Archery Instinct: January 2015

Monday, January 26, 2015

Archery Eye-Candy 1

In this, the very first Archery Instinct Eye-candy segment we will be highlighting, Zombies, Chinese lessons, and finally a very beautiful Bow Review Video.

First up is this, unfortunately grainy, very handheld, almost unwatchable, shaky video of a Chinese bombshell having a lesson.

What does this video have to do with Instinctive shooting? Search yourselves, Gentlemen, and I'm sure this video will stir your more basic instincts. After you're done being "stirred" notice the Archery range they are shooting at. It is outdoors, yes, but looks like it is being run like an American bowling alley. We would love to see more ranges like this here in America… that was sincere, and not a sexual innuendo.

Next up in the AI Archery Eye-candy blog post is a Zombie apocalypse!

This short film, was produced and co-directed by, Grizzly Jim of Merlin's Archery Adventures. These guys win "best makeup" and "best effects" in our series. Some serious time was spent on this video. The writing, staging, props, makeup, direction and editing are all top-notch and the acting is up there too. Jim plays himself, and the leading role was carried by Howard Wilkins.

In the description of the video, Grizzly Jim explains that, "Please note that our star (Howard) had never shot a bow before we started filming... you'll be Pleased to know that he has well and truly got the bug now!" Not only did he catch the bug from these zombies, but he managed some decent form and shooting too. Nice work, Howard! This video was great even if you think Zombies are silly.

Last, but certainly not least is Hannah Gart of Karma Tales in California discussing the Samick Stingray.

Hannah is bringing a different sort of elegance to the sport of Archery. While most manufactures and publications want to focus on their "killing" abilities, Hannah is focused on form and esthetic. As a yoga instructor she is drawn to the mind and body focus that comes with Instinctive Archery.

In this video we see her, looking stunning (must be all the yoga) as she throws arrows at her coastal archery range in Sonoma County, California. It must be true what they say about California girls… and yoga.

Blog post written by Edward Seaton

Monday, January 19, 2015

Hoist the main Anchor

As archers, we hoist the string and bow, to our anchors. At Archery Instinct, we think that a, good Anchor, is the first place to start when teaching a new student. If you hand a bow to someone, who has never shot one before, they will most likely draw it back immediately. There is something about the unseen energy stored in the limbs of our bows, that entices the uninitiated. They've seen it in movies, and heard stories about the power of Archery; they want to feel it for themselves.

The second thing that you will most likely notice, after the new student "hoists" the string back, is that he or she holds the string as far away from the face as possible. In this series of videos, Archery Instinct hopes to help you define what a proper Anchor looks like.

First up in this series is a video by Wolfie Instinctive Archer. We like his Youtube handle and we like how Wolfie breaks down his shot. He's got tons of videos on his channel and we recommend you watch all of them, but this video of Wolfie explaining a proper Anchor is a good place to start.

The next video in the, "Hoist" Anchor series is from, Grizzly Jim of Merlin Archery, who explains his take on the Anchor, which in his mind is directly related to the release. Grizzly Jim explains, "In this video I give you my take on the subject on the Anchor point and Release and how crucial consistency is in archery and arrow tuning." He gives some truly excellent advice and explains some subtle nuance of our individual Anchor points.

The third and final film in the our Anchor series is also from Grizzly Jim, but this video was one he produced for his own youtube channel called Archery Adventures. Now he is producing content with Merlin Archery, but we like his older stuff so we threw it in there. Some, or most of what he says, might be redundant, but the Anchor is one of the most important aspects to master your shot. If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

Blog post written by Edward Seaton

Monday, January 12, 2015

Long Bow or Recurve?

Recurves and Longbows have changed dramatically in the past 20 years. The playlist below is a collection of 5 videos describing some of the advantages and disadvantages of both the Recurve and the Longbow.

Up first in the series on the Archery Instinct youtube channel comes from Jeff Kavanagh. The man lives deep in backwoods territory and his shooting style and wealth of knowledge reflects his life in the woods. In this video, Jeff runs down some of the basic differences between shooting a recurve and a longbow.

Next in the series is a longer video of Byron Ferguson. The trick shots are slightly tame, especially at 10 paces, but his explanation of why he shoots a longbow over a Recurve is worth the watch, and is in the first few minutes of this video. On Byron's website it reads: Byron was the first American invited to Europe to demonstrate his longbow skills since the legendary Howard Hill toured the continent more than 40 years ago. When Byron performed at the National Game Fair on the grounds of Chambord Castle in France, he was the most popular attraction and earned the title "King of the Show".

Because the Recurve limb can be twisted out of shape, the makers of, Black Widow Bows, felt that it was important you know how to fix a problem if one should arise. With some simple stringing techniques, and different ways to make corrections, this video, in the AI series, walks you through it step by step. Black Widow bows are some of the nicest on the market and aren't cheap. In this video Black Widow lays out some simple rules for limb longevity. You can see more of their bows here.

Once you've decided on wether you want a Recurve over a Longbow, or vice-versa, you'll then need to make sure it's set up correctly, and that means, Brace Height. In the 4th video of the series, Grizzly Jim of Merlin Archery, in England, explains why getting the Brace Height is so important.

Finally in the 5th clip, a very stuffy British accent walks us through a tour of a 1961 Bow manufacturer in Nottinghamshire, near Sherwood forest. In this strangely charming, and very clear video, you can see how a Recurve bow is put together in layers. It is then sanded and tillered on the wall by a man with his sleeves rolled up! Watch as these frightfully white men, and one woman, test out their new archery equipment wearing their Sunday best!

Blog post written by Edward Seaton

Monday, January 5, 2015

Shooting Arrows. Shooting Images.

cannon 60d on a zacuto should brace, hand

This is my camera. There are many like it, but this one is mine.

My camera is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.

My camera, without me, is useless. Without my camera, I am useless. I must shoot my camera true. I must shoot straighter than those filming around me. I will...

My camera and I know that what counts on set is not the number of frames we fire, the lights or our flashes. We know that it is the focus that counts. We will focus...

My camera is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its glass and lens. I will keep my camera clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...

I like shooting stuff. I've always liked shooting stuff, and I consider myself jolly lucky that some how I've managed to carve out an existence where I get to shoot stuff on a regular basis. I shoot places, I shoot people, sometimes I shoot puppies. Thankfully I shoot them all with my trusty camera.

Like I said, I've always enjoyed shooting stuff, and I'm not sure where it came from originally. My mother I suppose, was the one who first encouraged me. A stick and some string with dowel rod arrows was my first weapon. Mother said that I had ancient Archery roots. Our great, great, great, forefather in Ancient Briton was a Yomen and feathered the French at the Battle of Agincourt. Not sure how actuate that is, but I'll buy it because it fits, and it's romantic as hell.

Of course now, it's mainly 24 frames per second that I'm shooting, but recently I've begun to create a real Archery program with my Girlfriend who caught the Archery bug from me. Truth be told, she's a much better shot than me, which is frustrating because she's only been shooting for a fraction of the time.

Here is a video we recently produced for Bodnik Bows in Germany, highlighting their Bearpaw Navajo; a beautiful 40 pound recurve with blonde accents.

The video caught the attention of Henry Bodnik of Bearpaw Bows and he commented via Skype that Hannah had excellent form and "looks like she's been shooting for years." I'll take that too, as Hannah Gart is my first official student.

Hannah runs a wellness retreat and activities business here in Sonoma County, California. It turns out there was considerable interest in Archery from the Lululemon crowd, and that the practice of Archery is similar to practice of Yoga.The first line of the wiki Yoga page reads, "Yoga (/ˈjoʊɡə/; Sanskrit: योग) is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline, that aims to transform body and mind." That is Archery in a nutshell.

Hannah and I have done several classes and workshops, and are gearing up to do more. Here is a video we recently made describing what a Yoga/Archery, or Archeryoga workshop looks like.

We are focusing on the Traditional form of archery, or Instinctive Archery which means there are no sights and no mechanical aides. The only piece of equipment that needs tuning is the Archer.

You can find out more about Karma Tales Archery Workshops on the Karma Tales website and join the conversation at Karma Tales Facebook page.

Blog post written by Edward Seaton