# The Bending of the Knees



## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

Do you bend your knees when you shoot?

Do you "assume an athletic stance" or are you "casual-tall?"

I've found that a little more width and a touch more crouch, makes me steadier.

Still experimenting...


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## skropi (Mar 22, 2018)

Torso exactly perpendicular to the target, feet shoulder wide, toes pointing ahead, forming a 90° to the target line. Said target line extends between my ankles and toes. Knees straight, hips completely beneath my shoulders. Hips are also "tight", like squeezing the buttocks, helping in stability and keeping the spine in the correct position. Chest comes inside, shoulders as low as possible, and the whole torso has slight angle forwards, putting the weight of my body between heel and toe.


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

What Skropi said. Classic archery T-stance. Knees are not bent


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## skropi (Mar 22, 2018)

Hulla Baloo said:


> Do you bend your knees when you shoot?
> 
> Do you "assume an athletic stance" or are you "casual-tall?"
> 
> ...


By the way, the "crouch" you mentioned, is beneficial, shoulders a bit hunched, pushing the chest inside. The main benefit isnt only stability, but correct spine alignment. Your experiments have definitely a good direction ????


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## flipgun (Nov 14, 2012)

Butt in one chair and feet in another.


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## skropi (Mar 22, 2018)

flipgun said:


> Butt in one chair and feet in another.


Don't tell anyone but I shoot this way too, when I am drinking bourbon to aid my shooting ????


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## gunslingster (Sep 23, 2019)

I never even thought about this. I thought it was natural to just stand up tall and straight.

If I had to bend my knees slightly when I shoot, then if my target shooting was a little off, then I would be wondering whether my knees were not bent enough or maybe too much.

I try to eliminate things that I may not be able to replicate exactly.


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## Island made (Aug 14, 2019)

I'm a hunter, so whatever position I find myself in to get a clear shot lol

As for target shooting. I never really think about it. I have a simple mind, so when I start thinking about to many things my accuracy starts to suffer.


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

I’ve always shot instinctively so just as Shooting a traditional bow, knees slightly bent with a forward lean pushing the bow hand towards the target tilting the head to get down close to the arrow. Just something I’ve always done. After all these years it would be a hard habit to break


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## skropi (Mar 22, 2018)

Ibojoe said:


> I've always shot instinctively so just as Shooting a traditional bow, knees slightly bent with a forward lean pushing the bow hand towards the target tilting the head to get down close to the arrow. Just something I've always done. After all these years it would be a hard habit to break


If it is an old habit, totally ingrained, then if you broke it you would probably lose accuracy. Sometimes accepting a certain part of our technique, contrary to "common" sense, is actually more beneficial!


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## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

I get the archery analogy, but it really never worked for me. No bow, no string, no arrow, no sight-radius, and totally different hand and finger positions. There are finer parallels to be found in other activities that require you to stand sideways to the target- while keeping your head still, imho.

I'm not talking about going into a full squat. I mean a half inch wider and a quarter inch bend in the knees. Just that much makes the large muscles in my legs engage, allowing my upper body to relax. It seems to enhance my feel. Different strokes I guess...


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## Wiconsinconcepts (Oct 5, 2019)

I actually had to run out and check my stance for this one. I have always just shot how I shoot I guess. I just do what feels right. Turns out, I don’t square up. I hold my slingshot in my left hand. I float my right/band hand. I have my left foot forward, my right foot back. I kind of just twist my body. And I tend to be on the tip of my toe for my back foot while shooting. I’ll have to look into this more. I’m a decent shot but I’m nothing to brag about. Maybe changing my foot work will help draw my shooting cluster in a little tighter. Whatever helps.


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## SJAaz (Apr 30, 2019)

skropi said:


> flipgun said:
> 
> 
> > Butt in one chair and feet in another.
> ...


A man after my own heart!!


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

Ibojoe said:


> I've always shot instinctively so just as Shooting a traditional bow, knees slightly bent with a forward lean pushing the bow hand towards the target tilting the head to get down close to the arrow. Just something I've always done. After all these years it would be a hard habit to break


I have just recently put a lot attention/focus on this. I find that when I am missing...I have tensed up and standing too tall...I breathe & sink a bit.

Bam! back on target.
But I have become more casual in my stances to adjust them to my limites range of motion...in shooting, standing, walking, and even my kata/forms in Shotokan (a very formal/exaggerated stance). My Shidoshi has appoved and calls it "old man learning"...which is a huge compliment...I think...

PS-never play poker with the Old Men.


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## MakoPat (Mar 12, 2018)

Hulla Baloo said:


> I get the archery analogy, but it really never worked for me. No bow, no string, no arrow, no sight-radius, and totally different hand and finger positions. There are finer parallels to be found in other activities that require you to stand sideways to the target- while keeping your head still, imho.
> 
> I'm not talking about going into a full squat. I mean a half inch wider and a quarter inch bend in the knees. Just that much makes the large muscles in my legs engage, allowing my upper body to relax. It seems to enhance my feel. Different strokes I guess...


Something more like this, both eyes open and totally instinctive (looking only at the target, pull, and let fly).


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

*Casual tall works for me. Left hand hold, feet 90 degrees sideways to the target, full breath to relax shoulders and mind, raise up to draw, aim, and release. Any mental chatter leads to analysis paralysis, so I abort, bring it down and start over.*


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## Hulla Baloo (Nov 25, 2017)

I was casual-tall as well, but I'd catch myself leaning sometimes. I'd be pressing too much onto my front foot or swaying off to one side. The 'micro-squat' helped check that tendency and improved my stillness during release. :target:


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## Alfred E.M. (Jul 5, 2014)

'stillness during release' *... nice phrase HB.*


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## Cjw (Nov 1, 2012)

I try to stand straight but relaxed. I do shoot better on the weekend when I haven't been on my feet all day.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## SJAaz (Apr 30, 2019)

I don't know about all that stuff, but I do know if I widen my stance, and try to shoot after exhaling to relax, I'm am more stable and I think more accurate.


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## MikeyLikesIt (Oct 19, 2018)

I always finish a shoot-around with a couple squat shots. Extra points for putting the pants around your ankles. Never know when a squirrel's gonna peek it's head out when you're in the woods, but it's usually at the worst time. Just make sure not to fall back with the release!


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

Revisiting this thread after today's shooting session. At Mrs. Raja's suggestion, I am working on engaging my core when I shoot. This is something that we work on with our archery students. My feet are straight and at a 90 deg angle to the target. My left hip points at the target. My spine is stacked in a formal posture. I inhale when I draw and visualize my navel touching my spine. This helps me maintain form during follow-through.

I arrived here from archery and shoot my primary slingshot instinctively, just like my bows. I use the same stance for both slingshots and archery.

I was initially taught to shoot archery with a relaxed "hunter's stance." Kees slightly bent, slight crouch, head tilting into the arrow, as described by lbojoe. I have a lot of respect for people who can shoot that way. It is a very adaptable style and I think that you have a longer draw. Unfortunately, I was not able to shoot accurately from a hunter's stance. I am more accurate w/ An Olympic/target stance.

Part of our archery class pedagogy is to encourage students to explore different shooting styles. Some of them naturally gravitate to a hunter's stance, others an Olympic/target stance.

There are a lot of arguments about stance on the archery forums. Internet archers seek validation by attempting to convince other internet archers to use a particular stance. It is really an individual thing. Use whatever stance works best for you.


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## Blue Raja (Feb 10, 2016)

MikeyLikesIt said:


> I always finish a shoot-around with a couple squat shots. Extra points for putting the pants around your ankles. Never know when a squirrel's gonna peek it's head out when you're in the woods, but it's usually at the worst time. Just make sure not to fall back with the release!


I am desperately trying not to visualize MLI's description, for fear that I will never be able to get the image out of my mind.


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## Ibojoe (Mar 13, 2016)

I still teach and teach the perfect T stance. Bone against bone. If you’re after accuracy follow the Olympic archers. They’ve done the research. For years I attended every seminar I could get to. Those guys are amazing, especially on the mental side of things.


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## bigdh2000 (Feb 9, 2015)

Firm, straight but not rigid - or you will pass out. Knees need to be a little bent or you will faint. Make sure you are breathing. However, if you are thinking about all of this, you are already going to fail. Everything should be natural, with no thought.


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## SJAaz (Apr 30, 2019)

Interesting thread... After reading all the posts, I grabbed a shooter and really checked myself. My feet are forward a little from perpendicular twisting me a little CCW which puts my chest and shoulders slightly CCW. Forward knee slightly bent, weight on both feet but on the inside edge of hind foot. I find all this peculiar, I never shot a bow much as a kid, but carried a gun by the time I was tall enough to keep both ends out of the dirt at the same time. Hey, it works for me, hate to mess with it now.


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## Tree Man (Jun 30, 2016)

If I'm missing ( more than normal) it's usually because I'm hunching over too much. I try to keep my shoulders aligned with the target, feet shoulder width apart, stand nice and straight and focus on my release.


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