bow shoulder

[caveman]

every one says to keep the bow shoulder low but i was wondering if there was such a thing as the bow shoulder being too low?

[TWIW]

Originally Posted by caveman

every one says to keep the bow shoulder low but i was wondering if there was such a thing as the bow shoulder being too low?

Don't even go there. Just keep it relaxed, and in a natrural position. The important thing is to not let it rise up during the draw.

[Kae]

Originally Posted by caveman

every one says to keep the bow shoulder low but i was wondering if there was such a thing as the bow shoulder being too low?

mmmm, the question I suppose is two parts.

A - is it physically possible to lower your bow shoulder?
B - Would it be detrimental to your shooting?



I don't "think" it's physically possible for someone with average skeletal build to lower the bow shoulder too low (although I've seen some weird and wonderful skeletons, so there might be one out there).

Always ready to be told otherwise though,

Kae.

[Erika]

preferably lower than the arrow. you'd have to be doing some impressive contortions to be too low.

[Marcus26]

Low as you can and as Erika said, should be under the arrow.

[Marcus26]

A few things to watch here though.
Sloped shoulders are very handy here as they allow your shoulder to sit lower in the ribcage.
A longer neck is a massive advantage here as well because your anchor is higher compared to your shoulder.

Compounders anchor higher so they have a bigger gap between their shoulder and arrow.
Here is a compound example


This shoulder is too high (yet this archer is a good shooter, but has just returned from a break)


This shoulder is good


For some shooters you may only see the top of the arrow over the shoulder, this is where you have to carefully look at the body type to determine their shoulder's low point.

[Schme1440]

Originally Posted by Marcus26

A few things to watch here though.
Sloped shoulders are very handy here as they allow your shoulder to sit lower in the ribcage.
A longer neck is a massive advantage here as well because your anchor is higher compared to your shoulder.

Compounders anchor higher so they have a bigger gap between their shoulder and arrow.
Here is a compound example


This shoulder is too high (yet this archer is a good shooter, but has just returned from a break)


This shoulder is good


For some shooters you may only see the top of the arrow over the shoulder, this is where you have to carefully look at the body type to determine their shoulder's low point.

I have a problem with a high sholder. I will have to take some pics and get you to look at them. We dont have good enough coaches in my area to coach me. Im better at coaching myself than they are. I know my fletchings are below my shoulder line but my large build doesnt allow me to correct this.
Take a look at this The technique has change alot since this was taken but the shoulder line is the same. Would you say the shoulder is too low? And yes I know my shoulder rises but have been working on that.

[geoffretired]

Is it possible to have the bow shoulder too low? Not really, as the shoulder unit rests on the top of the ribcage.
One danger is this, some archers attempt to lower the shoulder by the wrong method. Instead of standing upright and letting the shoulder unit drop down to its resting position, they arch their back over to one side. This puts the spine into a bend and leads to other alignment problems.
Schme; for archers with big shoulder muscles, it is often a struggle to "see" if the shoulder unit is low. It can appear to be high simply because the deltoids and others are so bunched up in the shooting posture. It is often better to look at the bow arm itself. If you' re shooting at 50y, for example, and your spine is straight and upright, (not leaning back rather like clout shooting) then the bow arm will appear to run downhill from the wrist into the shoulder. If your shoulder is high, the arm could look more level or slightly uphill from wrist to shoulder.If you shoot closer than 50y then the downward slope will be reduced,and be more difficult to check.

[Marcus26]

Scheme
I would say that the problem is that you are drawing from down low and not setting the shoulder first.
You want to raise the bow and then set teh shoulder down and keep pulling it down while you draw the bow. If you start high then the shoulder must come down, if you draw from down low you lift the shoulder to come to the target.

To me your setup is moving too much. Break it down into steps. Set the shoulder, draw the bow, anchor, then execute and do each step without moving the other bits around.

[Schme1440]

Ill have to get some more modern footage or pics. That vid was very old. I no longer draw from low down. I now draw pretty much parrallel. I will try and get some pics tonight. I do think that maybe my shoulder may be a little high but not excessive.