THE PRINCIPLE OF THE UMBRELLA:
Using the open stance for effective fast shooting
The umbrella's arms are opening as a direct result of pushing its sliding handle in between them.
In order to apply this principle for fast shooting, the archer should take an open stance, with his elbows placed symmetrically in front and behind his body (and sideways), as the arms of an horizontal umbrella.
In the starting drawing position, the bow arm is slightly bended, not aligned yet with the shoulders line, while the drawing hand is placed in the front of the right side of the chest.
The line of the elbows is parallel with the chest, making a certain angle with the shooting line, up to 45 degrees.
Standing tall while keeping his forehead directly on target, the archer start drawing the bow by simply expanding the mobile center of the "umbrella", in between his arms.
Is situated about two inches above the left breast, and I call it "heart point".
Apart from being the drawing starter, and keeping the balance between the motion of the arms (including the perfect timing between the snatched release and khatrah), the heart point is the main aiming tool in the same time.
Since the heart point is slightly off-center in the starting position, its action creates (beside drawing) also a rotational momentum which is aligning the shoulders with the target and with the left arm.
Maximum drawing is achieved when "the mobile center of the umbrella" is reaching the middle line of the body, between the head and the target.
Just the heart point is pushed forward, not all the upper body, which shall remain in perfect balance.
All what the archer must do is to take care of his heart, and the Heart will take care about the rest!
(This is just one more "scientific" explanation of the ShotFromHeart technique, which was always my main object of study as archer and human person.
It's a personal interpretation of the classic Medieval Archery dictums:
1. "I throw out my chest and left arm until the ends of my shoulder-blades meet. In this I follow Tähir", Saracen Archery, p. 135...
I understood this as expanding the heart point on the shooting line from the beginning of drawing till the end of release in the way explained above.
And:
2. "Shoot not with the bow, but from within the bow"!
I understood this as being a very efficient drawing technique, but also as a precious advice for the inner attitude:
"Shoot not just with the body, but from within the body"!)
- Mihai Cozmei
video, Katariina Cozmei