DYNAMIC POWER: DRAWING THE BOW FROM THE CHEST

DYNAMIC POWER: DRAWING THE BOW FROM THE CHEST by Mihai Cozmei The optimal combination of accuracy and rate of fire is the main skill to be developed in mounted archery. In order to be able to load and shoot fast without loosing power and accuracy, all the technical movements should be perfectly balanced. The ideal form is to have always the arms moving symmetrically: closing the hands during the loading and open them at drawing-release. At the level of the drawing technique this means to push the bow from the chest with the left hand, while pulling the string back with the right hand. In one ancient Chinese archery manual the archer is advised to push the bow from the chest “like the moon rising from his breast“... In our opinion, this technique requires a dynamic stance, otherwise it becomes very difficult to stretch the bow arm steadily and fast enough without avoiding the stress at the level of the elbow and shoulder. Is more easy to open an elastic door by p