The ONE Thing ALL top Archers Do!

[@peterxyz3541]

Spent a week doing this in the bedroom “range”, shot 100 a day, 4’ away. Biggest leap of improvement! Consistent 8, 9, 10s at 30 meters 90% of the time.

[@jlptneou]

Kyudo (Japanese archery) starts completely with blind bale for significant amounts of time. Form is very different and much more the focus of the archery than actually hitting the target, but I studied Kyudo for months and months in Japan before ever shooting at a target. Oddly enough, never thought of using that training method for recurve / bare bow. Thanks for the reminder Jake! Heading out to tear down my target!

[@RPCauldron]

ah yes, natsukashii, the old ingenuous times in front of the makiwara, such fond memories! It really solidified the form for me, and blank bale is exactly that concept

[@sweetjamhit]

Thanks Jake, I needed to be reminded to do this… just started using a sight and can already feel the difference in form by simply having that as an added distraction.

[@127TROOP]

I have only been shooting a short time, and like most new archers I was in a rush to get out on the range. My coach has put a stop to that and has had me shooting blank bale for most of my afternoon sessions. It has had a noticeable effect on my form when he does allow me to shoot at distance. I completely understand form as I used to study Aikido and like all martial arts in their purest form, techniques are practiced as "Katas" to ensure you carry out the correct technique using...wait for it....the correct form!.....so to me correct form in archery can only be attained through practicing and tuning that form....excellent video btw.....and proud to be a subscriber to your patreon too....

[@bernhardlammers7527]

I am from Germany and here from you. Thanks to help me to be a better archer.

[@jcgardner5852]

Blank bale is very helpful. I often reccomend using blank bale to work on form and consistency, it removes pressure and anxiety of scores etc.

[@bryanalejandro7323]

So turns out I’ve been blank baling unwittingly for months now, haha. With these gas prices and my work schedule I didn’t always have time to make it to a range, so I bought a target on offer up and set it up in my patio. Now most afternoons I shoot/practice form from about five meters, which helped a lot when I actually got back to a range.

[@psturtivant]

I'm an 18-metre backyard Agincourt archer, and my bale is 90cm - YET . . . at 6 minutes in, JK hasn't loosed a single arrow, and already I can see how I might usefully apply this to help me with improving my form, simply because (ta-daa) it incentivises attention to 'feel' of the shot, over anything else. Kinda like practicing with a pistol, and no ammo: draw/ cock/ aim/ shoot (but only after hoursandhoursandhours) of practicing the feel of how-to-point-your-index-finger at a mark on the wall, timeaftertimeaftertime . . . . Gotta love this channel.

[@waynewhite4101]

Thanks, have never tried it but blank and blind bale make total sense for working on form. Will start today.

[@amirnour97]

Shout out to blank bale shooters, really helped me with my form

[@survivalist9818]

Sound works for me.

[@RomuloCholewa]

You just gave a newbie a way of shooting inside an apartment. THANK YOU Sir :D

[@arnovdmeer]

We added a extra component to this ttaining; after a couple of arrows we closed our eyes in the last seconds while drawing thru the clicker to check a wrong foot placement or wrong tension of a single group of muscles

[@kVidStream]

Key takeaway from this video: Don't think of the shot; feel it.

[@m.talmagemoorehead]

Great video, Jake. Thanks.

[@RisingBboyNeXuS]

Something that should be noted, it may have been my own inexperience at the time but I found that shooting blank bale hurt my shooting when it came to score. Somethings that helped make blank bale more beneficial again was to adding something to aim at, whether it was a smaller target or just dots for me to aim at.

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Yeah you can start to add in things once you get to a certain level of proficiency. Like aiming at dots or arrow holes or simulated targets. But you usually need to know how to shoot your shot repeatedly once you get to that point.

[@RisingBboyNeXuS]

@@JakeKaminskiArchery exactly, when I was going through form changes that's when I got rid of any stimulus and really focused on the form but when I started to get used to the changes that's when I would put some type of target/aiming stimulus up

[@kurtmeister8308]

Great video. I picked up the level at the range you are shooting. Didn't think about that. Thanks for the topic!

[@michaelniedwick1255]

When I blank bale I will shoot close to the bale making sure I don't miss and I close my eyes. I concentrate on my form. Doing this really helps muscle memory. This also takes away the part of my brain that tells me to aim. It's amazing how much this helps.

[@noelunson3996]

Nice tip! Especially for an old beginner like me.

[@decimated550]

3:08 "...my stabilizer " [shows longest stabilizer in christendom " 😆

[@waynestevenson9613]

I use a piece of thick shag carpet just for this because it’s hard to aim on arrow holes you can’t see. For me aiming is part of the shot process and can’t be ignored so I mis-set my sight so I won’t hit anywhere close to where I aim because I’m going to aim and just try and execute a perfect shot and then tell myself that was how a perfect shot feels each and every time. And keeping at a close distance I pull that arrow and shoot again so my mind doesn’t develop a pattern. This helps me better than not aiming or closing my eyes because that’s not how I would be shooting. I need all of the elements of a real shot to keep it real.

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

I hear you there. All good things to add.

[@waynestevenson9613]

@@JakeKaminskiArchery did not mean to undermine any of your thoughts about this it’s just been a failure for me if I don’t use all parts of the shot. Because the moment I introduce a sight or visual cue it all changes.

[@yannikessarios2103]

The issue I have with blankbale shooting is that without the arrow on the target to give you an indication you're doing something wrong, you may well be integrating a bad habit into your shot. For example, I've gone through phases when my shot felt great but I was grouping somewhere away from the gold, indicating I was getting lazy with my form. This is expecially true for barebow, where there is no clicker to help maintain draw length or sight to bring those groups back to centre as a last resort.

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

What about adjusting your sighting to bring that group back into the middle? Sighting being your crawl or plunger tension. I find that groups constantly drift. Especially in the development phase. Without training your body to do the right thing and instead “tuning” your shot to make the arrows go in the middle, could be training bad habits as well.

[@yannikessarios2103]

@@JakeKaminskiArchery Thanks for your answer Jake, you make a good point. I do adjust my shot to bring the group to the centre.

[@jeschinstad]

I'm new at archery and my idea was to get rubber blunt arrowheads so I can go out into the woods, strap some sheets between a couple of trees and shoot at that, having the arrows drop down to easily collect. The point is that I know from pool how incredibly important form is and I know that I have to spend a lot of time practicing that. Being able to just shoot fifty arrows filming myself and not worrying about either losing them in the forest or breaking them hitting them with my arrows, seemed like a good idea to me. I haven't gotten the arrows yet, so I haven't had a chance to try, but the mobile archery mat I have, still weighs 25 pounds or something and carrying it for 30 miles isn't appealing to me. :)

[@vaazig]

What about a Delta McKenzie Speedbag? I have one. They're large enough, portable and if you cover it up with a black plastic bag you get a blank bale.

[@noelunson3996]

I would say it's the sparring or shadow boxing of archery.

[@grille_c]

Over time for me it turns out, i'm more distracted, when I don't see an aim in my scope. The shooting on a blank area feels too different in comparisson to shoot at a defined target. A problem that added: I don't get a direct feedback, if I change the pressure in the bowhand. That resulted often in a negative mental backlash in the moment I changed from blank bale to target.

[@williameddy7217]

Cool video thanks

[@captain_lungo]

Hi Jake, I once heard in an interview with a professional archer to „never“ shoot on a blank target. He said this would result in a „split-brain“ where you train your brain into shooting perfect shots without a target and result in possibly even worse shooting stile as you switch to a target.

[@RPCauldron]

the goal would be transporting your blank bale form as purely as you can into your aiming shooting. Let's not forget that, ideally, a good result on a shot might come from bad form, but from a really good form must come a good result, on many many shots

[@grille_c]

I think Gellenthien had mentioned this in a WA video about target panic.

[@Triple_J.1]

Was this Professional Archer an Olympic Gold Medalist?

[@mattflint5442]

What are your bales made of? I hate my shrink wrap stuffed bales for removing arrows

[@haleemahabdul-muhaymin5380]

Hi Jake, thanks so much for this video. I shoot in my basement at about 7 yards. I also string walk, so I should still string walk the same distance that I would if I were shooting at 18meters?

[@TravisNewton1979]

Jake what are you using for your blank bale?

[@mozu305]

I live in an apartment (not my walls). How does the use of a shot trainer differ from blank bail? They would seem to be close in effect.

[@iJacker]

JoergSprave Recently did a video about using braided Spectra as (cross)bowstring material. I wonder have you ever experimented with it or any other synthetic fibers? Worth a look?

[@jameskelson1891]

Strange coincidence, earlier today I started blank bale shooting. It has been a couple of years since I last worked with this procedure. Next I am considering getting out the Astra trainer. I don't remember if you have covered this technique or found it helpful.

[@Hybridesque]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jpjCpXVmhZ6UrtE He's covered it.

[@ambrox1985]

Hi, unfortunate the sound didn't work? tried another video and everything was working on my device :(

[@francoisschultrich3106]

Sound works

[@ambrox1985]

@@francoisschultrich3106 true now it is working... don't know why.... sorry for the wrong info :(

[@tonykasher7807]

What are you using as a target?

[@forwardrecording1445]

how far up does the target sit?

[@MrChinkman37]

Hey, Jake! I am looking for a finger tab like yours, and all of them that I can find are split between the pointer and middle finger, or don't have lines on the plate. How would I go about finding one like yours?

[@markuszurberg4895]

look for barebow tabs

[@MrChinkman37]

@@markuszurberg4895 thank you, with that information, I looked and found out that it is called a 3-under tab.

[@rijodel]

Hi Jack! I have a problem: after the first arrow, that arrow became a target for me. Or an arrow hole, or any spot in the bale. I can't avoid it. So I start shooting blank bale without glasses or closed eyes. But by replicating every shot, the group became so tight, that I start to break nocks (or arrows,doing robins). So, my brain start to focus in out aiming the group...It's very tought, not aiming! Even with close eyes, my body position changes a litle every shoot, to avoid grouping.

[@decimated550]

Maybe attach a string or handle to the target so that you can move it slightly and still shoot in the same place ....or turn your edge on so that you don't shoot a hole in it . That is not the normal front face of the target but into its side so that it is side on to you.... So that it's width becomes depth and you'll never shoot a hole in it

[@martinheuser4781]

What target are u using

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Rinehart WAVE

[@Seeloknya_Sebaiknya]

great topic. But can u activate the CC function? thank you..

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

It will activate after KZbin runs checks... I have it selected.

[@Seeloknya_Sebaiknya]

@@JakeKaminskiArchery thank you...

[@lubossoltes321]

So what about the contradiction ? You say "do not focus on aiming at all" but then you say "aim at different parts of the target to not destroy arrows" ... How do you incorporate the conscious action of aiming at different parts of the target with the blank bale aim of not thinking about aiming ? I mean when I go on autopilot, at normal ranged like 5-10m I'll total my arrows quickly. I do not hit the middle of the target, but once I try to go on autopilot without thinking about it I basically drill a hole at short ranges. When I aim off each time, it breaks that pattern. Also HOW do you know you did things correctly when you cannot compare shots ? I mean when shooting actual targets I had a good shot impression while missing completely and the opposite as well ... I guess you can tell I am a bit confused here :-)

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

Not aim, just point in a general Direction that’s different.

[@rayking3466]

@@JakeKaminskiArchery shoulda said "point the bow toward a different spot" or "move your feet a bit".....millenials.....

[@HealthAdvisorDocFadly]

Thanks Jake, I have one question, if we have few types of arrows for different distance of shooting, For example if I am shooting at 50m Tournament, if I am doing blind bale training, can I use different arrow (not for 50m distance or cheaper arrow🫢)? To avoidi ruining my arrow. I am a barebow archer by the way.... My issue in archery is I always 'release' a shot to 'soon', hope blind bale can help me...

[@JakeKaminskiArchery]

You won’t ruin arrows at blank bale if you are sure to not group and “aim” in different places. You can of course use practice arrows at blank bale. I’ve done that a lot.