# Beginner looking for advice



## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

Your draw length is about 1 1/2 or 2 inches too long.
You can really see it at 2:00 minutes into the video. Right when you get to full draw... your posture looks good, but the string is back at your check bone. Then you have to lean back and move your face around the string.
Shorten it up and you'll be good to go.


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

You have a lot of the basics down pretty good. It looks like you've had some coaching.

You have a very soft follow through. It should be more explosive and end up at the same point every time. Shortening the DL will help with this.

Experiment with your stance and balance. You seem to sway a bit at full draw. DL and stance work together. The closer you are to your perfect DL, the more this matters.

Allen


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## Geoff.Gonseth (Nov 5, 2012)

Thanks for the feedback. I have only been shooting for about 3 weeks. I have not had any formal coaching but I have a friend in Fort Dodge who has been extremely helpful in getting started and getting set up. The stance issues I will work on, it is just a matter of finding what is the most comfortable for me. I still need to increase the draw weight on the bow by about 8lbs which should also shorten the draw length. I am also just beginning to get comfortable with the back tension release, but I will work on being more explosive at separation.


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## [email protected] (Aug 3, 2010)

I would suggest lightening up ur grip.Lightly touch your index finger to side of your thumb and gently roll back your fingers.Concentrate on just pulling the bow back softly into your hand and holding the bow not grabbing the bow.By tucking your 3rd,4th,&5th fingers it will keep you from having too much hand on the bow like you do now.So on the bale no target concentrate on gripping bow on thumbside of your hands lifeline then relax fingers rolled back.It will feel awkward at first cause your used to having so much hand on the bow but this grip will be repeatable and help your form.Good luck.


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## Geoff.Gonseth (Nov 5, 2012)

I wanted to again thank those that responded when I posted looking for form advice. It has been an exciting 2 months for me since I started shooting my 2003 Protec. I have made several changes including shortening my drawlength about an inch and relaxing my grip. I have also made some equipment changes that have made things much easier for me. I started off shooting in the low 280's around 20X count. On Saturday I managed my first 300 with a 35 X count, and yester day I got my best X count with a 45. Our clubs indoor league starts tonight and I am really looking forward to it. Again, Thanks.


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## da white shoe (Mar 10, 2009)

Go get 'em, big guy! :thumbs_up


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## aread (Dec 25, 2009)

Geoff.Gonseth said:


> I wanted to again thank those that responded when I posted looking for form advice. It has been an exciting 2 months for me since I started shooting my 2003 Protec. I have made several changes including shortening my drawlength about an inch and relaxing my grip. I have also made some equipment changes that have made things much easier for me. I started off shooting in the low 280's around 20X count. On Saturday I managed my first 300 with a 35 X count, and yester day I got my best X count with a 45. Our clubs indoor league starts tonight and I am really looking forward to it. Again, Thanks.


Good shooting!!

One thing to watch for is to NOT "try hard". Trying hard to shoot a good score means that you are changing something about your shot. In competition, your only goals should be to shoot your shot on every arrow. If that's good enough, you'll score well. If not, then you know what you need to work on. 

Never think about score. It just results in added tension and poor shots. Also when someone gets as good as you (and you are very good) so quickly, it can lead to unrealistic expectations & added tension to do even better, and that leads to target panic. I've seen it several times. Guys who could have been top shooters drop out because they couldn't maintain their rate of improvement. 

One rule of thumb when an archer gets to your level is that they add 1 or 2 X's to their score each year. Equipment adjustments and focusing on the mental game can help you do better, but the last few X's come really hard.

Don't let me discourage you. Just shoot to have fun and focus on process, not outcome.

You are doing good!

JMHO,
Allen


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