Stand upright, feet about a foot apart, facing a
point at right angles to the target. Turn the head sharply to the left
and look at the bull's-eye. _Do not thereafter move it by the fraction
of an inch._ Bring your right arm across your chest. Pause and
visualize the shot, collecting your powers. Now promptly raise your bow
in direct line with the target. Draw the arrow to the head as it comes
up. All your muscles are, up to this point, alert but tensed only to
the extent necessary to draw the shaft. At the exact moment of release,
however, they stiffen to the utmost. It is like a little spurt of
energy released to speed the arrow on its way. That, I think, is what
Dr. Pope means when he says one should "put his heart in the bow." It
helps to imagine yourself trying to drive the arrow right through the
target. Pay especial attention to the muscles of the small of the back.
The least relaxation there means an ill-sped shaft. The bow arm must be
on the point of aim, and _held_ there. The release must be sharply
backward, and vigorous. Personally I find that my mental image is of
contracting the latissimus dorsi--the muscles of the broad of the back
by the shoulder blades--and thereby expanding the shoulders, forcing
the hands apart, but still in direct line with the bull's-eye.
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