Well, I finally moved back up to my competition HEX6 limbs from light weight (26 pound) form limbs I have been shooting for the past 6 weeks. I have been spending the last 3 1/2 years learning the KSL method. I moved up cold turkey and did some 70 meter practice today. I have been shooting short distance, three under, bridging from 10 yards out, to help assimilate my form changes to all distances. I have not been shooting past 45 yards until today. Here is what I learned.
1) I can now get on the spot and hold for a few seconds before expanding to release. In the past I struggled to elevate to my aiming point, and usually released, with a quick attempt to expand, as soon as my arrow touched my aiming point.
2) Bridging is a great way to transition from form developed at short distance, to longer distances. I really struggled with my form for the first half of practice at 70 meters today. I was having trouble getting the "clicker like" expansion feel. When I finally got it, I started drilling arrows, shooting several 10's and a couple of X's. A few weeks ago I decided to practice at my 45 yard point on. I could only get the correct feel for 2 out of 7 arrows in each end. I went back to 20 yards and moved up 5 yards at a time until 45 felt right.
3) Expanding like you are using a clicker helps keep the body aligned and the shot going straight.
4) My improved draw cycle (eliminating over draw) raised my 70 meter aiming point from the grass at the base of the target, to the top of the target. This is something that I wanted to do. It also allowed me to tighten up my vertical placement, even when I did not make a good shot. I spent a lot of time in the spring working on this with my regular limbs but ran into a lot of trouble controlling distance. The light limbs really helped tighten things up.
5) I am now shooting at about the same pace as the Olympic style archers (slower than many). The slower speed allows me to really focus on the spot and progress smoothly through the various steps of my form (still refining this but it is looking really promising).
6) Shooting and holding longer takes more energy -- even with the lighter bows. That is one thing I noticed today, going back to my competition limbs. The weight was easy to pull, but maintaining proper form was a struggle at times. There is a big difference between what you can pull and what you can shoot, if you are interested in shooting with a form of the sort I am using. When I executed the form correctly, it felt good and the arrow went where it was suppose to go.
7) This was a quick experiment to see how I have progressed. I am not going to short cut the process. I will go back to lighter limbs and continue bridging until I am comfortable all the way out to 90 meters. I moved to 30 pounds limbs about a week ago.
1) I can now get on the spot and hold for a few seconds before expanding to release. In the past I struggled to elevate to my aiming point, and usually released, with a quick attempt to expand, as soon as my arrow touched my aiming point.
2) Bridging is a great way to transition from form developed at short distance, to longer distances. I really struggled with my form for the first half of practice at 70 meters today. I was having trouble getting the "clicker like" expansion feel. When I finally got it, I started drilling arrows, shooting several 10's and a couple of X's. A few weeks ago I decided to practice at my 45 yard point on. I could only get the correct feel for 2 out of 7 arrows in each end. I went back to 20 yards and moved up 5 yards at a time until 45 felt right.
3) Expanding like you are using a clicker helps keep the body aligned and the shot going straight.
4) My improved draw cycle (eliminating over draw) raised my 70 meter aiming point from the grass at the base of the target, to the top of the target. This is something that I wanted to do. It also allowed me to tighten up my vertical placement, even when I did not make a good shot. I spent a lot of time in the spring working on this with my regular limbs but ran into a lot of trouble controlling distance. The light limbs really helped tighten things up.
5) I am now shooting at about the same pace as the Olympic style archers (slower than many). The slower speed allows me to really focus on the spot and progress smoothly through the various steps of my form (still refining this but it is looking really promising).
6) Shooting and holding longer takes more energy -- even with the lighter bows. That is one thing I noticed today, going back to my competition limbs. The weight was easy to pull, but maintaining proper form was a struggle at times. There is a big difference between what you can pull and what you can shoot, if you are interested in shooting with a form of the sort I am using. When I executed the form correctly, it felt good and the arrow went where it was suppose to go.
7) This was a quick experiment to see how I have progressed. I am not going to short cut the process. I will go back to lighter limbs and continue bridging until I am comfortable all the way out to 90 meters. I moved to 30 pounds limbs about a week ago.
