Right handed ... Left handed ... Which handed?

Written by: Amchila
Posted: 4/02/2009

Feel like a change? How about joining a minority group - the mollydookers. You know ... the archers who face the wrong way on the line ... the archers who look straight at you from 6 inches away when you are trying to focus on the target. They are used to it but we poor right-handers are plain uncomfortable at being so up and personal.

Now, what am I on about?

Well, it is really just an exercise in logic. Here we go.

In some coaching circles (it was conventional wisdom at one time), it is advised that if a new archer is left eye dominant that s/he should shoot left-handed. That is, release with left hand even if they are right-handed.

Therefore: Eye dominance is important but handedness is unimportant.

In other coaching circle (Kisik Lee for example), it is advised to ignore eye dominance and shoot according to handedness. That is right-handers should release with the right hand.

Therefore: Handedness is important but eye dominance is unimportant.

Maybe both are important and it is just bad luck if you cannot match your eye dominance and handedness. Just do the best with what you have been given in life. I have seen no evidence that these archers do worse than anyone else but then I have not been counting.

Now wait a minute there is another possibility here. Just maybe neither handedness nor eye dominance is important.

Consider eye dominance for just a moment. Experimenters have put special prisms over people's eyes so that their vision is turned upside down. Within a remarkably short space of time these people's brains have adapted to turn the image right way up, a remarkable demonstration of the power of the human brain.

I just do not think eye dominance is important.

Ouch! That leaves handedness. Is nothing sacred? Consider some more: which hand is more important to an archer? Their bow hand or string hand? The bow hand is more important for aiming and the release hand does just that, relaxes and releases at the sound of the clicker. Aiming is rather important to an aiming sport like archery. I hear the cries of disagreement. Isn't form the most important aspect of archery? Real estate has ... location, location, location and archery has ... form, form, form. Well try covering both eyes and see if you can hit the target at ninety metres.

Okay that's it. All you right-handed archers have to sell your bows and buy left handed ones. As for you left-handers, I can only wonder at the world you live in so you will get no advice from me.

Amchila 
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