Bow and String Hand

[DivingBirdie]

How important is the bow hand compared to the string hand? Which one would require the usage of more muscles?

My right arm is much more developed than my left, as I used to do badminton quite intensively, and at a period of time, bowling.

Is it worth going LH because I have cross-dominance?

Not to mention... The difficulty in buying and the neigh impossible resale of the riser.

[geoffretired]

Most right handed people, shoot with their right hand doing the draw.
The bow arm is more or less straight and in a good position to resist the forces put upon it from the bow.The string hand has a lot of moving to do and it is out of line for some of the draw making it necessary to work the muscles.

[napolienne]

But then again, there are freaks such as myself who are right handed but shoot LH because of eye dominance Do you go with hand dominance or eye dominance? I've yet to come across a definitive reason as to why one should be more important that the other in deciding which way to shoot, but personally I like shooting with both eyes open, so I go with eye dominance. You pays your money, you takes your choice..

[DivingBirdie]

Money doesn't come easy.

Yes, I shoot LH because of eye dominance....

[napolienne]

Originally Posted by DivingBirdie

Money doesn't come easy.

Yes, I shoot LH because of eye dominance....

If your left eye is dominant, then I'd say shoot left handed. Your left hand will learn what to do with the string quick enough.

Don't try to base your choice of equipment of resale value. Get it because it suits you, anything else is a false economy.

[pHz]

Originally Posted by napolienne

If your left eye is dominant, then I'd say shoot left handed. Your left hand will learn what to do with the string quick enough.

true enough - im VERY left-handed but VERY right-eyed - started out shooting leftie on the beginners course but all the LH bows were too light so i switched to right-handed so i could shoot a quicker bow (and to suit my eyes) and now trying to shoot LH feels completely alien

slainte rob

[Shirt]

Personally, I've always found that if my bow hand is in the right place and doing the right thing, I can get away with murder on the string hand. The reverse does NOT apply.

No idea about muscle usage, but the whole eye-dominance-vs-handedness debate has been had before on here.

[Little Miss Purple]

I'm left eye dominant, but do everything right-handed - therefor, it makes more sense to shoot right-handed

[cliveanne]

Might stir things up a bit, but here goes.
As a finger shooter you need to keep the string hand as flat as possible. String in the first finger joint. Keep the elbow at about the same level as the arrow point. Pull back with the shoulder, not the arm.

The bow hand needs to be as relaxed as possible, so as to minimise torque on the riser. Depending on how you "grip" the bow, you may or may not need a sling (I do not use one) It is up to you whether you shoot High, Medium or Low wrist. All have their good & not so good points, that's down to trial & error.

As a Badminton player, I imagine you use the shoulder to swing the racquet(?) more so than the arm, so I would go R/handed you can always get an extension to your sight pin to make up for your cross-dominance.

[ThePinkOne]

Originally Posted by DivingBirdie

How important is the bow hand compared to the string hand? Which one would require the usage of more muscles?

My right arm is much more developed than my left, as I used to do badminton quite intensively, and at a period of time, bowling.

Is it worth going LH because I have cross-dominance?

Not to mention... The difficulty in buying and the neigh impossible resale of the riser.

Both bow and string arms are important. How much "muscle" and which muscles you use on bow-arm will however depend on how good your bow arm-shoulder alignment is.... .

I know archers who are cross dominance and go to the hand-dominance by choice and use an eye-patch- doesn't seem to cause them a prob tho I notice quite a few coaches seem to learn in the eye-dominance direction by preference. Depends on what works for you best I guess- have you tried both ways? Are you comfortable with an eye patch?

JMO though.

P.