Hi all, I have a question but before I start let me present myself... my name is Nicholas Burman, I live in Sao Paulo, Brazil and I've just (sort of - been going for 5-6 months now...) started doing Olympic Air Rifle. My jacket and pants arrived roughly 3 weeks ago (Anschütz Pro-Tech jacket and Economy pants), I've been training (and have shot a few matches) with it ever since but I've been having a bit of trouble... during training sessions sometimes my right leg goes "asleep" after a while, is there a way of avoiding this problem? It's particularly annoying not to say that sometimes it disturbs the shot process.
Cheers,
Nicholas
Sao Paulo-Brazil
Greetings and a question
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Nick_Burman
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:52 am
- Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Pain in right leg
Hi Nick
This is a difficult one. Firstly, are you standing correctly, i.e. back bend and twist? secondly is your centre of gravity coming down over your toes or heels, Heels is better.
One established reason for leg pain is you may have your legs to far apart. Your feet should be approximately shoulder width apart and the knees should not be locked out but slightly un flexed. Also check to see if your weight is equally distributed over both legs/feet.
If you can get hold of the MEC publication 'Air Rifle Shooting' nearly every question you can think of will be covered.
Peepsight
This is a difficult one. Firstly, are you standing correctly, i.e. back bend and twist? secondly is your centre of gravity coming down over your toes or heels, Heels is better.
One established reason for leg pain is you may have your legs to far apart. Your feet should be approximately shoulder width apart and the knees should not be locked out but slightly un flexed. Also check to see if your weight is equally distributed over both legs/feet.
If you can get hold of the MEC publication 'Air Rifle Shooting' nearly every question you can think of will be covered.
Peepsight
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Nick_Burman
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:52 am
- Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Thanks for the help Peep. My coach (who isn't a coach as such, but rather another shooter who coaches his wife and has been helping me) uses the MEC book as the basis for his training. AFAICR the book says that one's weight should rest over the whole foot and that it should be distributed 70% on the left leg and 30% on the right one (lefties reverse that). I try to do all the necessary twists and bends but I have to admit that after shooting for 5 months without a jacket I'm getting a wallop from it... I'm having to rebuilt all my kinesthetics from scratch... :-S
Cheers
NB
Cheers
NB
Pain in leg
Hi Nick
Yes, your quite right concerning the weight distribution for each leg.
However, this can vary quite considerably from person to person. One example was a Romanian national shooter who was almost 99% on the leading leg. I tend to have about 60% on the front leg with the centre of gravity going down through the centre of my feet but nearer the heels than the insteps.
Most shooters, even world class ones do have a tendency to let their centre of gravity drift towards the toes during a match, so this needs to be checked during the match.
Shooting without the support of a jacket can do your lower back some damage so be careful.
Peepsight
Yes, your quite right concerning the weight distribution for each leg.
However, this can vary quite considerably from person to person. One example was a Romanian national shooter who was almost 99% on the leading leg. I tend to have about 60% on the front leg with the centre of gravity going down through the centre of my feet but nearer the heels than the insteps.
Most shooters, even world class ones do have a tendency to let their centre of gravity drift towards the toes during a match, so this needs to be checked during the match.
Shooting without the support of a jacket can do your lower back some damage so be careful.
Peepsight
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Nick_Burman
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:52 am
- Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Thanks again Peep. I know the sensation of feeling one's weight shifting forward, it can be pretty annoying - especially when you are reaching the end of the shot process, with sights all nicely lined up and trigger pressure nearing shot breaking point. Then all of a sudden, woooooopssss, that loss of balance feeling signifying that the weight has shifted forward... with luck you can break the process, return the rifle to the stand, mutter a few curses under one's breath and start again... otherwise the shot goes off in the middle of the wobbles and you hit a 7... or worse...
Fortunately one thing that I have is reasonably good balance, courtesy of 10 years fencing and 2 years motorcycle riding. However I'm still honing it on the balance disc. And I'm by no means immune to the phenomenon described above...
I know that there is more than one way to get into position - my coach's wife is a case in question, she shoots with her left leg off-vertical towards the rear. In the book there is a picture which shows the differences between shooters very well - a tiny Chinese girl shooting with her legs almost together while her almost 7-foot tall American counterpart shoots with one foot in the firing line and the other in the jury's office... :-p while everybody else is in a position in between.
As I've mentioned in another post I had back pains before my jacket and trousers arrived. Now I only shoot with them and my pains have gone. The only thing is this numbness in the left leg which is tiresome. I'll see if adjusting my leg will help.
Cheers
Nicholas
Fortunately one thing that I have is reasonably good balance, courtesy of 10 years fencing and 2 years motorcycle riding. However I'm still honing it on the balance disc. And I'm by no means immune to the phenomenon described above...
I know that there is more than one way to get into position - my coach's wife is a case in question, she shoots with her left leg off-vertical towards the rear. In the book there is a picture which shows the differences between shooters very well - a tiny Chinese girl shooting with her legs almost together while her almost 7-foot tall American counterpart shoots with one foot in the firing line and the other in the jury's office... :-p while everybody else is in a position in between.
As I've mentioned in another post I had back pains before my jacket and trousers arrived. Now I only shoot with them and my pains have gone. The only thing is this numbness in the left leg which is tiresome. I'll see if adjusting my leg will help.
Cheers
Nicholas
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coolcruiser
- Posts: 108
- Joined: Thu Mar 11, 2004 11:47 am
- Location: CT
left leg numbness
Hi Nick
I just picked up on this thread and would like to comment regarding the numbness. About 3-4 years ago I had developed a wonderfully effective offhand position and was looking to shoot clean targets in offhand. I noticed that my lower back was rather tight but not painful after standing shooting sessions. As time went by this tightness became a cause for concern as I experienced severe sciatic pain to the point that I had to change my shooting position using less back flex and relying a bit more on "shot process" instead of "hard hold". My point is this, in WOTR the author comments on avoiding back damage from overflexing but there isn't much said about specifics of change...just avoid the damage. Maybe I missed something there and I've just started reading ARS so there may be more said in that book on this subject. The numbness that you feel is a warning and may be the precursor of sciatic pain so I caution you to be careful. I am pretty well convinced after studying this for years that comfort is a good thing in shooting and it need not compromise good performance. HTH
CC
I just picked up on this thread and would like to comment regarding the numbness. About 3-4 years ago I had developed a wonderfully effective offhand position and was looking to shoot clean targets in offhand. I noticed that my lower back was rather tight but not painful after standing shooting sessions. As time went by this tightness became a cause for concern as I experienced severe sciatic pain to the point that I had to change my shooting position using less back flex and relying a bit more on "shot process" instead of "hard hold". My point is this, in WOTR the author comments on avoiding back damage from overflexing but there isn't much said about specifics of change...just avoid the damage. Maybe I missed something there and I've just started reading ARS so there may be more said in that book on this subject. The numbness that you feel is a warning and may be the precursor of sciatic pain so I caution you to be careful. I am pretty well convinced after studying this for years that comfort is a good thing in shooting and it need not compromise good performance. HTH
CC
Last edited by coolcruiser on Sun Nov 18, 2007 9:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Nick_Burman
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Tue Nov 13, 2007 5:52 am
- Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Thanks CC. I trained yesterday and today and put a little more attention on my posture. I didn't feel anything in my legs whatsoever. I guess I must have been opening them a little too much and the pant leg must have been impairing blood circulation. The feet are back to shoulder-width opening (as per Peep's suggestion) and the comfort level has gone up.
Cheers NB
Cheers NB
Legs apart
Hi all
Just to put a lighter note on this leg position and how far apart they should be.
I wish i had a picture, but there is a guy i know who we have all nick named Francis Rossi [from Status Quo] because of his very wide apart legs. Remember, keep the feet about shoulder width apart and build your position/stance from that base.
Peepsight
Just to put a lighter note on this leg position and how far apart they should be.
I wish i had a picture, but there is a guy i know who we have all nick named Francis Rossi [from Status Quo] because of his very wide apart legs. Remember, keep the feet about shoulder width apart and build your position/stance from that base.
Peepsight