[shhh-thunk]
Hey guys, this is NUSensei. In the past
I've covered several videos on a recurring topic:
draw weight. How to pick the right draw weight,
how to know if you have the wrong draw
weight, draw weight egos, and several
others, and one of the recurring
questions is "how do I know when it's
time to move up?" This question is a good
question. It's both simple and complex at
the same time. People who ask me this
question often consider draw weight to be
a progression. Kind of like in weightlifting,
where you start from a low weight and
over time, as you get stronger,
you move to more weight, and that makes
sense. Draw weight doesn't exactly work
that way. Some people do pick draw weights
based on physical conditioning. Shooting
can be a physical activity, that's why
they do archery, but the idea of moving
up in draw weight isn't something which
can be easily measured or judged. I can't
say that "oh, you've been shooting for three
months, therefore you can choose a higher
draw weight" or "you've been shooting for three years,
therefore 30 pounds."
It doesn't really work that way, and when
I give people advice on how to choose draw weight,
and people are stuck on how to advance.
there are some complexities
involved in making the right decision at
the right time. As I've said in previous
videos i'm a firm believer in the notion
that your draw weight should be chosen
with a purpose in mind. Some people
consider draw weight to be a level
indicator, where the higher experience
you are, or the stronger person you are, the
higher draw weight you use. It's like "look I'm
level 35, therefore I can use a
35 pound bow." That's not really the way
it works. When I say purpose, I mean what
are you actually using a bow for. Now, at the
moment I'm holding my 25 pound OMP Adventure,
Now, a 25 pound bow is relatively light.
It's not a hunting bow.
It's not a competition bow, but a 25 pound bow
is still quite hefty. You can use this
and shoot in the backyard for hours, and
it's good enough for you to shoot 30 maybe 40
meters and still have a fighting chance
to get decent groupings. This is a good
thing. I mean that means you can shoot
frequently, you can shoot for longer
periods, and it doesn't feel as stressful
when you shoot a 25 pound bow, and honestly the
average person, not the average archer,
but just the average person, doesn't
really need more than a 25 pound bow.
30 pound at most, especially if you're a fit,
athletic adult, but if you are just the
average person who wants a bow then
picking a decent weight like 25 pounds
may be all you need.
So, before you look into progressing, ask
yourself the question "why do I need a
higher draw weight?" and there are several
common answers. The first reason is hunting.
This is a legitimate reason because
there are many areas with minimum draw
weight laws, and this is often a 40 pound
minimum. This is important because a bow
that is too weak would not guarantee an
ethical kill. So, you do require a certain
draw weight, and it's often
40 pound or maybe 45 pound. You have to
look this up. So, people who want to hunt
will specifically need a higher
draw weight. So when planning out their
progression they may start on a low
draw weight, like 25 or 30 pound bow, and over
time it will grow into a 40 pound or
higher bow. The second good reason is
distance. As I said before, a 25 pound bow
may be effective up to around 30 or 40
meters, but as you go further and further
back, you start pushing, what I will say,
the limits of your bow. Now,
a 25 pound bow can shoot 50 or 60
meters, depending on your arrows, but it
gets to the point where you have to arc so high
that there is
a lot of inconsistency in the way the arrow
reaches the target, and especially because a
lower draw weight bow has less velocity,
the arrow will take more time to get to
the target which means more wind drift.
These reasons are good reasons why you
might want a higher draw weight. A higher
draw weight means a flatter trajectory. That
means less sight adjustment if you're
using sites. If you're using a
bare bow or shooting instinctive, that
means it's it kind of easier to get the arrow
on target with less compensation in terms of
where you're aiming. That's quite a good
thing so a higher draw weight bow will be better
at longer distances, and if you're shooting
long distance, like competition or an
Olympic competition, for example, then you
generally want a higher draw weight.
It doesn't mean you start high, after
all you can still shoot 70m
with a 30 pound bow and carbon arrows, but
you might want a higher draw weight to
improve consistency.
The third reason is just wanting to have
a stronger bow. This may be tied to a
physical reason, where you want to have
the strength and condition to use heavier
bows. While archery is a shooting sport
that's about accuracy and hitting the target,
I can't judge someone for wanting to
be a beefier, bulkier guy by shooting a bow,
and honestly that's not a bad idea. You
know, that will give you a lot of
benefits. So if you see shooting higher
draw weights as your objective, then that, too,
can be a legitimate reason
within reason. With these goals in mind
let's get back to the question "how do I
know i'm ready to move up?" Again bear in
mind that arhcery is not purely a
strength sport. It's a technique sport. So
if you go up in draw weight, you're going
to sacrifice some of your current form
to adjust to a higher draw weight. It will be
harder, and this isn't a simple matter of
"I can shoot for three hours,"
"I can shoot 100 arrows."
You don't go "1...2...3..bing! I'm done." No.
Draw weights are a bit more complex. So, let's
talk about some of the things you need to be
able to do before you can confidently go
"I'm ready."
The first criterium, and the most
important one in my opinion, is control.
How well can you control your shot
process, and how good is your form with
your current draw weight. Now I'm using a
25 pound bow here, and from start to
finish I should be able to control every
step, from the draw, to the anchor, and the
hold, and of course the release. Which I won't do(!)
But that's a 25 poud bow. If you
can do this every single time, with the
same consistency, the same flow, the same
control, then that is a good indicator
that you are able to move up in draw
weight. Again this is something you have
to do from start to finish, from your
first shot to your last shot. It might
be a 120 shots in a day. That
is quite normal, and if you can do that
from start to finish
then you have a good foundation to move up.
In comparison,
45-pound Samick Sage.
Start-to-finish, draw, anchor, and there we go. Now I feel
a huge difference here. 25 pounds...45
pound bow, big difference, but what I feel
immediately is, I don't have full control.
I already have certain bad habits. I might be
leaning backwards a bit. My shoulder might be
popping up. My elbow might be twisting inwards.
There are small indicators of bad
form, which indicates poor control of the
shot process. This is important.
Now, if I'm shooting a 45 pound bow,
and I want to move up to a 60 pound
bow, but I can't shoot this one well,
then already
I don't meet that criterium.
The next criterium is your grouping.
Can you shoot well enough to get
reasonable size groupings at the
distances you normally shoot at, and this
is an important factor. Bear in mind that
moving up in draw weight will
normally result in a drop in consistency
and accuracy, again, because it's harder to
control a heavier bow. So, if you can't
get tight groupings with your current
light bow at short distances, then you
shouldn't be moving up yet because there
are flaws in your technique, there is something you're
not doing right, and you just don't have the
foundation to go to more difficult
bows. The third criterium is endurance.
Do you have the stamina to use your
new draw weight for a full day of shooting or
however long you shoot. You might be
okay for several shots, but if you are going to
shoot a full 144 arrow round, then can you do
that? Now, of course, transitioning to a
higher draw weight means means that you probably
won't be able to handle it right away,
but you have to able to do so within
reason. If it's simply impossible to
last more than several shots, then
perhaps you're going way too high way too soon.
So, keeping that in mind, if you can shoot your
current bow endlessly nearly, then that's
ok, but if you're reaching the peak of
your performance, and the peak of your
endurance, then perhaps moving up at this
point isn't the right decision.
Next question is "how do I move up?"
For the average archer you probably don't
need to do any extra training just to
move up.The sheer fact that you shoot
frequently, this might be daily or
nearly daily, will be enough to condition
you to use a heavier bow, especially if
you have control,
you're shooting well, and you have the endurance.
That can be obtained through sheer
repetition and practice. Now, if you're
not shooting regularly, then you wont have
that conditioning. Can you still shoot a
higher weight bow? The answers is yes, but you
may have to do extra training, like doing
weights, bent over rows, or using
stretching bands or your bow to train your
endurance through holding exercises.
The next question is "how much weight
should I go up by?" And this question is
determined more by your budget than
anything else.
Now, ideally you should be going up
around two pounds at a time, because,
same with weightlifting, adding a few pounds
or adding another kilogram is a huge
difference. You might think "oh yeah, 30
pounds, 32 pounds isn't that big a deal."
It actually is. When you're doing something
that requires fine muscle control and
accuracy and consistency, adding one more
pound will make a difference between
smooth control and absolute mess.
The smaller the intervals, say if you go from
32...34...36 and so on, that will ensure
the smoothest transition to your new
draw weight. That means less of a drop in
your form and easier adaptation.
Of course, you probably don't want to buy 10
sets of limbs. That's quite expensive, even
if you can trade them in, or even if you
can sell them or save them, you
probably don't want to get so many sets
of limbs. So, because of this, people might
opt to go for bigger jumps, maybe a
five-pound jump. That's probably, I guess,
the minimum most people will want to jump up by,
otherwise they might go for a 10 pound jump.
Whoa! This is getting a little extreme.
If you go from like a 20 pound to a 30 pound
it's not that big a difference because,
relatively speaking, most adults can
handle 30 pounds with some practice, but
the higher you go the harder it gets.
Going from 40 to 50, or 50 to 60, is
exponentially harder. So just keep in
mind that while you might have a budget in
mind, you don't want to jump too much
because that can completely wreck you.
I'm not just talking about physically injuring
yourself, but the fact that you cannot
control the bow anymore, will stop you
from shooting well. So, you know, maybe
two pounds to four pounds, five pounds
rounding off, but really any more than
five pounds at a time and you're making a
big risk.
Can you shoot more than five pounds in growth?
Yes, but you really have to know what
your capabilities are and what your
limitations are. To sum up, beyond
specific reasons such as hunting or
competition,
you don't need to move up in draw weight.
Most people just want to move up in
draw weight, and that's a fair thing to do, but
if you want to move up in draw weight,
you need to fulfill criteria.
Can you shoot the bow well?
Can control the shot process from
start to finish, and can you do so for an
entire session, for an entire day, for days at
a time. If you can fulfill these criteria,
then you're pretty safe to move up
in draw weight. You don't need the extra
exercises
unless you don't have the fitness to meet
the new weight.
The final thing is you shouldn't advance
too high too soon, because you'll
sacrifice your form, and it may be beyond
what you can currently handle. Try to go as
small as possible, but keeping in mind
your budget may limit how many limbs you can buy.
That's assuming that you have a
takedown bow. If you're buying a
one piece bow, then you can't change the draw weight,
that's it, and that's the case. You're kind of
locked into it. The same advice
applies: you don't want to go
for an extremely strong bow if you're starting
low, but if you want that in a 60-pound
long bow, then you have to work into it.
You can't assume you can use it right
away. To use it safely and properly you
have to be prepared.
Anyway, this is NUSensei. Hope this was helpful.
Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.