KesselRunIn14 t1_iy0wmu1 wrote
Reply to comment by TurChunkin in TIL that many pro archers use surprise release mechanisms to prevent themselves from anticipating and reacting to the impending impact. by broogernavn
I mean... You should never been surprised when your arrow is released... At best it's going to cause inconsistencies, at worst it's just flat out dangerous. If you've shot even a few hundred arrows you should still be able to anticipate when the arrow is going to release. If that is not the case, it is almost certainly down to form, which is 100% fixable.
> Maybe you could make the argument that is true for pros
This article is discussing pros... It should still stand for any experienced archer.
TurChunkin t1_iy11wfa wrote
The "surprise" is down to milli or micro seconds of difference, it does exist, and no it is not dangerous. Regardless of whether or not someone should or shouldn't be surprised by a tension release and your own opinions of their use, it still happens. Maybe it's just semantics and how you define the word "surprise." In my experience it allows you to practice archery in a flow state similar to throwing a ball or playing ping pong. You do the action and the thing happens.
I'll try to explain from my perspective (for what it's worth). Not sure if you have extensive use shooting one of these releases, but when aiming at a target I'm sure you can imagine seeing the sight pin "bobble" over the bullseye (or equivalent). It's impossible for us to hold a sight perfectly steady and always held dead on the target, but what we are able to do it to train ourselves to adjust and readjust and constantly pull the sight pin back onto target after drifting. This means that the exact moment the pin is dead perfectly on the target isn't quite the proper moment to pull a trigger, because you will inevitably drift away again a short (micro second) later, and now you have just pulled the trigger while the pin isn't on the target.
The surprise element comes into play because that specific micro second in time has been removed from the equation, and you can just focus on the form of the shot, and not the when of pulling the trigger. Since you can train your muscle memory to be constantly adjusting and readjusting to put the pin back on target the exact fraction of a second that happens if the pin was slightly off the target it will be moving back towards dead on even as you execute the shot. This gets removed from conscious thought and becomes reliant on muscle memory to execute.
Not trying to say there is anything wrong with a regular trigger release. Everyone has their own preferences. Honestly I think it's bogus to say one way is right or the other wrong, mostly I just took issue with your claim that there's "no surprise" and especially that there is something dangerous about tension releases.
KesselRunIn14 t1_iy2xtwn wrote
So I 100% understand what you are saying, and I'm glad that a tension release helps you.
With that being said, you are using it wrong I'm afraid, or at least, not in the way that they are intended to be used. If it works for you, that's fine I guess, but if you want to improve as an archer you may want to consider coaching. It's not how the pros use them.
As you said, you are constantly drifting when sighting a target, if you want to consistently hit the x ring of a target, you don't want to be releasing when you are drifting away from it.
The release should be a conscious decision. You come up to full draw, and when you want to release you do a final squeeze of your back muscles which causes the arrow to release. It is very similar to the way a clicker is used in recurve.
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>mostly I just took issue with your claim that there's "no surprise" and especially that there is something dangerous about tension releases.
I can see how you might have read what I said. I 100% did not mean to suggest tension releases are dangerous. It is my release of choice and I always encourage my students to use a tension release if they feel comfortable with one.
benjvar22 t1_iy1gjf6 wrote
good explanation, sorry they downvoted you
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