Part 5 (2/2)
'Summe stampe forwarde, and summe leape backwarde. All these faultes be eyther in the drawynge or at the loose; with many other mo, whiche you may easelye perseyue, and so go about to auoyde them.
'Now afterwardes, when the shafte is gone, men haue manye faultes, which euell custome hath broughte them to, and specially in cryinge after the shafte and speakynge woordes scarce honest for suche an honest pastyme.
'And besyde those whiche must nedes have theyr tongue thus walkynge, other men vse other fautes: as some will take theyr bowe and writhe and wrinche it, to poule in his shafte when it flyeth wyde, as yf he draue a carte. Some wyll gyue two or iii strydes forwarde, daunsing and hoppynge after his shafte, as long as it flyeth, as though he were a madman. Some which feare to be to farre gone, runne backewarde as it were to poule his shafte backe. Another runneth forwarde when he feareth to be short, heauynge after his armes, as though he woulde helpe his shafte to flye.
An other writhes or runneth a syde to poule in his shafte strayght. One lifteth up his heele, and so holdeth his foote still, as longe as his shafte flyeth. Another casteth his arme backewarde after the lowse. An other swynges his bowe aboute hym, as if it were a man with a staffe to make roume in a game place. And manye other faultes there be, whiche nowe come not to my remembraunce. Thus, as you have hearde, manye archers wyth marrynge theyr face and countenaunce wyth other partes of theyr bodye, as it were menne that shoulde daunce antiques, be farre from the comelye porte in shootynge whiche he that woulde be excellent muste looke for.'
He then frankly confesses that, though teaching others 'of these faultes, I have verie manye my selfe; but I talk not of my shootynge, but of the generall nature of shootyng. Now ymagin an archer that is clean, wythout all these faultes, and I am sure euerye man woulde be delyghted to se hym shoote.'
Another will suddenly crouch down on his hams, as though he were marking a bird's flight to pluck it down, or it were out of sight.
'Another will call himself uncomely names, whilst another casteth away his bow as though he would break it for faultes that are his own; and yet another will treat himself at faulte with such harsh usage that he shall scarce shoot again without black eyes for manye a daie.'
As the term _standing_ seems insufficient to include all that has to be said respecting the att.i.tude and general bearing of the archer whilst in the act of shooting, the expression _position_ is adopted instead, as more applicable and comprehensive, and under _position_ will be included, not only the footing or standing, but also the manner in which the hand should grasp the bow, and therefore, as well, the exact position of the bow itself.
In an endeavour to lay down such plain directions as may prevent the a.s.sumption of att.i.tudes inimical to good shooting, and as may also a.s.sist in the avoidance of such other att.i.tudes as do violence to gracefulness and are repulsive to the looker-on, it would be venturing too far to a.s.sert that but _one_ position is good, or even that any particular _one_ is the best; yet some general rules can with sufficient confidence be laid down for the purpose of controlling mannerisms and of confining them within harmless limits.
As regards the footing or standing and the att.i.tudes of archers, it may be safely a.s.serted that there are as many varieties as there are archers to call them into existence; that no two are exactly alike in all particulars; and that no one archer has yet been seen to combine all the excellences that might be centred in a perfect archer.
That an archer's general position may be a good one it must possess three qualities--firmness, elasticity, and grace: _firmness_, to resist the strain and the recoil of the bow--for if there be any wavering or unsteadiness the shot will probably prove a failure; _elasticity_, to give free play to the muscles, and the needful command over them--which cannot be the case should the position be too rigid and stiff; and _grace_, to render the archer and his performance agreeable, and not ludicrous, to the spectator. It so far, fortunately, happens that the third requirement--that of grace--is almost a necessary consequence of the possession of the other two: as the best position for practical results is, in fact, the most graceful one. Experience proves that an awkward ungainly style of shooting is very seldom successful. All these three requisites must be kept constantly in mind in every endeavour to arrive at the best position for combining them.
To the first part of position--that of _footing_, or _standing_--but little can be added to what has already been recommended in other books on the subject.
The heels should be, not close together, but about six or eight inches apart--thus avoiding the position that gives too little steadfastness in a wind in the one extreme, and an ungainly straddle in the other. The feet must be firmly planted on the ground, symmetrically, so as to form an angle of from 45 to 60 by the joining of the lines pa.s.sing through the feet behind the heels. As regards the position of the heels with reference to the target to be shot at, undoubtedly the best position is that in which a line through the centres of the heels points to the centre of the target (fig. 34); but as many good shots have modified this position in the one or other direction, it may be allowed that any position of the feet--varying from that in which a line through the left or forward foot is at right angles to the line from the shooter's eye to the centre of the target (fig. 35) to that in which the line through the right foot is at right angles to the same line towards the target (fig.
36) (an extreme variation of 60)--may be adopted without extreme violence to either freedom of action or grace. The fault of tipping forward towards the target shot at, caused by throwing the balance unduly upon the forward foot, may be cured by raising the heel of that foot. This is by no means an uncommon fault, and should be carefully guarded against as very fatal to shooting, and liable to result in most ridiculous developments. As the opposite fault has almost overtaken some of the best shots, it may be cla.s.sed amongst exaggerated virtues, and is little likely to embarra.s.s beginners. The legs should be perfectly straightened at the knees, and not on any account bent forward; and yet the knees should not be so rigidly locked back as to interfere with the elasticity of the position.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 34, FIG. 35, FIG. 36.]
It will be observed that in fig. 34 only, the left and right shoulders, at points A and B respectively, come naturally into the best position for shooting at the target; but by adopting the position shown in fig.
36, a full-bodied archer may be enabled to draw a trifle further before the bowstring comes in contact with the chest; whilst in the position shown in fig. 35 an archer of supple figure can easily get the shoulders into the best position in the course of drawing up.
The body should be naturally upright, but not stiff; the whole person well balanced; and the face turned round so as to be nearly fronting the target.
During the brief period of time between the nocking of the arrow (already described in pp. 80-2) and the loosing of it, some slight alteration of the body's att.i.tude, as arranged when the archer a.s.sumes his footing, will take place, as in the combined act of drawing and aiming, the right shoulder will be brought a little forward, and the left shoulder will be taken a little backward, before the shoulders resume their former relative positions previous to the loose, which in that position only can be most advantageously executed. The slightest possible inclination forward should be given to the head and chest, that the arrow may be brought directly under the right or aiming eye, without bringing the line of aim so close to the line through the left shoulder and bow as to make it impossible that the string can clear the forearm at the loose.
Many archers bend the body considerably forward from the waist, and quote the following pa.s.sage from Bishop Latimer's sixth sermon--My father 'taught me how to drawe, how to lay my bodye in my bowe, and not to drawe with strength of armes, as other nacions do, but with strength of bodye'--in justification of this practice. Here, laying the body in the bow means taking up the best position for shooting. An archer in olden times was said to shoot _in_ a bow, not _with_ a bow.
'Not stooping, nor yet standing straight upright,' as Nicholl's 'London Artillery' hath it, expresses the right position correctly.
The second part of _position_ which is most, important also, is the manner in which the hand should grasp the bow, and the att.i.tude of the bow itself--i.e. whether this should be vertical, or more or less oblique.
It may be stated at once that the most natural and easy method of grasping the bow is also the best; in fact this remark is applicable to almost every point connected with archery, and cannot be too much or too often insisted upon. If the wrist and hand be in any way unnaturally employed bad results immediately follow. For instance, if the grasp be such as to throw the fulcrum much below the centre of the bow, its lower limb runs great risk of being pulled away and out of shape, which sooner or later will cause it to chrysal or break. Again, the Waring method, which used to be in high favour, 'of turning the wrist in as much possible,' causes the left arm to be held in such a straightened position, that it will not only present a constantly recurring obstacle and diverting influence to the free pa.s.sage of the string, but will also be the cause of an increased strain and additional effort to the shooter, besides taking the spring and elasticity out of that all-important member the bow-arm. If the reverse of this method be adopted, and the wrist be turned intentionally and unnaturally outwards, it will be found that in avoiding Scylla Charybdis is at hand, and, though the string is well clear of the armguard, the wrist cannot sustain either the strain of the bow at full stretch or its recoil at the loose. Thus, as in every other instance, the extremes are bad, and the correct position will be found at the balancing-point between them.
When the _footing_ has been taken, with the arrow nocked, let the bow lie easily and lightly in the left hand, the wrist being turned neither inwards nor outwards, but allowed to remain in the position most easy and natural for it; as the drawing of the bow commences, the grasp will intuitively tighten, and by the time the arrow is drawn to the head the position of the hand and wrist will be such as to be easiest for the shooter and best for the success of his shot.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 37.--WRONG POSITION.]
<script>