Bow arm follow through

[Des]

How many of you actually conciously follow through with your bow arm as part of the shot? Is it simply down to some archers pushing (aswell as pulling) through the clicker?
After watching different archers at recent shoots, including the GB team at the national indoor, i've noticed that this one of the most varied parts of individual technique. Some have the very clear punch like follow through, where as others appear not to move the arm at all.

[dino1300]

It should not be a concious follow through, but you should always be pressing the sight into the middle ( or where you are aiming). As this does not stop upon release, when you do not have the bow pressing back, the natural reaction is for the bow arm to be allowed to go forward.

[Murray]

If you have your power going in the right direction, you will get a natural follow through which will vary depending on the amount of power applied to the bow-side of the draw. Pushers will have more obvious results than pullers. In any case, you don't want any "fake followthrough", it should be natural and unforced.

The trouble with faking it is that you may end up anticipating it with horrible consequences to your groups.

Best way I heard it described was by a geordie senior coach he said to a novice archer "just imagine your leaning against a tree ". I think that gave a great mental image about the effort involved in bow arm.

[Stylisht]

If you've got follow through left after the arrow's left the bow... then you weren't putting 100% in beforehand.

[dino1300]

Originally Posted by Stylisht

If you've got follow through left after the arrow's left the bow... then you weren't putting 100% in beforehand.

Well I think that you should be shooting within the power band, not at the end of it. If you need 100% to acheive the required shot, then you just are not going to do that every time. If you are making the shot between your setup position and 100%, then you are always going to go through the 85 - 90% point.

See the clicker thread(s)

[geoffretired]

Get a piece of string and tie the ends together to form a loop about the same length as your draw. Put the thumb of your bow hand through the loop and your string fingers through the other end, then come to your full draw position.
Pull as if drawing your bow. Next, use your bow hand as last time, but get a friend to pull the other end of the loop to the position your draw hand was in last time. Let the friend loose the string, without warning, and see where your bow hand goes. Repeat the string loop exercise with the loop and the friend, but this time hold yout strung bow to replicate the weight in the hand.(don't pull the bowstring.)The fact that the friend looses the string means you cannot anticipate, so the arm goes where it was sent by the forces created in the draw.For a better simulation, use a release aid . You draw and the friend presses the trigger. This replicates the follow through of both arms.

[geoffretired]

[IMG][/IMG]

This is another way of looking at the follow through. What would happen to the bow if the string broke? Similar things happen if the archer releases the string without anticipation.

[pHz]

so geoff

i know its your way to keep asking questions and give no answers (being a teacher i THINK i know why too)

but

with the bow example there while i can see what would happen and where the limbs would go what i dont get is whether youre suggesting that thats where an archers follow through should go too or whether youre suggesting that an archers follow through should be 'forced' in order to follow the arrow

(isnt there at least one top class archer whose bow hand DOES sweep off to the left quite dramatically on follow through ? )

slainte : rob

[geoffretired]

pHz, I feel that the bow limbs have been held in the position shown by the string.The string is being pulled tight along its own length. The bow limbs however are not simply pushing in the same direction i.e. straight ahead and straight back. The bow limbs are trying to return to their state of relaxation, before being strung. I feel that there is a very close connection with the way our arms keep our bow at full draw. The muscles used are roughly where the grip is on the bow. The arms will move, as would the bow limbs because they are under very similar tensions.The follow through should be as natural as the bow limbs returning to their relaxed positions. No forcing! It will happen because that is what does happen if the "friend" releases the loop, as in the post before the picture.
This will be most noticeable with a long bow as the weight in the hand is not enough to mute the movement.
I wasn't being obtuse, the picture was really meant to go with the post just before it; just another way of showing the same idea.
I hope that helps.