Long, long ago…
Long ago, in a land far far away there lived an army of men who trained to be the best. THE BEST! And for what? To preserve the life of the King and the kingdom of course, because there are real life heroes! Did they see themselves as that? Absolutely not, because they were just doing their job.
You’ve heard of, and may know some people who are ambidextrous and can do things with both hands. Then there’s cross dominance, which is when a person is able to accomplish certain tasks with one hand and other tasks with the other hand, but not everything as an ambidextrous person can.
Not Really Talking About A Crossbow
What about shooting a bow, and I’m not talking about the CenterPoint Dagger Crossbow, (that is a pretty cool name) anyone can do that! (well just about anyone). A crossbow is great and serves some great purposes, but really to shoot it with either hand isn’t a great feat because you’d cock the crossbow, then load the bolt, afterwards shoulder it, and finally, aim and squeeze the trigger. This still requires practice, don’t take your crossbow out and try to harvest an antelope with your left hand if you’ve never practiced! That would be daft to say the least.
The bow I’m referring to is one like the PSE Oryx LongBow or the PSE Stinger ATK Hunter RTS Compound Bow. Who do you know that can shoot a bow similar to these with either hand? When you come back with, “Ha! I know plenty of people that can shoot a bow with either hand!” I’m still waiting to hear who.
Again, Long Ago In A Far Away Land…
Back to where I began, long ago in a far away land there lived an army of men who trained to be the best! They were proficient fighters with many weapons and were accustomed to hand to hand combat. They fought for their King to the death! There were twenty-nine men trained and led by one man, his name was Ismaiah, they were the elite. They could sling stones and shoot bows with the right hand or the left!
How do you think they got that way? Sitting on their couch watching YouTube videos of ambidextrous archers? For one, a long time ago in a far away land they didn’t have YouTube! They had to learn from others, whether good or bad. We learn something from everyone at times, like what to do and what not to do. Are you a teacher of what not to do? I guess if you are, you can look on the bright side, you’re making some sort of contribution to someone along the way.
Both Eyes Open
Ismaiah took the time to teach them technique and form, how to time the shots perfectly, and how to shoot the bow with both eyes open. In combat you have to be quick and with the ability to shoot with both eyes open, when switching from the left to the right hand it helps with a quick transition.
If you hit the range with your PSE Oryx LongBow and you’re only accustom to shooting it with your left hand, do you really think the first time you try to shoot it with your right hand your form and technique will be perfect? Who are you kidding? Have you ever tried to eat quickly with you non dominant hand? What a mess! Let’s avoid any major cleanup.
You Could Be An Elite Too
Are you now wondering if you could one day be like one of those elite warriors and shoot a bow and arrow with both hands efficiently enough for combat? You won’t know unless you try it. That YouTube video may have some great tips but this requires hands on training, so don’t fool yourself!
But like I said, don’t take your first shot as gospel, it may not even hit your target! You may sacrifice some arrows, and for that I suggest, you get some practice arrows like the PSE Carbon Force Youth Arrows. Do your best in practice and it will get better. Who knows maybe one day you can be a part of someone like King David’s Army, but you don’t really want to fight, do you?
I can’t wait to hear back from you on your progress! The only way you’re going to make progress is to get out and do it! Go already because this blog is over!
I started out left handed as a kid, but learned it is a right handed world. I still write left handed, but other things can vary. I can shoot off either side of a gun or bow. I am much more practiced right handed because of years of competition. I have National and State records in field and target in the longbow divisions, shooting
Shooting a horsebow with thumb draw I shoot left handed. When training horses, both sides need trained equally. She shoots right handed, so I shoot off the left side to even the horse out. Shooting off the horses, the targets are big and close. Precision isn’t important, you just have to be fluid. I don’t want any habits from that to creep into my target form right handed.
c_m_shooter
You are correct, much of the world caters to right handed folk. Your skills are quite impressive and almost gives me the want to to attempt shooting left-handed. Great job and keep being a great example for us!
-TBB