Scatter Plot

The first go-to way to track skill and progress in (target) archery is to write down scores for a set amount of arrows. A nice alternative to this is to make a scatter plot of *all* shots over a longer training, in order to get a clear picture of the current skill level.

Something like this:

The most primitive way to make a scatter plot (as pictured above) is to secure a lane for yourself and make sure that the target paper is only shot on by you. If that doesn’t work, there are also plenty of nice scoring apps available for phones, or it can be done on paper by hand.

In order to get the most out of these plots, it is a good idea to write down everything about the session that resulted in the plot. For example for the plot above: I was shooting for 2 hours, 18m, practicing to shoot instinctive, ~6s per arrow, 6 arrows per round. I didn’t count my arrows xD (I never do unless an app does it for me) but I know I should.

The nice thing about the scatterplot is that not only does it tell you how you are scoring on the target, but can also reveal any regular mistakes. If the cluster of arrows is shifted in a certain direction, it can say a lot about where the mistake is.

I definitely recommend this to be done regularly, especially if you are still in the stage of lots of learning and posture adjusting.

Kitty hugs to all~

~Joouna

Archers are never bored, #5

Paaarty tiiime~ Balloon competition! (25m)

 

There were 3 of us shooting at them simultaneously, and I got 5 of the 7 balloons :3

kitty hugs to all~

Joouna

Archers are never bored, #4

KILL THE YELLOW!!! BRING IT DOWN!!! (゜ Δ゜)メ (゜ Δ゜)メ (゜ Δ゜)メ (゜ Δ゜)メ

last attempts orbiting the remaining yellow bits

(from 25m, 4 of us were shooting at the same target)

hehehe. :3 kitty hugs to all~ Joouna

To sight or not to sight?

Ahhhh~ exams are over again and finally a weekend where I do whatever I want~ *dangles feet in lazy manner* Well actually I’m not being lazy at all. Yesterday I had finally time for an archery training of proper length (4h+ shooting, yay!). Before, I mounted my aiming sight on my recurve and decided that I will use them to add some precision…

…well, that did not work out because I guess I am, no matter what modern recurve bow I shoot with, a trad archer to the core xD I spent hours trying to adjust to the aiming sight and olympic anchor, with moderate success. Of course it takes longer than that to adjust to a new position but what really irked me was the aiming. All of a sudden there is this little irritating thing in my line of sight to the target. And even when I managed to set it perfectly, I would shoot best when I ignored it. I am also pretty sure I heard the disapproving voices of my archer ancestors at one time, although that may also just have been my frustration speaking through my imagination.

So, take screwdriver, remove sights system, return to my previous technique, and I beat my 25m record again :3 (we seem to be shooting constantly from 25m these days, I guess the coach realised we were lacking practice on that distance) That average of 8 is coming closer and closer ~ *beams with confidence* Soon…

Kitty hugs to all + happy shooting to all archers ~

~Joouna

Archers are never bored, #3

Because Archery Basketball. How much better does it get. :3

kitty hugs to all~

Joouna

Archers are never bored, #2

Moving on from stationary targets… swinging target! Check out the awesomeness!

Arrows and Crosswiiiiiinnnnd~

I have been here at my parents’ house in the wide plains of central Europe over the christmas holidays. Of course holidays is not a break from archery! The driveway/garage setup allows for a nice (and safe) private archery range :3 …but there is one catch. This place is *extremely windy* 🌀🌀🌀

Aim before Draw

I can imagine that some archers know this already and it’s a no-brainer, but for me it was definitely my biggest improvement, and I definitely suggest everyone to try it.

Gap Shooting

Gap shooting is one of the simplest and probably most commonly used aiming techniques in archery. All bows with aiming sights (olympic recurves + compounds) operate using this basic principle, and some barebow and traditional archers prefer this method too. Beginners are often told to “point the arrowhead at the target” during the first trainings. Because of its simplicity and reliability it is extremely useful to keep it in the back of one’s head, even if it is not the preferred shooting style, as a backup technique.