My form video for critique

[Cmane07]

Hey guys I did a little shooting this afternoon and filmed two videos for yall to look at ( I apologize for the redneck attire, this was spur of the moment ha)

I shot traditional for a year and a half and then quit do to time constraints about two years ago.  I bought a longbow about mid-July and just did nto care for it so I bought this BW PA off of the classifieds about two weeks ago.  Overall, I am happy with my shooting as far as grouping and distance for the time shot and I know I have much more practice to do.

I am pulling between 28 and 28.5" draw and the bow is 50 lbs at 28".  I am shooting off the shelf and using goldtip trad 5575s cut to 30" with 200 grain tips. I also shoot split finger with a tab. Any help would be greatly appreciated because I know I have a long way to go! Thanks

Caleb

 

 

[Cmane07]

O and sorry for the quality, all we had was an iphone.

[moebow]

Caleb,

Ya, the video leaves a little to be desired.  Here is what I can see though.

Let your bow hand fingers relax and lay on the back of the bow grip.  As you release, you are "catching" the bow which disrupts your bow hand and with the fingers sticking out like that adds a lot of tension to your bow forearm that you don't want. That need to catch the bow makes you anticipate the release which is another distraction that you don't need.

On your string hand, your thumb is sticking straight up.  This adds a LOT of tension in the string hand that makes the release MUCH harder than it should be by adding tension to the hand and forearm.  Let your thumb down so the pad of the thumb is "hovering" over the palm of the hand. Relax your entire forearm from the elbow to the finger hook as much as you can, that will help with your release and your draw.

You are drawing the bow ALL with the arm muscles.  This is what is making your string hand "pop" out from your face when you release.

You appear to be standing with your target side foot ahead of your back foot.  This is a "closed" stance.  What you want is a square or slightly open stance, not closed.  Closed makes you twist your body the wrong direction.

Slow down a little too.  

Arne

[Cmane07]

Thanks a lot Mr. Arne.  I will start working on these first thing tomorrow and i see exactly what your talking about now.  I actually thought I was using some back tension though.  Do you have any tips on how to change my draw to quit using so much arm muscle because I'm really confused now.

[moebow]

Caleb,


Back tension is a function of shoulder movement and putting yourself in a position where you have the room to move correctly. The way to help get into the back more is to draw the bow with your arms as RELAXED as possible. If you haven't seen the videos I did a while back they might give you some ideas.  They are on You Tube, "TheMoebow1."  Also do a search for Jimmy Blackmon's (RangerB)videos and of course, check out Terry Green's "Form Clock" here on Trad Gang.

Don't be confused, just hang in there and we'll try to help.

Arne

[Sarah]

Caleb,
Someone told me a long time ago to make the boy scout salute with my string hand while drawing. I basically press my pinky finger into my palm (more into the inside of my knuckle) with the tip of my thumb. I find that this forces my string hand to relax completely while still allowing my fingers (index, middle, and ring) to grip the string.

Sarah

[Cmane07]

Thank you Sarah that makes a lot of sense.  Mr. Arne, thank you so much for your time and help.  I watched your videos last night and RangerB's and then shot last night and this morning and it clicked.  I know still have a way to go but wow was I doing it all wrong and I can tell the difference especially when you talk about holding the string out from your body and then coming up to your anchor and your arms relaxed.  The old way, I would be shaking like crazy at my anchor and couldn't find my anchor consistently.  Now I can hit that anchor dead solid every time and I guess its what you mean by getting your bones lined up because when I hit anchor I'm rock steady and it feels great.  Thanks again! I will keep working on it.