Saturday 20 October 2012

Archery - Anatomy of Recurve Bow

Understanding the anatomy a bow is the most important task for any Archer. From the day you start using a bow, you need to know the different parts of bow and how they work. It is in fact more of a bliss to know them before you start using the bow.

 Below is the diagram of a complete recurve bow.

Now lets see different parts of a bow one by one
  • Riser
  • Limb
  • String
  • Arrow rest
  • Sight
  • Clicker
  • Mono rod
  • Side bar
  • Plunger button
  • Nock point
Riser : It is the middle part of a bow which is used to hold the bow. It also has the mechanism through which the limbs are held tightly. The other ends of limbs have grooves for the string to sit on firmly. 
 It is very important you select the riser carefully as it is the one that accommodates limbs, mono  rods, plunger and the sight without which there will be a lower accuracy in shooting.


Limbs : They are the one to take the maximum stress and bending in the bow. Weak limbs may result in reduced kinetic energy and increases their susceptibility to break and thus cause major injuries especially to the face. Limbs are made of polymers, carbon or even metals. Select the one that suits you the best in terms of pulling power, weight and price.
Polymer limb

The limb set













String : The source of all energy for a bow. Although the string doesnt break easily, it is more prone to being damaged by rubbing and improper handling. It should be maintained by frequent waxing. The length of string too plays a major role in the tightness of a bow and the power. String can be custom made or bought from a company.

 
Arrow rest : It is designed for perfect placement of arrow with respect to the sight, archer's eye and the target. It has the ability of flexibility to that the fletches of arrow do not damage. It has only two degrees of freedom.It should be glued to the bow.



Clicker : It helps to hold the arrow steadily. Since the shooting scenarios may change during unexpected weather conditions, it is better to keep the arrow firm in its place. Clicker does the job for us. It holds the arrow and one must keep pulling the string and once the clicker clicks, the arrow must be released without any delay for improved accuracy.For using clicker, the arrows must be cut upto you 'draw length'.


Plunger : It works as a support to clicker. It prevents the arrow from going to absurd angles when the clicker is used and prevents the arrow from touching the riser of the bow and thus reduces the damage of the arrow fletches.
The left end of the plunger goes through the hole provided in the arrow rest

Sight : The accessory though which you see the target. It is attached to riser with customisable screws. It has markings for different distances. One has to adjust the sight to that particular distance he wishes to shoot.It is very important you maintain the sight correctly as different people has different sight settings for particular distances.

Mono rods : Because you pull the string backwards so hard before release, it is possible that the bow may bend slightly after release before the arrow has took off completely. This results in missed targets. For this purpose, we use mono rods (or) stabilizers to stabilize the bow and to prevent if from turning. Weights, if needed can be added to the end of the rob for better stabilization.
The left end central bar is screwed to the riser
Side bars : They act as extension bars to mono rod. In the above picture, the side bars can be seen clearly.

Nock point : This is where you insert the nock of the arrow and get ready for shooting. It is made separately using a special thread and is slightly thicker than the nock and fits when the nock is inserted completely.

These are the important parts you should know of a recurve bow. Once you get familiar with these parts, you will know the importance of them in shooting.

Friday 19 October 2012

SWISS INDOOR BASEL 2012

    SWISS INDOOR BASEL 
IT IS ONE OF THE ATP WORLD TOUR EVENT .THE TOURNMENT TAKES PLACE IN SWITZERLANDIN CITY NAMED BASEL WHICH IS THE THIRD MOST POPULOUS CITY IN THE SWITZERLAND TOURNMENT STARTS FROM OCTOBER 20-28. 
  • The 500 point ATP World Tour event will feature Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, andy murray and Del Potro Juan Martin. 
  • On 21,22 october the qulifying rounds takes place.
  • The main tournment starts from 22 october. 
  • The main draw will takes place on 20 october. 
STADIUM : The sporting action takes place in ROGER FEDRER ARENA. First it is named as St. Jakobshalle arena later it is renamed as ROGER FEDRER ARENA by the basel sports director
.
 FOR LIVE STREAMING:
 LIVE SCORE:<a href="http://www.tennistv.com/live,">tennis</a>

 PRIZE MONEY : $1,000,000


 Former Men's Basel Tennis Champions:

   2011 - Roger federer 
   2010 - Roger federer
   2009 - Novak Djokovic 
   2008 - Roger Federer
   2007 - Roger Federer 
   2006 - Roger Federer 
   2005 - Fernando Gonzalez
   2004 - Jiri Novak 
   2003 - Guillermo Coria
   2002 - David Nalbandian
   2001 - Tim Henman 
   2000 - Thomas Enqvist
   1999 - Karol Kucera 
   1998 - Tim Henman 
   1997 - Greg Rusedski 
   1996 - Pete Sampras 
   1995 - Jim Courier
   1994 - Wayne Ferreira 
   1993 - Michael Stich 
   1992 - Boris Becker 
   1991 - Jakob Hlasek 
   1990 - John McEnroe 
   1989 - Jim Courier 
   1988 - Stefan Edberg
   1987 - Yannick Noah 
   1986 - Stefan Edberg
   1985 - Stefan Edberg 
   1984 - Joakim Nystrom 
   1983 - Vitas Gerulaitis 
   1982 - Yannick Noah
   1981 - Ivan Lendl 
   1980 - Ivan Lendl 
   1979 - Brian Gottfried
   1978 - GuillermoVilas 
   1977 - Bjorn Borg 
   1976 - Jan Kodes 
   1975 - Jiri Hrebec

Thursday 18 October 2012

Archery - Gear - Types of Bows

Many of us might be actually interested in archery, especially when it comes to the point that we have to hit the 'X' which is about 70 mts away from you. To hit it, we need lots of concentration, strength, eye power and energy. But we do need the sufficient gear to make this happen. So, now lets see the types of bows we have.

Since I live in India, I like to bias my post according what we follow.

There are three types of bows.
  • Indian
  • Recurve
  • Compound
Indian : This is the basic bow that need to mastered before you go to Recurve/Compound. This bow is made of wood/bamboo. The limbs are made of bamboo and the riser is made of wood. This bow has low poundage and is the best to start with as the technique can be learnt much more easily. The string can be of company or custom made. The maximum distance you can hit with Indian round is 50 mts. Although the arrow can go upto 100 mts, it is advisable to practice only 50 mts. Even the competition too allows only 50 mts.
The drawback is that you can to only national level with this bow. Indian bow doesnt have International competitors. If you want to play International match (like Asian game, olympics) you must not stick to this bow. Use this for initial practice and once you learn the technique, go to Recurve/Compound.

Recurve : This bow is advanced Indian bow. It works like Indian bow except the fact that the limbs, risers etc are made from polymers, metals, carbon etc. This is the only bow that can take you to Olympics. Mastering this bow needs lot of strength and energy. It is best to start this bow from 10 mts distance. By adjusting the sight, you have to go to 20, 30, 50, 70 and 90 mts if you want. Each distance must be practiced for atleast 2 weeks before going to next one. The target of this bow is placed 70 mts away in Olympics.

This bow is manufactured by Hoyt, Win&Win, SF Archery etc.

Compound : The most advanced of all bows. This bow is a metaphor of the latest technology. it is designed to reduce the effort of man after the full draw so that aiming can be easy.There are two cams on either end of the bow which helps in reducing the effort. This is bow is made to hit the targets which are at distance of 50 mts
The drawback is that you need lots of accessories which means you need to spend a lot more than what you would for other bows. Also you need a special mechanical releaser to release the arrows with which you may miss the feel of release that you will be having with Recurce/Indian bows.

The best compound bow you can buy is made by HOYT. Dont miss that.

Sunday 9 September 2012

Arthur Ashe Stadium
8:30PMIST
 Men's Singles - Semifinals
David Ferrer (ESP)[4]
vs
Novak Djokovic (SRB)[2]
To Finish 5-2 

Not Before:2:30 AM IST
 Women's Singles - Finals
Victoria Azarenka (BLR)[1]
vs.
Serena Williams (USA)[4]