draw it upward toward the breast bone. Don’t contract too tightly as you will never be able to hold the tension during the actual draw. This is where my back actually pops if I haven’t practiced in a day or two.
Exhale and count 3

D: Inhale and focus on relaxing the shoulders and arms. I have found the use of a bow holster attached to my quiver belt invaluable. Resting the lower cam in the holster and the weight of the bow eliminates bow arm fatigue. The use of a wrist sling also allows the complete relaxing of the bow hand during the exercise as you will not need to actually grip the bow. Also, use of a wrist buckled, closed caliper release attached to the string or D-loop allows complete relaxation of the drawing arm.
Exhale and count 4.

E: On the inhale turn on the “internal video player”. See the bow drawn smoothly, the finding of the anchor points on the ear, jaw and mouth if you use a kisser button. See the sight housing aligned within the peep sight, the pin resting comfortably next to the spot and then watch the arrow flying in a gentle arc and into the spot.

I play this “video” during practice and often on weight training or resting days. The brain is a powerful and strange organ. I believe that if a task is suggested often enough to the mind, the task and outcome becomes acceptable and the results even expected and as such “normal”. Others call this technique visualization.

Depending upon my level of fatigue and degree of panting from moving to the next target or from the hike retrieving my arrows, the breathing and video playing can go on for up to three additional breath/counts.
For now we will continue on and exhale on the count of 5.

F: On the last exhale open the eyes. Find the grip position. My particular riser responds best to pressure just outside and parallel to the “life line” running on the inside of the large pad at the base of the thumb in the palm.

Now turn the head to address the target. If some spinal alignment has been lost, at this time again make sure the head is fully erect.
Now raise the bow while maintaining focus on the target.
The sight window now is on the same horizontal plane as the intended target.
During the inhale, the bow arm is extended at the same time the drawing arm moves rearward. The action of squeezing the shoulders blades together facilitates the fluidity of this motion. The bow arm extension should stop just before the elbow moves into the locked position. The inner face of the joint should not protrude beyond straight and into the string path. Typically, the drawing arm elbow is past the 90 degree point in its arc rearward when the bow arm reaches full extension.

Now the peep sight and string anchor points are brought to the face/jaw.
Under no circumstances should the head duck forward or cant to the side toward the string. The bow, its string and fixtures must be brought to the shooter’s face without moving the position of the shooter’s head.
Once the anchor points have been fixed, the bow arm and shoulder may be relaxed. By relaxed, I mean the bone structure should now be aligned such that little or no muscle tension is required to maintain the bow arm’s position at or near the perfect 90 degree angle to the vertical line of the body. Allowing the long bones to rest in their joints and into the shoulder ball socket so kindly supplied by the Creator, combined with the tension of the bow, will provide a very solid and repeatable launching platform.

The drawing exhale is released and then a three quarter breath is taken in while finalizing sight alignment. Release the breath and at about half lung capacity, stop releasing the air. Do not “hold” the breath. Just stop breathing. Your body will settle down for a few moments while the autonomic nervous system tries to figure out what to do next. It is during this quiet moment you should begin to depress the trigger.

Snipers and long distance marksmen have been using this breath control during trigger application for many years. There is ample reason to use the same technique for archery. The effort, after all, is about marksmanship and bowhunters are, in effect, close range snipers. If done correctly, the release happens on its own. Some refer to this as the surprise release.

If you begin shaking you can take another three quarter and then half breath and start the squeeze again. If the shaking movements become too great, let the string down and begin the sequence again wherever you feel comfortable. Time on the practice range is cheap. Spend as much of it as necessary here. The paybacks will come when in the field.

I read in many forum folks shooting 100 or more arrows in a single practice session.
In my opinion, this serves only to re-enforce bad habits. If one is doing something incorrectly, doing so more frequently does nothing to correct the situation. Some folks will say they need two or three quivers to get “warmed up”. I believe people confuse “warming up” with getting mentally focused or getting “in the zone”.

For warming up I highly suggest stretching exercises before shooting practice to avoid pulled muscles.

Being prepared to shoot your best on the first shot is a skill every bowhunter needs to hone. When you have just spent three hours on stand, making as little movement as possible and the buck of a lifetime walks into range; you will likely have only one shot. Being in the zone for that shot is more important than broadhead, bow and arrow choice.

I have a self imposed limit of two rounds of 12 arrows per practice session. On weekends I sometimes practice both in the morning and evening. This forces me to focus on each and every shot. It promotes concentration knowing I have no shots to waste. I am hesitant to let a poorly executed shot go downrange. When I used to practice before breath control I would stay on range for about an hour shooting countless rounds. I still allow an hour for each practice session but the experience is much more gratifying.

Not to mention the vastly improved groups.

I hope this helps.
As always, I am open to comments and suggestions.
Thanks for your patience and I apologize again for the length of the post.
Konrad

“The rifle itself has no moral stature, since it has no will of its own. Naturally, it may be used by evil men for evil purposes, but there are more good men than evil, and while the latter can not be persuaded to the path of righteousness by propaganda, they can certainly be corrected by good men with rifles.”

Col. Jeff Cooper

Offline Todd_ID

  • Trade Count: (+1)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Apr 2008
  • Posts: 2926
  • Location: Clarkston
  • Hunt Hard!
Re: Drawing Breath
« Reply #1 on: August 21, 2010, 08:20:29 PM »
Darn good post!  I like the part about telling the buck he has to wait because you're not ready.  :chuckle: Those critters never show at the opportune time to make a good shot.  Your steps here help get you to a point where you can make a good shot anytime and in any position, and I like that. 

p.s., You think about archery way too much!
Bring a GPS!  It's awkward to have to eat your buddies!

Offline PacificNWhunter

  • Non-Hunting Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2007
  • Posts: 3593
  • Location: Bonney Lake
Re: Drawing Breath
« Reply #2 on: August 22, 2010, 03:43:28 PM »
Very good write up, practiced using the partial inhalation and then stopping prior to releasing. Seemed to help me with consistency towards the end of my session.

Offline carpsniperg2

  • Site Sponsor
  • Global Moderator
  • Trade Count: (+126)
  • Legend
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2009
  • Posts: 31430
  • Location: Goldendale,WA
Re: Drawing Breath
« Reply #3 on: August 22, 2010, 03:56:13 PM »
good read :tup:
Owner: SPLIT DIAMOND TACTICAL
Firearms/Transfers/Parts/Optics
2011 HW Head Competition Winner

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2024, SimplePortal