Hey guys, this is NUSensei.
For those of us who are learning archery
you may find there are many similarities
between archery and other sports
such as martial arts, golf, shooting sports, even snooker.
However, there are several aspects which are unique to archery
and one of these, is back tension.
If you have been given advice from your coach
or you have been given feedback from a form check
or you are just shooting really poorly,
this is very likely to be the problem area.
So, what is back tension?
Back tension is the difference between this...
and this.
Surprisingly for some, archery is not particularly
reliant on your arm strength.
Although you do obviously use your arms,
this is not where your power comes from.
Rather, most of your power comes through your back
and engaging the back muscles maximises the
strength you have, to make the shot.
Let's look at some examples of common beginner mistakes
that illustrate the lack of back tension.
The first is what many first-timers will instinctively do
when picking up a bow.
They will pull it back in front of their face
and everything looks really cramped.
Many people begin to draw very low
and hold the bow with a chicken wing position.
And, one of the giveaways of poor back tension
is in the release.
Where it looks too static, or the shooter is
pulled forward during the shot.
Many people who use the bow for the first time
will make this mistake.
They will put way too much tension on their drawing arm
in this case, my right arm.
They shoot from a very cramped position
and all the tension is located in the wrist
in the tricep, in the elbow, basically everywhere but the back.
If you are using a light bow, as many beginners do
then you wont notice it as much.
You can actually shoot like this and
at short distances you wont notice that much of a difference.
However, once you start using heavier draw weights
you will find that this method is nearly impossible
and I will go as far as to say, that shooting like this
is going to give you a much higher risk of injury.
The reason for this is quite simple.
Your back muscles are far stronger than
your arm muscles alone.
You may have heard the phrase "put your back into it" for many things
from doing work to playing sport.
This true for things, like, throwing a punch
or, swinging a bat
these things require much more engagement
of your whole body rather than just using your arms.
In archery, by putting the load onto the arms
you are creating an unstable alignment.
You are effectively putting a higher amount of weight
on to muscles that cannot efficiently take that load.
The result is poor alignment, poor control of the shot
a poor release and much more fatigue.
If you have been taught archery at a club
you probably would have been told to make this adjustment.
Lift the drawing elbow.
Getting the elbow in line, or above the line of the arrow
allows you to engage more of your back.
The actual motion involves rotation of the shoulder
and this gives you a picture of what your form
is meant to look like for a good shot.
To demonstrate back tension, I am going to use this
simple training tool.
This was sent to me by Mark Swords
who developed this for use in the National Archery in Schools Programme.
This is the string trainer manufactured by Crow Caddy.
It's a very simply designed tool, with Velcro straps,
a plastic tube for a grip and para cord which can be
adjusted for the users draw length.
This tool is meant to be used alongside the Ten Steps to Archery Success
as taught in the NASP system
and was designed as a practice tool for kids at home
without using their bow.
The goal is to snap the Velcro straps apart using back tension.
The Velcro straps can be adjusted
more contact, means more emulated draw weight
with 100% contact being around 30-35 lbs.
Let's try this using the chicken wing position.
I'm not faking this.
I can't actually expand through the shot.
This position is so compressed that I can't stretch
beyond my anchor point at all.
All the tension that I am putting, is concentrated on my triceps.
This is why the release is static if you don't use your back.
It's hard to draw a full strength bow like this
and even doing so, your shot has no power in it.
So you might think, ok, I've got strong arms.
I'll just use brute force to get it off
and you can.
But it is far more difficult than it needs to be
and believe me, you can feel it in your arm
this is not the right way to draw the bow.
If I use the form that was taught to me
keeping the elbow above the line of the arrow
and making a conscious effort to push and pull
using my back muscles, it comes apart with substantially less effort.
Not only that, but my follow through flows naturally behind my ear.
Indicating what could be a smooth release and clean
arrow flight if this was a real bow.
Knowing this principle is essential for becoming a successful archer.
The key, is to keep a line of tension through your shoulder blades
keeping the weight effectively on your back and your shoulders.
This way, you can shoot with far more stability,
with far more power and without turning your arms
in to wet noodles after 50 shots.
To recognise the feeling of having good back tension
you have to maintain that shape and line
a T-shape that you are trained to maintain and keeping
your tension line in your shoulders.
So when you apply the power stroke of your draw
you can squeeze your shoulder blades together
and you should execute a good snap.
This means that you are expanding,
you are opening up after the shot.
That is good motion and good engagement of your back muscles.
If you are shooting and you are collapsing forward
that means you aren't using back tension
you are concentrating your energy elsewhere
and that means your shot will not be stable
it will swing inwards and that means a weaker shot.
With proper use of back tension, you control the bow
without it, the bow controls you.
If you are just starting out, you are probably not doing this correctly
and that's to be expected.
If you are learning by watching others
this is one of those things where you might need
someone to point it out and explain it to you.
If you are an experienced archer and you are going
through form slumps, this may also be one of the common causes.
Often, we do slip in our form and we do start getting
lazy and relax of our back tension.
Especially if you notice that you are not coming
through the clicker smoothly.
If you are a compound shooter
this is even more important.
The reason is, you must set your bow for the correct draw length.
Not only does it affect your peep alignment, it also
affects your back tension.
If your bow's draw length is too short, you will be
shooting from a very compressed position and that
means that all the weight is on your arms and you are
not getting your back stretched out.
Furthermore, some target compound shooters use
a back tension release.
So, instead of using a trigger that is activated by the
finger or the thumb, it's activated by using your
back tension to angle the release aid and snaps back correctly.
This may sound terrifying to compound shooters
who want full control over the trigger, but bear in mind
that a trigger can sometimes mask form problems.
This is also the reason why many recurve shooters
find it easier to transition to a compound bow
because with recurve, you have to use back tension
to get the bow fully drawn back.
With a compound, that let-off, can lull you in to a
false sense of control.
If you are a compound shooter and you have a bad habit
of only using your arms to draw, you may find it
very hard to hold the full weight of a recurve bow.
If you can understand the principle of back tension,
then you are making a breakthrough from being a
backyard newbie to becoming an archer with
confidence and control over their shot.
Understanding back tension will also help explain form breakdowns.
If you are training regularly and shooting 100s of
arrows per day, you will be fatigued.
That means you will not have the same control of your back muscles.
Like with weight lifting, you may reach your peak.
The point where you simply cannot get the bow to your full draw
and pull through that clicker.
The bow will simply control you and you will collapse
forwards, no matter what you do.
You have to understand, that to be a good
consistent archer, you must have good conditioning.
This is also a very important reason why beginners
should be starting on a light draw weight.
A lot of beginners will go full macho, with the big arms
and a 45 lb bow, but if you can't get that anchor point
with correct back tension, then as far as I am concerned
you haven't proven that you can handle the weight.
Anyway, this is NUSensei, hope this was helpful?
Thank you for watching and I will see you next time.