Pick Your Archery Stance

In general, there are four various archery stances which are used in the sport. There are pros and cons for each type of stance although you will have to familiarize yourself with the four to really be able to determine which will best suit you.

The first stance is called the even stance. This particular stance follows a very intuitive and natural positioning. It can be easily repeated therefore consistency will not be an issue. Consistency in delivering the stance would mean that you will have a high accuracy for the shot that you will take.

Although the even stance is quite easy to perform, there are some drawbacks when you decide to use it. Primarily, the even stance provides you with a relatively smaller base support in your front and back. Because of this, your body is not firmly set and a big wind can actually throw you out of balance. Another thing is that when you decide to use the even stance, it lowers the area for string clearance. This is especially true for archers having broad chests.

The open stance is the next type of archery stance. Just like the prior, the open stance also proves to give the archer a harder time leaning away from the target. But on the other hand, this particular stance requires the upper body to twist towards the target. The open stance also makes use of the arm muscles instead of the back muscles for drawing the arrow and releasing.

The third archery stance is called the closed stance. Using the closed archery stance, you get a relatively stable support base. It also gives the archer an excellent shoulder and arm alignment with the selected target.

Nevertheless, there are also some drawbacks when you decide to use the closed stance. This type of stance decreases the string clearance up to a point where it might actually touch against your body. The particular stance makes the archer lean away from the target which means that there is a risk of overdrawing the bow.

Among the four stances, the fourth and last called the oblique stance gives the greatest string clearance to the point where the arrow is released. Using the said stance, you can see the target very clearly having your body in a position of complete equilibrium. The only setback is that this last stance is the most difficult to maintain. Because of this, only expert archers use this particular archery stance.

Start practicing your archery stance by placing your feet exactly on the shooting line. You have to emphasize accuracy in marking your position since even experienced archers will attest that even the slightest of deviations will affect sighting and aiming ultimately throwing off your accuracy.

Most archers consider the open and oblique stance as the better choices out of the four archery stances. A bigger percentage of archers use only one of the two or they may prefer alternating both. However, it still is a case to case basis when it comes to individual preference.