# Cross eye dominance



## bitconnect (Jul 24, 2018)

I am very new at this sport (I do olympic recurve). Only have about 10 hours of experience.

I am however right handed and left eye dominant.

All those time I was shooting right handed and just closing my dominant eye to compensate, now I read somewhere that this will be a problem once you get to higher level of skill as your brain will interfere with the shot process instead of it being natural

So next time I go to the club I will tell my coach that I will switch to left handed shooting

Am I doing this right?


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## Lucky_leftie215 (May 29, 2018)

bitconnect - I'm in the same boat as you and after much deliberation, I've chosen to stick with being right eye dominant and shooting left handed. I haven't had any problems so far, however I did experiment with shooting with both eyes open today and my groups and accuracy were WAY better than they've been. 

Best of luck to you on your journey and keep us posted on any new developments.


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## chrstphr (Nov 23, 2005)

i was left eye dominate and right handed. I shot that way for years. I believe its better to shoot the handedness than the eye.

I dont have to see the target that clearly, but i do need a good release. I shot with one eye closed for a while, but didnt like it much. I then starting learning to shoot with both eyes open. I would see two sight rings, one clear and one faint. I had to learn to focus on the fainter one. Once i did that, it started getting clearer. Now its not a problem to focus on the correct sight ring. I also like both eyes open so i have better sight on the side of the bow for the arrow and clicker. 

I have never regretted shooting right handed. I prefer it to be honest. It is much more of a relaxed shot doing what my body wants to do naturally.

your choices may be different. Some people shoot with a patch to force the other eye to become dominate. Some people shoot with one eye closed, some people shoot right handed and use the left eye. They just move the sight way over to compensate. There is currently a world cup Russian female recurve archer who shoots right handed and aims with her left eye. She closes her right eye. She wins and is on the podium. 

Others switch to left handed and deal with it. 

No right or wrong answer other than what you feel is best.


Chris


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## sprinke (Jul 9, 2015)

I think it depends on the age and malleability of the archer. I'm strongly left-eye dominant and started archery after age 40. My club started me out with a left-handed bow but it always felt completely wrong to me and I injured myself all the time. Switched to right-handed and learned to train the "correct" eye to aim. 

I've read that it's easier to start younger archers with the appropriate bow to match the dominant eye, but older folks are more ingrained with their handedness and it's better to stick with that.


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## Rids (Jul 17, 2018)

Just my 2-cents - When I work with people new to archery (young and old) I prefer to match hand/eye dominance. Not because it's bad to be cross dominant but when your first starting out: 1) 1-less hurdle or challenge to overcome when your learn proper form and technique and 2) it's all about the instant gratification of 'holy crap", I actually hit the target where I was aiming - that helps to keep their interest while dealing with the ups and downs of getting the basics nailed down. Being cross dominant is something that can be overcome, I too am left eye/right handed but have been able to train myself to turn-off my left eye while shooting - and yes I do shoot with both eyes open. If you're open minded about this and have the option, try shooting left handed and see how the results compare to your cross dominant setup. If you do this, don't base it on a few shots, give it a real go as you need to retrain yourself on how to hold the bow and release the arrow again, but you may be pleasantly surprised at the outcome.


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## archergirl24703 (Dec 27, 2018)

I was the same way except left handed and right eye dominant. It worked for me for quiet a while but as I got up in competitive levels and distance I started having problems with it. I switched to a right handed bow and it solved almost all of my shooting problems, if nothing else it is worth a try.


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## rattlinman (Dec 30, 2004)

I've been an archer for 31 years, a competitive archer for 23 years. I'm left eye dominate, right handed. Started out left-handed, still shoot guns left-handed. When I became sponsored 20 years ago, dumping my left-handed bows each year was tough, getting left-handed equipment was almost impossible, so I decided to switch to right handed.

Took a solid year to get back to the level of competition, used a flip-down blocker, then slowly learned to squint my left marginally and make my right eye take over. Served me fine for many years, but now I've developed right eye fatigue and an astigmatism, which I think is from over-working the non-dominate eye. Considering going back left-handed.

My advice since you are just starting - train with your dominate eye. Everything will flow better, you can shoot with both eyes open, and you'll do better. And with lefty equipment more prevalent, there's no downside to being left-handed.

Good luck with your decision!


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