Archery is one of the most ancient of all the arts. From the time of its creation all the way through the 1500s AD, the bow and quiver were a man's constant companion. The bow is in fact the most often used weapon in the history of mankind. It was the bow that permitted hunter-gatherer societies to thrive and make mankind the most dominant hunting species on the face of the earth.
From the time of the coming of William the Conquerer, the bow become the principal weapon of England and English mastery of the longbow helped them to crush the French in many battles in the High Middle Ages. Indeed at the Battle of Agincourt and the Battle of Crecy in the 1300s in France, the totally outnumbered and out-horsed English army smashed the cavalry-heavy and powerful French army with the use of the longbow. These longbows had incredible draw weights between 60 and 120 pounds and many had to be mechanically cranked back for the and were carted about on wheels. From 1330 to 1414 the English banned all sports except archery because other sports detracted from time that could be spent practicing archery. Archery tournaments as we know them today, in fact, originated in England.
In 1200 AD or so Genghis Khan and his Mongols conquered much of the then-known world by using powerful, short, compact bows. Native Americans depended entirely on the bow for both food and defending themselves. Once guns were developed and become more deadly than bows, archery remained alive and well as one of mankind's most cherished means of exercise and sport. Archery's development actually is as vital of a cultural development as the discovery and application of fire and the development of faster and faster means of travel. Archery is a deep part of mankind's cultures all across the globe.
Around 3500 BC the ancient proto-Egyptians were using bows as long as the height of a man. At first made of flint, later on their arrowheads were made from bronze. Then around 1500 BC the Assyrian Empire created the recurve bow. The recurve bow gave more power and was easier to manipulate. The Parthians of what is now Iran, Iraq, and some of sub-India became legendary for their ability to shoot backwards with a bow while riding on a horse. The Hittites had developed the skill of shooting with bow and arrow while standing in moving war chariot by 1200 BC. And although they had formerly never been all that good with archery, by 500 AD the Romans started anchoring to the chin instead of the chest and they suddenly were experts.
In the US, the National Archery Association came into being as a result of the fact that after the Civil War the former Confederate soldiers were forbidden from using guns. So the Thompson brothers learned how to hunt in the forests by using bow and arrow. The brothers became the founding members of the NAA in 1879 at Crawfordsville, Indiana.
As far as your archery stance, you want to stand side-on to the target, with your feet about shoulder-width apart and pointing along the imaginary shooting line. In fact, however, most archers find it more comfortable to have their toes a little bit further from the line than their heels are. You should point neither your feet nor your knees in the direction of the target. Doing either will compromise your archery stance.
Once you have your feet properly arranged, you need to give attention to your upper body. The only parts of your body that should move when you shoot are your head and your arms. Too many people semi-rotate their torso. You should never rotate your torso towards the target. Your neck should have absolutely zero tilt. It is said that a good way to be sure you that don't move to meet the string is to put 80% of your weight on your back foot (you'll have to mentally estimate that). This is a widely practiced Oriental technique and works wonders for precision. It is definitely a highly efficient stance.
Remember that when you are at full draw, the tension in the string will compel your bow to align itself in a certain direction. When you release, that tension evaporates and the bow aligns itself in whatever direction the position of your hand then suggests. If the full draw and after-release tensions aren't precisely the same, then your bow is going to rotate slightly and give the arrow a nudge to the side. You can tell when you're doing this due to the fact that the arrow will fishtail while it's on its trajectory, and your horizontal grouping will lack. You will also observe that when you draw, the bow twists in your hand and gets hung from its original position.
Invest in a sling, so you don't have to grip the bow at all. In other words, you can leave your fingers open, and the sling merely stops the bow jumping out of your hand when you release. If you can, practice with your fellow archers' slings first. There are several different types and some different people feel more comfortable using different ones. The most highly recommended is the finger sling.
If you can't do this, then simply try to relax your grip a little. You don't need to choke the handle tight. Forefinger and thumb should be enough of a grip, with your other three fingers held out, in a relaxed fashion, the other way. John Tansley puts it like this: "Another mistake that people often make within the OUC of A is to be so intent on not gripping the bow that they hold the fingers of the bow hand utterly rigid which is just as bad and will cause exactly the same problem, not to mention wear you out."
Remember, however, that the most important aspect of your archery stance and shooting is not physical, but mental. The mind rules the body. You need a clear head with a focus on your objective of perfectly splitting the bull's eye of the target.
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