Archery Three Ways

We here in the good ol' USA tend to forget there is more than one way to skin a cat. Some of these videos you may have seen at time or another, but all show different ways of shooting that you may not normally see at your local bow shop.  

This first one looks wicked fun. Lightweight bow, no holding, from horseback. I'm in.

How not to overthink your shot. This one is just plain fun.

Japanese style...Doing something just for the sake of doing it.  Most of us have a shop, basement, or garage to practice in. This is just gorgeous. Although, if you have to get 60 arrows done, this way may take up most of your day...

What type of archery gets your attention? There's really a lot out there when you start looking around.

Peace on Earth, Michigan Style

Merry Christmas, everyone.

<3

-A

(Photo from the back 40 where I grew up in Michigan)

This Thursday's Deep Thought

I've resurrected the Thursday Deep Thought.

Respect people who find time for you
in their busy schedule.

But love people who never look at their schedule
when you need them.

------------

I am fortunate to know more than a couple of the last type. 

You know who you are.

Visualize this

Practicing my Joe Fanchin face here

Winter has finally hit. The ice is starting to form on the pond behind our house in big clear sheets. It's late in the season. We finally have had snow stick around for more than a few minutes on the ground as well. Plus, it's been sunny both days this weekend. Shocker for our area, I'm telling you. Had plenty of sun and super-cold weather in the Denver area this week. Woke up to ice on the INside of the hotel windows. I'm going through Starbucks withdrawal from mainlining skinny peppermint mochas to keep warm. The forecast said 40's, not 6!

Archery has been on the back burner with shopping, traveling, baking, decorating, planning parties, yadda yadda.  Dug the bow out of the case yesterday to take some photos, but never actually shot an arrow. Instead of actual practice time, I've been using down time on planes and driving to work to visualize my shot sequence.  Was having some trouble with this earlier this fall when I found that there was a big, black hole in my "movie". I would get to anchor and all would stop short.  Fortunately for some mysterious reason, I can now focus all the way to the arrow hitting the x. Wish I knew what changed, but am really grateful it did. Am worried that my strength level is starting to disappear so left my set up where I can trip over it and remind me to do my SPTs between swapping out cookies in the oven. Vegas will be here too soon and I want to be confident in at least that area.

Matt took some really kick-ass photos of me yesterday out in the cold for the upcoming article (soon to be a second one!). Now I know how those supermodels feel minus the hair and wardrobe team. Thank god for long johns and not too much wind.

I am visualizing me, shooting on a warm beach with sand between my bare toes...

Bow America

My life is a checklist right now. Lists for work, lists for holiday shopping, lists for cards... Did get a new set of arrows ordered this week, so pretty excited to shoot them when they are ready. Check that one done. Don't want to hear anything about not doing them myself this time, our local shop does a great job and I know they will be done right the first time (wheras, myself...)

There is a new e-magazine coming out in January, Bow America. Sign up to get your FREE subscription. Look for my article, Bow Meets Girl, (hello!) in the launch issue. Thanks to editor Bill Howard for approaching me! Bill does a great hunting blog you might check out between writing all of those Christmas cards. Lots of good stories in there.

Have a good week y'all!

Black Friday...

 ...or what every archer girl wants to find under the tree.  Boys, I've done some homework for you.  These are my top pics for archery related gifts. Not receiving anything for posting these, just things I like.

Etsy is one of my favorite places to shop and hey, support an artist while you are at it. Click on the pics for the direct link.

1.  Super cute, non-camo undies. Yes, please.








2. How awesome would this look on your wall? Different, definitely a conversation starter for sure.

3.  Just for decoration. If you are like me though, you have plenty of matched arrows already laying round. Probably not this deco-friendly. More colors online.

4. Tiny enough to wear while shooting and not lose an earlobe. Score.

 5. And you need wrapping paper to pull it all together.

Happy shopping!

More Pie Anyone?

"Thanksgiving, man.  Not a good day to be my pants."  ~Kevin James


There is one day that is ours.  There is one day when all we Americans who are not self-made go back to the old home to eat saleratus biscuits and marvel how much nearer to the porch the old pump looks than it used to.  Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.  ~O. Henry




Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. The great migration of people back home, to sit and eat too much with the people that drive them nuts, but love them anyway. Our tradition is pretty much the same every year. Turkey, with the occasional pork roast instead (it's a Czech thing), my Grama V's cherry jello, corn stuff casserole, collards, the Lion's game on tv,  pie and a nap... and a post-nap turkey sammie with bread and butter pickles.  Actually, the sandwiches are the best part as far as I am concerned.


What's your tradition?

City Girl

Last week was a fab week for a couple of reasons. Firstly, our street has been surrounded with blinky warning lights and big trucks for the past few weeks... putting in city water. That's right, folks our house is in the sticks, but not so much now. Our awesome neighbors busted through our basement wall and ran a big ol' ditch out to the road. Now we have to get things connected on the inside. What does this mean? I will be able to run the dishwasher, do a load of laundry and take a decent shower all at the same time. Power wash the siding? Heck to the yes! Give the cars a proper bath? No problem-o! Am I excited much? Giggle!!

Another cool thing that happened was that I realized that my weeks had fallen into that trap of the same boring routine and needed a shake up. I haven't been practicing much now that it's dark at 5:00 pm, and I am not a huge fan of shooting inside. So, I put my usual Thursday practice on hold for a bit, dusted off the Cricket and had some fun that didn't require analyzing every small movement for each and every arrow. Not to mention I can still kill some inside Xs, which is ridiculously satisfying thank you very much. On the FITA target no less and with a borrowed release. So I say to my inner critic, shut the hell UP already. I still got this.

The BEST part of the week, however, was finally meeting Stephanie of ::steph chows:: and getting to shoot with her. Meeting another blogger is fun, especially when you have a lot in common already. And the girl can shoot, don't let her kid you. She'll try and tell you that she hasn't picked up her bow since summer, but then all her arrows magically go in the middle. Glad I don't have to compete with her! Her blog is full of really good recipes if you are trying to eat healthier, but not boring. Her hummus avacado sandwich is my go-to fav, especially made with Wegmans crusty 7-grain bread from the bakery and big fat slice of summer mater. Mmm! We had a great time chatting since girls can carry on a whole conversation at full draw, ya know.

Guest Post from Steph Chows!

Hi everyone, my name is Stephanie of ::steph chows:: healthy eating that tastes good. Amanda asked if I'd pop on over for a guest post with you all about my experience as a female archer, I was happy to oblige! I first got interested in archery through an old boyfriend, he hunted and wanted to try bowhunting, so off we went to a great place called Creekwood Archery where he bought a bow and at first I rented a bow. After a few times tagging along I decided I wanted to invest and get my own bow. Not one to bust the bank I looked into their used bows and found one that fit me perfectly! Even though I knew I'd be sticking strictly to shooting foam I bought a camouflage 40lb drawback hunting bow. I've always been into working out so the 40lb draw wasn't too much for me, and it got my arms in even better shape with all those draws! There is something so satisfying about hearing that thunk when you hit a target, it is a great stress release.  

Now remember always keep a loose grip, no death grips needed!
And yes yes I know I'm missing an arrow, safety first!

 

I think a lot of girls tend to get intimidated by sports that are male dominated... I see it as the perfect reason to get in there and kick some guys butts! Nothing gets a guy going better than getting a higher score and more X's than him :) Target shooting came pretty easy for me and we got into competing locally and eventually both made it to states. Even though I placed in my group (Female Adult Bow Hunter Freestyle A) the competition aspect really wasn't for me. I still like to take a target out into the backyard and do some damage, but competition wise my days are over :) For me shooting is really all about having a great time and relaxing. If you've never tried it I say give it a go and don't be scared!

This shot is from 2005, I brought my mom out to a field to show her my newly acquired skills...
born and raised 15 minutes outside of NYC I think she was a little surprised at my new hobby :)

Now since my blog is all about healthy eating I figured I'd share an easy snack to bring along to the range next time you go! Wild Berry granola will keep you satisfied and it's made without all that oil most commercial granolas are made with. Head over here to check out the full recipe. Hope you enjoy it!

Doesn't that just look delicious!?

So what about you all? Do you target shoot? Hunt? Get anything yet this season? What's your favorite snack to bring to the range? :)

The Meaning of Praxis

 

This is a perfect DTT, but too good to wait until Thursday. Dan Kelly posted this on FB from the Olympic Training Center in Colorado while on a training mission this week.  Thanks for letting me steal it. It’s too good to keep all to yourself.

Dan is responsible for heaping good advice and total harassment in equal measure on my head on Thursday nights.

Original Post 3/16/11

Happy Halloween!

How to get mom to let you shoot in the house...

It's all age related

Ex-model (Why do they always seem to be ex-models? Do they have super powers or something?) Phyllis Reffo walked on to the Pepperdine swim team after only swimming for 6 years. And she's 49. Stunning looks aside, this lady decided to pick up swimming to keep in shape and now competes with the team, attends classes and moms two girls.

And then there is Dara Torres, who just keeps coming back for more, including a run at the 2012 games. This is a great video of her speaking at an event.

My coach is much younger than I am, but it doesn't stop him from having more experience at this. Or knowing how to push my buttons.

"The water doesn't know your age." Right, and neither do your arrows. So, I guess it's off to the gym this morning for my weights class after seeing the Dara Gun Show.

Big Hat, No Cattle

It's 100 posts!! I was so excited, I almost forgot to add that this funny post is actually written by my sister, Jess. Some of you will sympathize with her situation...
 

My bad-ass sista

I am ill.  I have totally come down with the hunting bug. I don’t know where it came from.  I eat organic, take extra Vitamin C and get enough sleep.  Bam!  It just came out of nowhere.

Growing up in a pro-hunting area with venison lovin’ parents, and a seriously camo crazed husband, one would think I would have been vaccinated long ago.  I grew up shooting my Bear youth recurve, but never took it any farther than the hay bale.  I have tracked, hauled and processed my share of deer, all without ever wanting to fire a shot or arrow.  Ever.  Not even a little bit.

One can never be too sure how one gets infected.  It may have been designing my huge hunting room with floor to ceiling storage and camo hanging facilities with custom bow and gun case storage bins; yup, we have a lot of camo.  It may have been being around my teenage son as he and camo hubby watched The Hunting Channel 24/7.   It could have been watching my sister with Christmas morning type glee as she revealed her custom lucky cricket paint job on her new (now old) Hoyt.   

Whatever it is, I have battled my illness with my greatest resource  - - my Special Forces caliber shopping abilities.  I started out not being able to shoot a release, but ALAS!  They come in pink camo!  Ring one up and move over so I can try on those amazing hunting boots (Camo on the tred?!  Get Out!!)  Supportive camo hubby sits patiently by, listening to my reasoning on upgrading our optics (Swarovski sounds so sparkly!) to leasing hunting land in the most prolific areas.  All of the things he would never dream of spending money on, but hey, if he can share it with the wife, why not!  Camo hubby firmly believes combining my hockey mom status with my new found love for camo, the only thing now differentiating me from Sara Palin is that I believe dinosaurs actually existed.   So I shop for backpacks, warm weather gear, cold weather gear, scent sprays, ground blinds, special swivel seats for ground blinds, tree stands, car racks to carry the tree stands, uber cool bow cases, gloves made of NASA quality material so you can read braille in the tree stand….you get the point.  I am lookin’ super fly.  I am the Pam Greer of hunting.  Shaazam!

But let’s be clear.  I am actually a pretty good shot, even with my starter bow and especially considering I took 20 years or so off.  Probably because I learned to shoot with a finger release like the archer youth of purists are apparently supposed to.  The problem is that I have yet to see any actual, live deer to shoot my amazingly chic carbon arrow at.  It seems the thing I forgot to buy is a nanny, so that I can sit in the woods instead of in my car, chauffeuring endlessly back and forth to hockey practice, games, car pool, ballet practice and vet appointments.

So, we are heading to Michigan next week for some super rut, unadulterated stand time, complete with built in Grandma.  Yea!  Since I will be skipping the Illinois hockey scheduling meeting, I think I have figured out how to stealthily schedule an entire hockey season from a tree (God Bless Steve Jobs) and hope to find a cure for my illness.  Bring on the cattle, OK, deer….. my big camo hat is ready.

Countdown to 100...

Seriously, I can't believe that this is almost 100 posts!  Look for some more fun guest posts coming up to celebrate in the near future!

Thanks everyone for hanging in there with me :)

Another Girl with A Bow

Ok, enough about me for a bit. Time to take a closer look at another girl with bow.  

My friend Inessa Ellsworth has been in and out of the sport her entire life, beginning as a student in the USSR  system school program.  Since she has been shooting for 25+ years, her form is consistent, fluid and very elegant to watch. And, she’s good.  Don’t underestimate her on the line.  After taking the most of the summer off, she came back shooting 70m like she just did it yesterday. 

Inessa got her feet wet at about 14, and represented the travel team where the coaches were tough and you had to be tougher. If you didn’t keep your elbow up, there was a sharp pair of scissors under your elbow the next time to remind you.  Twice daily practice before tournaments is more than most of our kids do in football or basketball.  She picked up a good work ethic and tough mindset that’s worked in her favor since.

After coming to the US and putting her bow aside she started a web hosting company with her husband, Mike. After 18 years off, Mike bought her some equipment and she was on her way again. With multiple wins at the state level, their business keeps her close to home, but she has gotten the competitive bug again and so plan to see her out in 2012.

Archery seems to attract people with a creative bent and Inessa is an accomplished artist as well. She works easily in 3-D materials making all sorts beautiful, functional stuff. Chairs, leatherwork, mittens, felted wool, you name it. She’s also a great graphic designer.  Check out some of her work on Etsy http://www.etsy.com/people/inessa

What is the Point?

It's been a while since the last post. Less archery and more of everything else lately and it's starting to be sorely missed. This week included a work trip to Boulder, but I had today to play so I headed south to Colorado Springs in the first snowstorm of the year. Take a note upstate NY'ers. Maybe it's 'cause summers here are even shorter than ours, but Coloradoites don't lose their shit and forget how to drive the first time it snows. Especially when the first snow is 6". Ahh. Maybe I need to consider moving here.


Due to the low visibility, I missed the mountain view on the way down, but managed to catch four coyotes jumping mice in the snow and looking like they were happy to see the snowfall. Was reallly wishing I could snap a photo while driving of those guys. As soon as I arrived in town, the sky cleared, the sun appeared and Pike's Peak emerged on the edge of town. Was starting to think that the long drive might be worth it. Two big influences on my current archery situation have been very involved with the Coaching Program at the OTC and the traveling teams this year and I was curious to see where they went to learn the magic.  

Interestingly, my hubby's cousin Kristie posted on FB today, "What is the point of having goals if you are not going to truly work toward them? But what is a life without having goals to work toward??" This place is dedicated to that end. 


The tour started with an impromptu a capella version of the Star Spangled Banner with four talented Idahoans on the tour. One of the Resident Athletes toured us around, "All-American" would pretty much describe him. Being Saturday, the campus wasn't too busy, but we did see some uber-fit people in the gym. Strangely, elite athlete gyms don't smell any better than the Y. And, the group in there seemed like they were actually enjoying it. Go figure. 


One thing that really stood out was the indoor shooting range, and I'm not talking archery. I thought the FITA targets were challenging, whoo boy. There was a woman from Kentucky in head-to-toe leather chaps and weighted canvas practicing with a .22, with microphones and a computer system to sense how far from the X her pellet went. She was so still and stiff, one of the older ladies on the tour asked, "Is that a robot?" That's taking precision shooting to a whole new level and I was dying to go in there and watch without the safety glass.

To be able to immerse yourself in your sport of choice is a luxury to most of us, especially if you picked it up late. But can you imagine your life without it? As Kristie said so well earlier, what would be the point?

 

The F-word and Archery

Certain individuals may choose to walk away, close their laptops or otherwise stick their fingers in their ears and mutter, "icanthearyouicanthearyou."

Archery can bring you to the point of throwing your bow and arrows into the hedge and swearing confidently you will never, ever do this again. And then you take up dominos or bridge or competitive scrapbooking instead. This summer has restored my lost confidence, and even with adding back the medieval torture device they call a clicker, I've been loving it lately.

Last week, I had a rare light-bulb moment when a tin-y change in bow hand alignment and a deeper hook suddenly had me in the middle of my bow. That's a confidence builder right there, I do declare. Even though the dark showed up way too early and the blood suckers were out for vengance, it was a seriously productive couple of hours that ended in the garage blank baling in front of the mirror. Certain things are starting to become automatic in my draw sequence (cue audible sigh of relief here).

This weekend I put out the call on FB to see if anyone else wanted to shoot with me. Grant raised his hand and so we made a plan to shoot the 40-50-60 range at our local range in the morning. One of those gorgeous fall mornings that still thinks it's summertime. Sunny, not too hot, just a little chill in the air. Between wrangling arrows out of the sparkling new targets, we admired Marcia's new paint pony, literally fresh off the horse van from Nebraska. A great blue heron did an illegal fly-by and gave us the hairy eyeball before taking off for undisturbed waters. It was a nice hour or so spent in some good shooting company. I'll think about that one in March when I am tired of 20 yards and the smell of snow.

Oh, yeah. For those of you still waiting for me to drop the f-bomb, here ya go. Fun. Don't be sending the hate mail now.

Jam On

No, I mean literally - Jam. This year was the first time I have done a jam swap, thanks to Steph Chows, our local foodie (and sometimes archer).

April from Abby Sweets sent me an awesome box with Dandelion Jelly (smells just like honey) and Apple Butter (all time fav) this week.

Not much archery this week, Monday had a fantastic practice and Friday was fabulously heinous due the fact that I was completely fried and punchy to boot. Hoping a 12 hour snooze and some yoga has me back on track today.

What do you guys do to get your archery mojo back?

Homemade Always Tastes Better

8 winds on the Thing-a-ma-Jig. Get it? Jig? Sigh.

Ok, show of hands – who here has actually made their own string from scratch? I know at least a few of you out there have. I’m not talking about bowstring mix-in-a-box here, I mean the whole naked spool to string on your bow and shooting arrows recipe.

This week, I got my first how-to in string making. Being the artsy-craftsy gal that I am, it was actually fun aside from the “has to be accurate” part which admittedly I am not so good at. Sort of like taking a test before you read the book. Plus, my technique was more like a cat batting a toy round and round, but hey, it got the job done.

BEFORE bow tuning and new string
- and this was a GOOD target

AFTER - withOUT clicker yet! Woot!

In addition, my bow got a proper tune up and a clicker (eep) this week along with a new 6-week assignment for me. Tested everything out last night at 18 m. Pin comes up to height without pushing it around now, need to check it at 50 m. New string feels great! It's a tad longer and feels more springy. Had the best groups in a very long time and actually kept my target for a change.

Clicker - needs some adjusting and shorter arrows, but I can see the potential of where this is going to be when everything is set up. I still have to stttrreetch to get it to go off. If I could just grow my draw length by a half inch, I'd be all set. But surprisingly better groups even when not using the clicker. Can't wait to get out and practice today. Heck, yeah!

DeepThought Friday

"Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it."
      -Gandhi

So, get to it and have a good weekend!

The Proof is in the Video

Old School - I can see my Grama V. doing this back in the day. 

 

 

 

This week was different in the fact that it was so humid and nasty out, Matt and I chose to go shoot indoors for the first time all summer.  Which was great, since I could still practice at 30 yards and needed to deal with the "new" distractions.

Had the chance to review a ton of video this week (thanks, Dan) comparing where things stood in April vs a couple weeks ago. Lots of side-by-side comparisons with shot timers and grids to see if I am holding properly and twisting anything unnecessarily. Huge (ok, maybe just big) difference can been seen, even with the untrained eye. Major relief felt in that I finally am getting somewhere and now have the proof to show.

Getting excited about the indoor season this time around. I actually broke one of my A/C arrows with a hit that cracked the carbon. My arrows are dwindling between breakage and losing them in the hedgerow. Time for some new indoor arrows, a string and a bow tune to get things ready.Time to also work on my mental game. Used to be sharper with my focus and that is such a major part of the game. More on that later.

On a completely separate note, I found this great site on outdoor lifestyles, the Outdoor Blogger Network.  Super cool if you are into fly fishing, camping, etc. Checking it out made me realize that we have not been camping all year. WTH? It's not too late for a chilly weekend off someplace. This needs to be remedied immediately (or after Labor Day, when everything quiets down). Been too much of head down, nose to the grindstone this summer. I am planning another quick trip to Boulder next month, so am hoping to get in some decent hiking in Rocky Mt Nat Park and maybe catch some elk in rut with the camera. Am grateful that I get the chance to travel for work out to this area.

Control Freak

Stumbled across a new online mag that is for the modern recurve archer.  rchery Magazine. Yup, little r, no A for you good spellers. Loads of conditioning and nutrition info, interviews with international archers. Tres cool, non?



From the article, "Control Freaks" basically the difference between a seasoned archer and a newb, is that the seasoned archer is comfortable at full draw and doesn't worry about the execution afterwards as it has all become automatic. Like driving a car or signing your name. You don't think about it while you are doing it. 
"The experts “let go,” they trust that their practice has prepared them and they stop trying to control everything."

"The following is the mantra of the truly exceptional performer:
'Give me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.' 

So remember when you are cold and bored and ache in practice that you are being courageous, and when you are competing for whatever is your desired prize be serene and wise."

Am I still a control freak? For now, yes. But the things I am concerned about are smaller and pickier. And I have it on good authority that things are looking up.

Let it blow...

Livin' on the delta's quite a show
They got hurricane parties every time it blows
And here up north it's a cold cold rain
And there ain't no cure for my blues today

Well, the cure for practice boredom - try shooting outside while your area is getting the edge of a tropical storm. Irene is kicking up 20 mph winds, but somehow that gave me that cool white noise effect. It's oddly relaxing. At least it wasn't raining, but if you know me, you also know that a little rain is fine and dandy. Actually shot better than I have in a couple of weeks. Whee! Being able to adapt to less than great weather conditions is good practice, but you have to be willing to take off the training wheels.

If you are reading this, ya'll still have power.

One..two..three...

...120...121...122.
Here's my arrow count for tonight.


We'll see if the last six weeks did any good tomorrow.

Crossing toes 'cause my fingers are on the stiff side. Tomorrow is sorta my Friday, so that makes today sorta my Thursday.

Shoot 'em if you got 'em

Hm, thinking my nephew watches a little too much Uncle Ted? He's getting excited about deer season already. Atta' boy. I still haven't decided what I want to do about that. Looking like a "not" at the moment. Matt's talking about sitting out in our lone white pine though to see what walks by though.

Been shooting a lot this week. Bumped up my arrow count and my everything is sore. The light is going fast now, had to come in before I was done on Wednesday. All I could see were the mosquitos between the target and me at that point. Boredom has set in - solved part of that by dumping most of what was on my ipod and downloading some classic stuff from Prince and few others. Part of it is just being out there on my ownsome, I look forward to Fridays cause I'm shooting with others. I will miss shooting outside at longer distance now that I have the hang of it. May need to set up a shop light on the target so I can stay outside this fall.

It's also hard to concentrate when Cloe from next door decides to visit. She managed to get INside the fence in our dog run. Silly puppy. 10 weeks of wiggly, new puppy smelling, boxer. This is the only pic that she stood still long enough for. The rest are all a blur.

If you have any suggestions about mixing things up for a less boring practice, send them over the fence, eh?

Uh, huh. It's Thursday.

One Year - Gut Check

Out practicing this morning and a hummingbird decided to see if my bright red sight was edible. He didn't seem to care that he was literally only an arm's length away from me. Got right in there for a taste of metal and decided that it wasn't the right vintage. Have never seen one that close up before.

Our rabbits don't seem to care if I share the back shooting lane with them either. There's apparently enough clover to go around.

It's been just over a year since I decided to switch to recurve. The first four or so months were just plain fun and then it got miserable for pretty much the winter as I struggled to remake new muscle memory and get rid of the old ones. They still sneak in there sometimes when I'm not paying close enough attention. This summer has been back to enjoying this, thank god. My muscles are stronger, I'm in better shape overall, and I'm lucky to be working with and around other talented archers on a regular basis. Having someone who can explain the mechanics of the shot sequence and break it down is so important when you are learning something like this, especially when you start refining things. Have regained a lot of lost confidence outside and added some new distances to boot. Will miss shooting for a couple of hours after dinner when the light is not there anymore and I'll have to go back underground for the winter at only 10 yards. Thinking about the indoor season already and what goals I need to have.

Those who can, shoot...

Was musing over this earlier this week. Lots of high-profile tournaments lately, including the USA Nationals as well as the World Cup (watch today on ESPN 3). Noticing that the coaches don't shoot, at least not in competition in the public eye and not next to their students.  They got into this sport at some point as archers first, I'm assuming.  Why don't they shoot now?

Time, for one. If you shoot recurve, you need to shoot as often as possible to keep your skills up to par. Recurve systems, you find there are too many nuances. Your left shoulder is over here and needs to be ...just here. Strength matters, sure.

But during competition, if you are coaching top level archers as as well as shooting AND having an off day (they are only human ya know) their credibility suffers. Especially if you coach kids or possibly just immature adults.

If you teach (and shoot) I'd love to hear your side. Betting there are many more compound coaches/teachers that compete than recurve. 

For a current inside look at the World Cup from the coach's perspective, check out Doug Ludwig's WC notes on FB or the Points to the Cross website. Exciting stuff.

Thursday's Thought

This is mostly just a shout out to all of those competing at Nationals right this very minute.  Would I rather be there than at my computer??  Um, YEAH!

Good luck everyone and shoot well!

Plan to work, work the plan

Question #1:  It's been 90++ degrees out all week and I have been outside shooting because:

A:  My bubble is a little off
B:  Structured plan that has me sweating
C:  Fun new gear!!
D:  All of the above

 
Tuesday - well anticipated and given it's proper due with a careful assessment of my choices by Mr.Kelly. Everything was measured, considered, deemed keepable - or not - assembled and topped off with an appropriate adult beverage. What's it like to shoot? Like butta. Only betta. Heck, yes!


 
Plan to work, and work the plan, or something thereabouts. Note to self. Be careful what you ask for. Now working new strengthening program Week #1. Fridays are the toughest, which is fine since by that point I need something else to focus on besides the usual frustrations of the week. My motivation to get the gym is weak at best, goals keep me in line and from bustin' out ma jeans.  Like the 5K from last month. Have I been running since?  Ahem... yes, well....I picked up a 40 lb bag of topsoil this morning without thinking about it tho. Huh. Things should be getting verrry interesting at the end of this cycle.

Tomorrow, we score.

Thursday's Thought

“It’s so Fluffy! I’m gonna die!”

Yup, brand new equipment is in the house.  It’s like Christmas, only way better.

More on this coming shortly along with some bow p-o-r-n.