How to Three (Body) Bows in Archery by Malta Archery

Welcome to Mortar Archery. Today we talk about the three bows. Which bows? The other bows? The three bows in your body before we think about the fourth bow which you have in your hands. So what does that mean, three bows in your body? Some internal martial artists will know. We have these core muscles from the head, from the neck down there to your legs. And we talk about these core muscles which I like to use in archery. So my way of shooting bow and arrow contains these three bows in your body. Others may see it different, but today I simply show you what I think about and how I apply it in archery. So the first bow, we had last time the video about our horse stance, where we stand like this. And when you see that you stand feet shoulder width apart. And then you simply rotate your tailbone slightly, flip your pelvis and relax your knees. Then you bring your knees out like you sit on a horse, that's why horse stance. See this one, this is the first bow. From this foot up there and down there, this is the first bow you have to achieve. The second bow is, when you stand like this, your tailbone is down, you squish your butt, you crunch your belly slightly and you make your neck straight. So this might be not a bow, but when you normally see the spine which has this S-shape, which everybody tells you is the proper one, I don't agree with that. A straight spine is the proper one. When you put the tailbone down and your neck is straight, then your spine is nearly straight. And film me from the side. See, when you stand normally like this, then you have here this big gap. See? And you have here this big gap, because of the S-shape of your spine. So you have here a gap and here a gap. So what we do in martial arts is, you lower your tailbone, see that? And you stand here, then you have no gap here and you have no gap here. This is how we stand. So this is the straight spine and in archery we still lean slightly forward. So we crunch the belly a little more. So we have this bow here and then we lean a little forward when we should. But it's not leaning forward like this. You don't tuck your belly up and lean forward. You have your belly down and you roll your spine slightly forward. So you have a slightly curve in your spine. This is the second bow. So this might take a while to achieve and to get this feeling for it. But when you stand, you don't stand completely straight. You still roll your spine slightly forward. This is the second bow. And the third bow, when we shoot, when you would see it from above. This one, from the hand. No, stay there. Stay there, I lean forward. And you look from this hand to the shoulder, to the elbow, to this hand. It's still a bow. You see that? It's still a bow shape. So it's not completely straight. It's completely straight. Some do it because when they stand, the legs are straight and they lean backwards. And then the shoulder blades flip back. When you stand like this, then it's straight. You don't have a bow, you don't have stability, you have nothing. That's why first bow, second bow, and you automatically have your third bow. When you have your shoulders down and your shoulder blades come together, then you achieve a third bow in your body. This is what you can train in front of a mirror without even bow and arrow. And then the difference in shooting looks like this. When you stand without your internal bows, the legs are straight, the body upright. And you shoot like this. This is how many people stand. They open their belly area, they shake. It's not steady. My way of standing, the first bow, second bow, the spine, and the third bow is like this. You have three bows in your body. I shoot one more time. This is how I prefer to shoot because in this way you have a very solid stance. So, this second bow needs something here. You know all your diaphragm here? And when you don't use your diaphragm, then you still separate your upper and your lower body. So, your three bows are not connected to each other. So, to get this connection, you need to press. Of course, you don't press it by force. You only press it with your lungs and with your energy. You press the diaphragm down and you make the stiff belly. So, what you want to do is when you breathe in, you feel your chest. And when you breathe out, this is my way of shooting. Others stop breathing and they simply make a stiff belly. This is how we teach you in the beginning. The advanced level of breathing is when you raise your bow, breathe in, feel your chest, and then when you draw the bow, you breathe out and press your chi down. You press the diaphragm down and your energy goes down there. I do it now loud that you hear it. Of course, you should maybe not hear it. So, when you stand here, from step one to step two, you inhale, feel your chest, and then you breathe out while pressing the air. One long exhale with this pressure or with this, let's say, stiff belly with the awareness in your energy center down here. So, again, you breathe in and then you breathe out. Until you finish and I tell my mom that you have me full on. Simply go back so that you have me full on. So, one more time. The three bows and the fourth bow. Bow number one, your stance, knees outwards. Bow number two, your back, tailbone down, your shoulders come slightly forward. Bow number three, you reach them when we come to full draw. So, breathing, inhale, and then bow number three. Exhale, exhale, exhale, exhale. But you exhale all the time until the air is in the target, until you finish with exhale and then relax. And you have the same bow either you shoot Mediterranean style or Asian style thumb release. It's the same way. Inhale, and then exhale, exhale, exhale. And then you lean a little more forward, exhale, exhale, and you let go. It's the same way for me at least and this is how we teach. Others might do it different but for me it works. It's very close to martial arts and that's why I like it this way. So, Sean, first bow, your feet a little more than shoulder width apart. Knees outwards and you simply relax your knees. Second bow, tailbone comes down, you squish your butt. Tailbone down, tailbone down, yes. And your spine is straight. And then you crouch your belly slightly that you lean slightly forward only with your upper body. The shoulders come a little forward. Second bow, and the third bow of course is then with forward arrow. Now we simply do as if we shoot. No, no, we do as if we shoot. We do as if we shoot. So, imagine you hold a bow in your hand, you bring on the arrow. But the feet parallel, please. Yes, knees outwards. So sink, sink. So, good. Now simply point it and when you point at the target you inhale. So put your hands down again. Hands down, hands down. Arrow is on. Now when you point at the target, inhale. And then when you pull back, exhale while pressing the air down. One more time. And only through the nose, please, right now. Inhale, in your chest and now press the diaphragm down. Make a stiff belly. Let's see if the belly is stiff. Stiff enough. Okay, good. Very good. So now we take bow and arrow. So, the three bows shown by Sean. So, yes. First the knees, the feet parallel, please. Yes, parallel. Not too far apart right now. So, good. In your knees, the knees point slightly outwards. Yes, like this. Tailbone is down. Upper body leans already a little forward and in full draw it can lean a bit more forward. But it depends on the shooting style. When you shoot your Kaiyuan 36 inches you want to lean way more forward. But you will see. Yes, breathing. Inhale when you raise the bow. And then press the air slowly out. Let it go. And press out, press out. You are not done. A long exhale. One more. Tailbone down. Don't tuck your butt out. I don't want to see this curve here. Tailbone down. Relax your upper body. And then you lean forward. It feels a bit unnatural in the beginning. Yes, but you get used to it. So, breathe. Inhale when you raise the bow. Press the air out when you draw. Yes, like this. And one more time. Now breathing through your nose. So, your impression? It feels really weird. Because you have to know that Sean is a bodybuilder. I wouldn't say bodybuilder. But he lifts weights and he is not used to have his body in this correct position like it is used for martial arts. Thank you very much Sean. Thank you very much for watching. If you have any questions, comments down there in the comment box. Simply write whatever you like. Otherwise, like and share. Thank you very much.