# Eye Dominance No Longer That Important!?!?



## Reverend (Nov 2, 2004)

While listening to Larry Wise recently, he announced that the NFAA and USA Archery are no longer advocating using eye dominance to determine shooting hand in their National Training Systems. They now advocate using the dominant hand of the shooter. Is this a new shift, or is it old news? Maybe I've been living under a rock these last few years...


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## Padgett (Feb 5, 2010)

I have a feeling that there is a small subgroup of people that really need to pick the dominant eye but for most people it isn't a big deal, I have been left handed all my life and being left handed growing up I have had to lean to shoot a gun left or right handed and do virtually everything both ways so it has never been a big issue to switch.


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## dmacey (Mar 27, 2015)

Same here, as I practically don't have a dominant eye. I shoot my bows right handed, but prefer the left shoulder for a shotgun. Also when I use my rangefinder, it tends to go the left eye. So I prefer whichever eye that seems to correspond to the preferred hand....

DM


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## Huntinsker (Feb 9, 2012)

Not sure that will work for every one. I've seen people where I work who absolutely could not shoot cross dominant. Either because they couldn't wink their dominant eye or that their eye is so much dominant over the other that they just couldn't make it work. I'm cross dominant and I shoot my bow cross dominant however my dominancy is not so strong that I couldn't make it work. I can also wink my dominant eye though I shoot both eyes open without a problem. It took a long time to be able to do that but 20 years later and I'm doing just fine. 

US Archery probably just got tired of people complaining or resisting the change. I've almost always seen better and immediate results with new shooters who try their dominant eye over their dominant hand.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

Reverend said:


> While listening to Larry Wise recently, he announced that the NFAA and USA Archery are no longer advocating using eye dominance to determine shooting hand in their National Training Systems. They now advocate using the dominant hand of the shooter. Is this a new shift, or is it old news? Maybe I've been living under a rock these last few years...


About time they did something right.

Did you know that force training in schools gave many students metal problems, caused speech problems and maybe more? Schools use to make left handed kids go right handed. This was stopped years and years ago. 

There is also the physical part of the body. You're left handed, you're left handed. Your weak side is your right side. 

Me, left handed, left eye dominant. Starve to death if not for my left hand. Naturally shoot all firearms left handed (and I'm damned good), write left handed. And all naturally I throw right handed, bowl right handed and shoot a bow right handed (and do pretty darn good). I'm sort of split, but by the medical association we are what we are, your body is what it is. Trying to switch can wreck you both mentally and physically. Usually, if one wants to switch on their own then mental and physical state can adjust, maybe.

I took the advise of going left handed with a bow. So awkward was drawing I had a horrible time, even with draw weight turned way down and this way for weeks. A made a wrong decision, to make myself go left handed. Spent the day trying and then "rippppppppp." I not only felt it, I heard it. Something tore in my back. Lost the use of my left arm for nearly 6 weeks. Torn muscles swelled and blocked the nerve to my arm. My arm had to strapped down as it would sometimes go flopping out of control. Muscles swelled so bad it pushed my neck out of place (spent days in therapy having my neck in traction). Sent to a sports specialist doctor; "The reason your injury occurred is because your body isn't built that way. You're left handed for sure, but your body is right handed in other respects." I think I put this correctly. Yes, with maybe proper training I may not have injured myself, but 35 pounds and I was drawing 70 pounds right handed.


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## Terps1 (Jul 31, 2008)

Laryy was in the process of switching to a left hand bow when i first worked with him. he had some shoulder issues and i believed had surgery to correct it so he switched. he was still an unbeliveable shot as a lefty only after a couple weeks


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## grousegrove (Aug 8, 2013)

I don't know what is "best," but I can confirm that USA archery is teaching dominant hand over dominant eye. That was a case in the level 2 class I recently took; our instructor did not wholly agree but conceded it can be learned and done either way. I discovered my son is cross dominant AFTER buying him his first serious recurve (of course). I was disinclined to go spend more on a lefty bow, and had some initial struggles getting him to understand why he was having trouble aiming. But now he's got it, and is improving steadily.


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## nestly (Apr 19, 2015)

There are different levels of dominance for both handedness and vision, so if there's a shift away from the misconception that the "dominant" eye must be used for aiming, that's a step in the right direction.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

some might call it , a "new shift",....but, I think it's realization by the organizing bodies, that people buy a right handed bow, because that's what's on the racks in most stores that aren't "real archery shops", and aren't aware that there is a legitimate reason for the choice....with some consideration for the fact that people will buy for price and most left handed bows cost more than right handed bows. the average person doesn't realize the concerns of right handed vs. left handed, when archery is involved and it's probably easier to talk hand dominance vs. eye dominance, when giving advice about the issue to people who seek information on their computers. 
lastly,.... the potential for people to be cross dominant is small enough, that the better, clearer message, is to leave cross dominance out of the picture, because the vast majority of people are eye and hand dominant to the same side.
bottom line,....if you complicate the choice too much, it stagnates intererest. in general and "dominant hand, vs. "dominant eye" is more easily understood by people who aren't interested in getting into archery as deeply as most people here are. then consider the fact that as I mentioned above, ...if you are left handed, you are most likely "left eye dominant".


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## nestly (Apr 19, 2015)

ron w said:


> ,.... the potential for people to be cross dominant is small enough, that the better, clearer message, is to leave cross dominance out of the picture, because the vast majority of people are eye and hand dominant to the same side.


About 30% of men are cross-eye dominant... and everytime this subject comes up, a surprising number of people indicate that they're cross-eye dominant.


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## SonnyThomas (Sep 10, 2006)

nestly said:


> About 30% of men are cross-eye dominant... and everytime this subject comes up, a surprising number of people indicate that they're cross-eye dominant.


Not to forget, if according to the medical associations, as we age our eyes become more or less balanced for dominance. Age meaning somewhere past 40 I guess. This is when most begin to need glasses.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

visual correction, will re-install eye dominance to it's base configuration. it is hard wired into our physiology. the change or loss as we get older, is a by-product of our eyesight failing. 
a certain amount of that 30 % is made up of people who are universally dominant, or indominent (whichever way you prefer to see it).... remove that portion because it doesn't sway the preference either way.... and the percentage falls.


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

Maja Marcen will be glad to hear this


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## nestly (Apr 19, 2015)

ron w said:


> a certain amount of that 30 % is made up of people who are universally dominant, or indominent (whichever way you prefer to see it).... remove that portion because it doesn't sway the preference either way.... and the percentage falls.


Readily available studies indicate that only about 1% have no dominance in either eye.


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## Reverend (Nov 2, 2004)

Mahly said:


> Maja Marcen will be glad to hear this


Ah yes Maja. Do you think she will change bow hands now that USA Archery has given her permission? Hehe.


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## Mahly (Dec 18, 2002)

God I wish she would!!!
It's almost painful to watch her twitching at full draw, coaches yelling encouragement to her (sounds like Muerte Muerte...whatever that means).
She is an amazing shot for how she has to shoot, get that girl a hinge and look out!

Edit: looked up Muerte.... I'm HOPING it's encouragement..... (means death in some languages!!)


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

My only experience with cross dominance is my son. Since he is right handed, I bought him a right handed bow when he was 10. I showed him how to shoot and supervised him for a few days. He really caught on and was doing pretty well. Then I turned my back on him for a few minutes. "Hey Dad, look how much better I shoot when I hold the bow in my right hand." Sure enough he went from 24" groups at 10 yards to 3" groups. 

As mentioned above, there are varying levels of eye dominance. My son is strongly left eye dominant & shoots a lot better left handed. I've seen others who seem to be able to switch with relative ease. My guess is that there can be no hard & fast rule. Each archer needs to work it out for themselves, hopefully with the aid of a good coach.


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## ron w (Jan 5, 2013)

Mahly said:


> Maja Marcen will be glad to hear this


 you don't have to be a sarcastic smart alec,..... cross dominance is her "base configuration".


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## taz00 (Jun 28, 2015)

Marcen could not shoot with her right eye even if she wanted to.
Here is some info right from the horse's mouth.

https://es-la.facebook.com/majaarchery/posts/419624834823738


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## wa-prez (Sep 9, 2006)

I just got my copy of the new USAA (/ NFAA) Level I Instructor Manual, and the relative emphasis of "Dominant Hand" over consideration of "Dominant Eye" was one of the things that stood out to me as different from what I'd been taught.

I do think it is important for people to KNOW which is their dominant eye, and how to compensate (by closing eye, using patch etc) if their dominant eye is different side from dominant hand.

I'm a person with incomplete dominance, and if I forget to close my left eye, about 2 shots in 100 it "takes over" and I miss badly to the left!


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