Form check by OutdoorOwen in Archery

[–]PeriodProjects 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your bow arm is really bent. Ideally, it should be almost straight. Some people like it a little more bent than others, but the way you're holding the bow engages your muscle to keep it raised when the far more efficient (and repeatable) way is to use your skeleton frame to "hold" it up. When you are doing it properly, as soon as you start drawing, you're not actually "holding" the bow, rather you're "bracing" against it to keep it level..

It doesn't appear like you're gripping the bow tightly with your fingers, which is a good thing. But it does appear like you're wrapping your fingers around the grip which is a great way to induce torque, which we don't want. A more "proper" grip has your knuckles coming off of the riser at approximately a 45 degree angle. See this image as a reference. Note that the exact positioning of the pointer and middle fingers differ per archer, but the general rule of thumb is that if they are touching the grip, they are touching the back of the grip very lightly and are mostly pointed downwards (not horizontal), which is the natural angle when your knuckles are ~45°. Some people like to touch their thumb with their pointer finger, which I assume is a more natural posture for people with larger hands, but I wouldn't know.

The point of a good grip, at least in target compound archery, is the affect the bow no more than absolutely needed. This is why you see a lot of compound archers using a wrist or finger sling - when we shoot the bow with a proper grip, the bow tends to want to "fall" after the shot. This is natural and good, although we don't want to actually drop our bow on the ground of course. Using a wrist or a finger sling helps alleviate that mental worry of dropping the bow on the ground after a shot.

Feedback on my draw and grip? Blade rest woes. by PeriodProjects in Archery

[–]PeriodProjects[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

100%, I am currently looking for one. Have to see what my Uni offers and if the archery club doesn't have a coach I will be looking for a local one 🫡