Since I've met all my main goals for this season and had a nice break from the action, it was time to do some experimentation with new equipment (see the last post), new schools of thought and do some homework. About a month ago, I called our local JOAD program folks to see if I could do an intro to recurve with them. After arriving and being greeted by the free-range hen club (Rhode Island Reds, I think), and the smallest dog I have ever seen, I was introduced to my coach, fresh off the plane from training camp and full of enthusiasm. After sizing up my abilities (yes, it was intimidating) and pointing out a few things like I shoot far to the left when my eyes are closed (compensating for something), he basically started over from the beginning from the toes up. No bow. No arrows. Just a mirror, a stretchy band and a cool biomechanical system (BEST). If you went to learn ride in Germany, they would take away your reins and stirrups and put you on a lunge horse for a few months. That's the way I felt last night. Baby green beginner. Wowser.
Was sent home with a cool, blue practice bow, some great resource material and a full brain that keeps running the start sequence over and over during meetings when I should be paying better attention.
If any of you reading this has tried more than one style of shooting - I would love to know where you started and what you ended up doing. And why. The post a comment section has been reset to allow anyone to post without the annoying members only stuff.
(photo of Holly Stover, Junior Olympic "Dream Team" - This girl's groups are the size of a quarter. With a recurve!)
1 comment:
I started shooting traditionally, shooting a recurve like a longbow, funny enough. But it's not really about the bow, as Lance Armstrong said about the bike. I've also recently made the switch to B.E.S.T and I love it. Ironically I had spent a weekend with Sandy McCain, learning to shoot traditional better when she recommended that if I had any Olympic aspirations whatsoever that I begin RIGHT NOW so that I won't have too many habits to correct. And that's the long and short of it. I find that being a woman in archery has definitely picked up exponentially but it still has its perils inherent in entering a field still dominated by men and their peach blossom egos. I'd like to dedicate a whole blog post of my own to that but there would be a witch hunt with my name on it if I did.
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