String hits Bracer/arm

[Andrewchinh]

I have been doing archery for about 2 years. The first year was spent deciding to shoot compound or recurve, and i decided on the former.

However, after finding compound a tad...boring, I went and borrowed a club recurve.

One of the reasons i chose not to shoot recurve was actually because the string repeatedly hit my forearm. More often than not it'd hit my arm but there were shots that didn't hit my arm.

So now I'm trying recurve out and i find the same problem. I shoot well...ish but i really would rather not shoot and score well at the expense of having a red arm every Saturday.

I've tried a bracer (short) which covers the top half of my forearm and it works. However, sometimes the string strikes the point just past the bracer (wrist side) and other times, it ends up wedged behind the bracer (elbow side). I've tried a long arm bracer and it works...well, it prevents me from the "worst of it". I've read in MANY places, having the string hit the bracer is NOT a good sign and that it should be corrected as soon as possible.

So how can it be done?

I've looked in to several web resources, asked coaches at my club etc.

If i bend my elbow, it still hits my forearm...
If i twist my elbow, it still hits my forearm...
If i grip the bow differently in different ways, it still hits...

I've noticed one thing about when i shoot. When i release, the riser suddenly veers to face left. I have no idea if the arrow is affected, just that the riser seems to spin to face approx 40 degrees to the left of where it was before, causing the string to whack in to my arm.

Any ideas?

[Bald Eagle]

You need to find a good coach, you have not been taught the right way to shoot, or you have been over bowed from the start of your shooting career

[pHz]

Originally Posted by Bald Eagle

or you have been over bowed from the start of your shooting career

how would overbowing cause this ?

(not questioning your judgement BE - just curious as to the mechanics of it)

slainte : rob

[Marcus26]

First up congratulations on all the perfect rounds you must have shot with the compound. Awesome.

Regarding hitting the arm. This is not a bad thing and will happen if you use a straight arm and get your bow arm close to the line of force. Make sure your wrist joint is under the arrow and your shoulder alignment good and if you hit your arm just live with it. It is OK. I would think your form would be excellent if you were not missing with the compound.
People get so worked up thinking that hitting the is a technique issue. I see it as the other way around.

[archer_thom]

No worries, get a really long armguard, that way you'll never hit your arm. Then get a bow you can shoot comfortably. Now learn to shoot with a really clean follow through, and soon you will never hit your arm again. DO NOT bend your elbow or do anything that feels wrong - this will be wrong FOR YOU! 99% of shots hitting the arm are caused by poor releases, and good follow-through means a nice release. This is easiest with a bow that's easy to pull. A recurve bow should be 40% of the maximum force you can pull.

[phil_r_58]

Like Marcus says. A perfect shot is the result of good form, good psychology, and well set up and balanced equipment. Not the other way round. Good coaching will help, rather than trying to figure it out yourself. I shoot pretty good scores, but I still go to good coaches to keep improving too.

Some say you cannot help but shoot good scores with a compound. All I have noticed after 30 odd years is that a bad shot just misses faster than with a re-curve

Originally Posted by Marcus26

First up congratulations on all the perfect rounds you must have shot with the compound. Awesome.

Regarding hitting the arm. This is not a bad thing and will happen if you use a straight arm and get your bow arm close to the line of force. Make sure your wrist joint is under the arrow and your shoulder alignment good and if you hit your arm just live with it. It is OK. I would think your form would be excellent if you were not missing with the compound.
People get so worked up thinking that hitting the is a technique issue. I see it as the other way around.

[Andrewchinh]

OK, i've taken a look at your suggestions (fast replies btw...)

The thing about the bow grip seems to make sense, and so does the front shoulder (yes, i'm left-eyed btw).

I'm not sure about the 45 degree thing. Knuckles are 45 degrees to where? I understand the V-shaped grip of the bow but how do the knuckles fit in?

About the front shoulder, i tend to let it rise, since it feels more comfortable and i know another recurve shooter in my club who has a pronouced...risen front shoulder (who is quite good).

I'll try the changing grip thing again. When, i tried varying the grips i used, i was mainly just moving where the fleshy bit of my hand was. I even tried keeping all but the index finger in front of the riser (the rest to the side) just to see what would happen.

[pHz]

Originally Posted by Andrewchinh

I'm not sure about the 45 degree thing. Knuckles are 45 degrees to where? I understand the V-shaped grip of the bow but how do the knuckles fit in?

bowhand knuckles at 45 degress to the vertical / horizontal (with weight of bow / draw taken on the fleshy lump at the base of your thumb - as demonstrated here by alan wills -



slainte rob

[archer_thom]

I generally find it a good idea to listen to things Marcus26 says, they tend to be good. Or better.

[TWIW]

Originally Posted by archer_thom

I generally find it a good idea to listen to things Marcus26 says, they tend to be good. Or better.

Me too. But go find a coach and take the guy with the raised front shoulder along with you