Elbow. Locked or not?

[robtattoo]

I kee reading posts telling folks to absolutely NOT lock their bow-arm albow. Whatever else you do DO NOT LOCK your elbow!!!

Why is this?

I learnt to shoot FITA style target archery, long before I took up instinctive barebow shooting & the one thing I learnt above all else is to LOCK THAT ELBOW SOLID!

An unlocked elbow is liable to flex & is unstable, where a locked elbow gives good solid alignment.

So much is posted regarding bone structure & how the weight of the bow is taken along the bones of the arm & across the shoulders to relieve muscle pressure. This makes sense as bone is far more solid than muscle. However if you put a flexible hinge in the centre of this supporting bone structure, we're once again relying on muscle to prevent the arm collapsing.

Why do folks keep insisting on the unlocked elbow? Is to prevent string-slap? Is it a throw-back to compound shooting? I'm confused?

If I may be allowed to teach Granny to suck eggs;
If you don't want to catch your arm with your string, a bent elbow is really, truly NOT the best solution. Correct shoulder rotation is far, far better. Let me expand.

Stare straight ahead of you. Hold out your bow arm to yourside as though you were holding your bow in the shooting position (position your thumb so that it's pointing behind you & your palm is up) . Now, bend your elbow until your finger tips touch the top of your head. Slide your fingers down your face until you're touching your nose. Now, extend your bow arm back out (Your thumb should now be pointing straight up) This is the correct shoulder rotation. You'll find that you can rotate your shoulder without moving your hand (your wrist can rotate in the opposite direction) In this position your forearm is well out of the way of the bowstring, your elbow is locked & th bones from your wrist, forearm, upper arm & shoulders are all in a straight line, giving you excellent stability      
Your elbow should be facing the 9-o'clock/3-o'clock position (as opposed to 6-12)
It can take a while to get used to, but shooting with your shoulder rotated & elbow locked out improves stability & strength & also has the benefeit of adding a good amount to your drawlength. It probably makes you more attractive to the opposite sex too!  

[Terry Green]

Rob, good post...mine is locked as well...always has been....never been an issue with me.

[tradtusker]

same here Rob i thought the same thing. mine is locked and string slap is not an issue

[Grant Young]

I agree - Not a problem if you don't heel the bow.

[Daddy Bear]

I'm of the opinion that a locked out bow arm elbow while shooting a heavy straight handle longbow is a sure-fire short cut to injury. What may work well for a lighter bow, may not work well for a heavy bow. What may work well for a locked in target style, may not work well for a fluid swing style. No different than Dr. Mike Marshall's take on pitching. The shock and energy absorbed into the bow arm from a heavy bow is best absorbed through natural bone support and the large muscle groups. Locking out adds muscle tension and directs a great deal of the shock into the weaker areas of the elbow.

 http://tradgang.com/noncgi/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=6;t=003888

[Grant Young]

Probably a good point Daddy B- my experience with longbows is extremely limited and the one Hill style bow with a straight grip that I ever used much definitely put more pressure toward the heel of my bowhand. It was over seventy-five pounds and I found myself keeping my bow arm as "soft" as possible in self-defense for my elbow's sake. There was no telling what else I may have been doing wrong with my grip that may have complicated things even further.                         Grant

[Daddy Bear]

I took the below directly from The Archery Physician used by the U.S. Archery Team. It appears this logic is used in target archery as well:  

The Archery Physician

Not just practicing, he's solving your everyday archery aches and pains.

By Richard Freitas Member of the 2001 & 2002 U.S. Archery Team

Bow Arm

You should NOT lock your elbow on your bow arm. It should be slightly bent. Too many archers shoot with a locked elbow or their bow arm bent too much. Bring your bow to full draw, lock your elbow, and then relax your elbow. That is the proper position for your bow arm.

[Daddy Bear]

I was taught the swing draw as a kid and therefore I do not care for spending any time dressing up my bow arm at full draw. I was taught to have my bow arm in a natural tension free position throughout the entire swing. I describe this in detail in the thread I linked to above. Clearly my Grandfather did not invent this as most of the longbow archers who influenced him were doing the exact same thing.

[dan ferguson]

Depends who the coach is Al Henderson teaches not to lock the arm, Russ Hoogerhyde also taught this amongst several others, To each his own I guess.

[Terry Green]

I think it is more personal preference....I've never had an archery 'injury' and I've shot a lot at 'fairly' heavy weights.  Shot 80# compounds for years before I swithced back...and have also been shooting 60 to 70# longbows and recurves for years.

I don't have any muscle stress when I shoot...maybe if you are 'over locking'/hyper extending this occurs.

Either way....just make sure you got a solid bow arm.

[Boom Stick]

Thanks Rob,

I thought the same thing myself.  I was starting to get confused when people said to use the skeletal structure but have a bent elbow.  It seems contradicting.

[Roy Steele]

This only works with sights.Locking your elbow don't let your sights move as much while aiming.

[Roy Steele]

This only works with sights.Locking your elbow don't let your sights move as much while aiming.

[robtattoo]

Originally posted by Roy Steele:
This only works with sights.Locking your elbow don't let your sights move as much while aiming.

?????

So it's OK for your bow to move & wobble around if you don't use sights?

[dragonheart]

I would focus more concern with having a low bow shoulder than a locked elbow.  You can have a tendency to extend your bow shoulder up when you "lock" out the arm.  Take a look at Terry's clock position in another post.  His bow arm is straight and locked, but his bow shoulder is remaining low and his shoulder is NOT rolled to the inside or towards the bow.  If you look at many of the FITA archers like, Rick Mckiney and Butch Johnson, bow arm is extended and straight with forearm bone to bow in the grip, but they maintain a low bow shoulder.  just my 2 cents.

[McDave]

I'm sure that Terry and others are correct in saying that it is a personal preference.  My shooting improves noticeably when I shoot with my bow arm elbow slightly bent.  Keeping my bow arm elbow straight is one reason I might miss to the left, as my bow arm recoils to the left with a straight elbow rather than forward with a bent elbow.  Sometimes when I'm not shooting well, and check over my form, I find that I am straightening my bow arm elbow, and when I bend it, my shooting improves.

Talking about it is fine, but the only thing that matters is doing it both ways and seeing what works best for you.

[rpembert]

If you are shooting a Hill style bow you WANT that arm bowed or bent. I agree with Daddy Bear in that shoot hi poundage bows you need that buffer or shock absorber.

I shot a compound for 3 or 4 years and shot with a locked elbow. I had to. This was competion. I had to keep the sights lined up, and to have a constant shot.

When I went back to trad you have to keep that bow arm bent. You hear all these guys talking about hand shock, most of them are former olympic and compound shooters. They are used to one style of shooting and think that it carrys over into all forms of archery. Its a rude awakaning.

You just got to learn the bow. Its like women. None are ever the same and you cant treat one like the other. They are are different.

Maybe that was a bad comparision.

Joshua

[mwmwmb]

do to wrist that does not rotate i cant lock my elbow this has been a steep learning curve with respect to consistant draw length. I am new to trad shooting. I had similar problems with compound (to a lesser degree).