Have Some Apple Pie = Hand, Shoulder, Anchor/Aim, Power

"Have Some Apple Pie" is an old school archery saying from the 1950s. It is meant to help beginner students remember most of the things they should be doing when practicing their archery form: Hand, Shoulder, Anchor/Aim, Power.

Hand - Should be centred on the bow handle and relaxed.

Shoulder - Should be relaxed and aligned with the bow arm.

Anchor/Aim - Anchor spot should be firmly planted beneath the dominant eye on the mouth in the Traditional Anchor Spot (aka North Anchor) in order for the archer to be able to aim properly. Take your time aiming. Adjust your aim gradually from round to round, not from shot to shot unless your aim is obviously off dramatically.

Power - Muscles on the upper back (the rhomboids) should be clenched together tightly so the archer's back muscles are doing most of the work, reducing the amount of work done by the archer's arms and shoulders.

There are other factors as well that goes into good quality archery form - issues like standing up straight, not angling your neck in weird positions, learning how to use the same amount of power every shot, fine tuning your anchor spot, relaxing your bow hand completely (aka "dead hand"), and many other issues.

If you want help with perfecting your archery form you can sign up for archery lessons or you can email me to get your name on the waiting list for my forthcoming book.