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Tom Godson Longbow Archery

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Tom Godson Longbow Archery

Welcome to my landing page for all things I get up to with my longbows. I shoot with the South Wilts Archery Club, where I am also an AGB Coach.

I currently shoot a Heritage Longbows Avenger longbow at 47lbs on the fingers at a 27" draw.

09/06/2024

Well well well, today was my club's first Summer Championship shoot of the year. By some glorious coincident that I am the Tournament Organiser so get to pick the rounds, this year is my favourite the WA70. In my defence, this was recommended by others so I wasn't going to argue.

We had a warm but windy day of it, but when I stulick to my arrows with a 100gr pile, I find they are affected by the wind far less! However I just couldn't get 6 scoring arrows in one end 😭 Try as I might I kept on over thinking, getting distracted or simply making small mistakes that I chose to shoot through, rather than come down and refresh.

Yet there were shots today that felt strong, controlled and positive. Not all hit the gold, but they got close, and this filled me with confidence in bucket loads. A key part of today was to shoot with a sun hat on and I coped with that better than I thought, especially if you take in to account that I have auditory sensitivities making certain sounds over stimulating.

Ending the day with 299, another Master Bowman level score was a shock, when you take in to account the 5 scoring arrows maximum each end, I am tremendously proud of that.

The first image is the break down of each end I shot today. However the second photo shows the progression I've made this year with my 70m scores, in what is definitely a positively trending curve. The 338 feels almost breakable on a good day now, but one step at a time.

So what's next? Firstly I need to work on keeping my bow grip secure as I'm throwing points away by letting the bow rotate in my hand at release; secondly I must must must get my back under even tension on every shot, otherwise I get erratic arrow flight which nobody wants.

What have you been working on with your archery? Let us know in the comments!

Be well and shoot straight.

Tom

27/05/2024

Hey all! As life settles back down I realised I've been neglecting this page and how to use it for everyone's best interest, so it's time for an update! A spring clean you might say...

In the past year I've qualified as an Archery GB Sessions Coach, letting me loose on Beginners Courses and archers newer to their archery journey. I plan to develop a coaching course that is solely designed to help longbow archers get the absolute best out of their time on target, and really push the limits of what can be achieved with the best bow style available.

In my personal archery journey, I've had a few fists: firstly was my second place finish at the SCAM Two-Way National Longbow Day, bringing my inaugural podium finish. Next was my setting and breaking the same club record on the WA70 round 3 times, the last time this weekend, smashing my last score of 264 with a mighty 338! Not only did it break my own record, but it was my first Grand Master Bowman equivalent score; now I just need to do it 6 times at Competitions. All good things come to those who wait 😁

Please feel free to share this post far and wide, I'd love to help as many archers as is possible, and to meet many more, if nothing else but to create a greater depth of knowledge.

Shoot straight and be well!

Tom

07/06/2023

Mid week update: I tried a full shoot with a longbow today for the first time in months and it didn't go as well as I had liked, but I have still learned something from it! First club competition of the Summer this weekend, so check back for updates 😁

05/06/2023

"This Week in Archery"
Well I'm coming to the end of my time being coached by Tim Woolcott - Archery, and I think these scores speak got themselves! But what have I learnt?

In the last few months I've completely changed my form and shot technique, correcting physical errors such as a high draw elbow and crooked posture, to the theoretical changes in regards to aiming and to commit aspects of the draw and loose to my subconscious. The full list of improvements is lengthy and each one, whether big or small, has taken work, but all worth it.

But is it the end? Absolutely not, instead it is only the beginning of my own journey to improve, refine and progress every week.

My aluminium arrows are the wrong spine for my bow now, but that can be corrected, but why are they wrong? Because I have improved, and I can't think of a better reason for change.

What one thing have you changed in your archery that made you think, "wow, I'm starting to understand this now"?

31/05/2023

There's nothing like shooting a target with a great friend! I'm still back in my student phase, so mine are the aluminium arrows with green and yellow vanes. I've had a great amount of fun learning to improve my archery, and can really feel it paying off.

25/05/2023

I was very lucky to have been the organiser to bring open target competitions back to my club last week, after a 4 year gap! With 42 archers on the day, I had to put my bow down, but what an opportunity it was to observe so many strangers and create some great new friendships. All manner of bows and equipment were present, so I really enjoyed looking them over and talking to the owners.

Archery really is such an inclusive sport, both physically and mentally, and I couldn't be happier with my place within it, helping my fellow club mates, and enabling others to enjoy their sport, all the while bettering myself and loving every moment of it.

In between all of the planning for this, I have been developing my own archery along with the help of my clubs head coach, and I can really start to see the difference it is making!

As ever I continue to be taking part in the Archery GB magazine experiment of the looking to see the correlation between number of arrows shot in practice/competition and scores.

As ever, be well and happy shooting.

Tom.

30/04/2023

Today was dedicated to a coaching day where I was being observed, and coached, through a number of different aspects of my archery. It meant I had to put the longbow down, and resurrect my recurve, albeit without sights luckily, but what a day it was! A major highlight was the presence of Loyd Brown, Archery GB senior coach, who has coached some of the top archers in the world. His insight was priceless and yet he was open and very approachable.

The 3 main observations for work were; alignment with my bow arm and back, use of a finger sling and my release follow through. The finger sling was an eye opener for sure, and it really helped me avoid slapping my arm with the string and throwing arrows left and right. By no longer holding the bow, removed so much fluctuation, and once I got over the idea of the bow swinging back at me, it was great to see the arrows all in a line, but vertically not horizontally.

As we returned from lunch, I was used as a guinea pig to try out a fascinating coaching tool. It was a digital projector, projecting on to a blank target face a live feed of me, as the archer going through my shot cycle! I had to shoot myself in live time 🤯😆 But it was an insanely empowering exercise, allowing me to see how I was drawing the bow, letting the string go and aligning my body.

After some direct coaching from Loyd, on my follow through, (including some very positive comments) I was privy to some fascinating debriefing conversations, and insights in up coaching at a much higher level. Nothing secret, just a deeper level of understanding and archery comprehension.

Thank you to Tim Woolcott - Archery for allowing me the opportunity to be his student, and to attend this once in a lifetime experience. He is a great coach, and an even greater friend!

Thank you, also, to Canford Magna Archery as well for the use of their range and facilities.

Until next time, good shooting and remember to use your second anchor!

Tom.

24/04/2023

Shoot Report - Andover Archers Saxon York

I wanted to objectively share my experiences from the first external competition I entered, shooting at a target face, which I undertook Sunday past on the 23rd April 2023.

Initial nerves passed relatively quickly thanks to the great company I was with, both veteran competition archers and fellow event newbies, from my club, South Wilts AC. The venue was a gloriously dedicated range, with club house and facilities on site, and I was fortunate enough to be shooting with 3 other friendly and helpful chaps, one of whom turned out to be the Tournament Organiser.

After registering, equipment check and finding my spot on target one, we listened to the briefing then got stuck in. The round we were shooting was a York, meaning we shot:
72 arrows at 100 yards
48 arrows at 80 yards
24 arrows at 60 yards
With breaks at sensible intervals, a well needed lunch and a handy post lunch pit stop, the day flew by. By the end I was definitely exhausted, but in a good way, and a great experience in the whole.

However, the positives end there, or at least they become moments of reflection. My scoring was way below what I wanted, to the point that I ended up 55 points behind my practice score, and this slipping of points only seemed to worsen through the day. I repeatedly hit the target number board that hung from under the boss (see images) which although was funny the first time, became almost demoralising as it showed I was getting the arrows to go straight, but not high enough.

At 100 yards I couldn't find a reliable height mark, so was spraying my arrows everywhere, almost hitting the next target along more than once. Then by 80 yards I had started to pick up a bit, but all of a sudden was dropping short of the target, no matter how high I corrected my aim. Finally, at 60 yards, I had the final disaster of the day when I managed to miss the target entirely with 2 arrows, back to back. I don't think I've missed the target at 60 yards for a very long time, and I just couldn't understand why. In hindsight it's likely that I was just physically exhausted, and so wasn't holding myself straight and was losing power in the shot, but at the time I almost cried.

It was a challenging day, but I haven't been put off, instead I now have a list of corrections I need to practice on. Some of it is simply improving my endurance, but I can't hope to hit targets anymore, and need to really nail down my shot cycle, giving me and my arrows, the greatest chance of achieving what we want.

I look forward to my next external event, if only to be kinder on myself, and to enjoy the act of participation rather than unattainable expectations.

How was your first competition? What advice would you give to a newbie headed to their first event?

Speak soon and archery safely.

Tom.

20/03/2023

Practice makes progress, and Sunday's practice was a marked improvement from the last time I shot a "Western" round. Comprising of 48 arrows shot at 60 yards, followed by 48 arrows at 50 yards, it is a fun one for me to practice actually aiming at the target rather than above it.

This time last year, I scored 240 points, which I think I was very proud of, but this year, I put up 459 points! Almost doubling my score really left a smile on my face, and it certainly highlights the difference that practice makes, along with solid coaching and support from my awesome club mates. For the first time this year I put more arrows in the gold of the target than the white, and I intend to improve this as the year continues!

After practice, though, I was asked why I bother to score a full round and not just get the required sight marks and move on. It was an interesting perspective I hadn't thought about, however for me the practising isn't just for the aiming, but the repetition and stamina needed to stay on target throughout. That and so I can enter scores for our club records and my personal handicap.

Do you practice fully scored rounds, and if so, what is your favourite and why?

Stay safe and enjoy what makes you happy!

Tom

16/01/2023

Aren't I a lucky man, to receive such a beautiful set of arrows from the one and only Richard Head Longbows. They arrived earlier than expected, and on their first outing put up a 1st Class score in appallingly windy conditions. They fly amazingly, and are so light they are almost silent as they sink smoothly in to the target face. If you're thinking of getting some high quality wooden arrows, definitely look to Richard Head Longbows.

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