Practising Seated

EK_Archer

New member
Might be a slightly odd question; is there any value in practising shooing in a seated position for an recurve archer that normally shoots standing?

The cancellation in resent time of pretty much all club shooting I'm back to practising at home indoors (I live in a flat), I've done this many times, but my issue is unfortunately my roof is a tad low for shooting. I can come to full draw with out an issue but when I release my top limb smacks off the ceiling not great for the limb (or my roof, have taken a couple of chunks out). It also encourages a strange draw so as to avoid the ceiling as I come up different from my normal. So I was thinking could I shoot while seated? This would mean I could draw as I normally would and release without possibly damaging my bow. I don't know if its worth doing that though, would it have any actual practise benefit. Any thoughts, I'm sure I'm not the only one of my fellow recurvers with this issue.
 

Timid Toad

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Try it! You'll find out how weak your core is. Even better, try it with holding your feet an inch off the floor too!
 

Cereleste

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Yup, I've got the exact same problem as you with the low ceiling. At full draw I have about an inch clearance, but drawing/releasing would involve the top limb tip carving several inches through the plaster/concrete. Shooting seated felt very weird at first, but I got used to it after a few sessions and found it didn't affect my form negatively when I weas going back and forth between regular shooting with the club this winter and seated practice sessions at home.
I had to change how I brace the bow while nocking but the rest of my form is largely unaffected. I've tried:
1- a fairly tall breakfast bar stool that makes it more like leaning than sitting, but still limits the predraw to maybe 2 degres above horizontal. I started with this since it's pretty close to the leaning stool setups para archers use. I thought about buying a double bass stool but decided the bar chair worked well enough.
2- a dining table chair, which allows for a regular predraw and doesn't require any compromise to my form. It tilts slightly back though so I've found myself sitting on the edge which bends my knees a lot.
3- old padded armless swivel desk chair naturally lives right next to my shooting line. It's slightly less stable than a regular chair but the convenience can't be beaten. And the swiveling makes it easier to get in and out of as my "shooting line" is in a quite narrow workshop/home office/storage room.
Definitely try all the chairs in your flat and see what works best. I prefer the convenience of a chair that I don't need to pick up and move to set up my "range" at the expense of some stability. The bar stool and dining chair make me feel more stable while drawing the bow and aiming, so the swivel chair is perhaps more "realistic".
 

EK_Archer

New member
So having tried this a few times here are my observations. My original issue is fixed but I couldn't find a way to sit on a seat comfortably and be able to draw without having an issue with the string contacting my leg. Luckily I had a moment of inspiration, partly in thanks to trying Yoga for the first time. I was looking at the mat rolled up and thought "I could kneel on that and shoot". And you know what, it works surprisingly well and is relatively configurable to shoot on. It allows me to shoot with my back straight and the tops of my legs. Might be something you can try if anyone is having issues sitting and shooting.
 
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