Bone on bone?

[toby]

Can someone explain this for me, I don't fully understand what it means.

[Ravenhood]

I'm not good at explaining . I feel a lot stronger when I am drawing the bow when my bow arm, wrist , shoulder are lined up with bone on bone contact.

[moebow]

Toby,

Think of it this way.  When you are standing up, you are supporting your body weight on the leg bones, and not on muscle.  The muscles are only used to keep the bones in the leg lined up.

When shooting, the bow grip presses into the base of the thumb directly in front of the radius bone of the forearm.  The forearm in turn is lined up with the humerus (upper arm) if the elbow is pronated (rolled in).  The humerus then presses into the bow side scapula (shoulder socket).  IF you maintain a 90 degree angle between the bow arm and body, it is like standing.  The muscles are only used to keep the bones aligned and the arm is like a beam that holds the bow "out there."

Then, when you reach full draw, you get the string side lined up with the bow side -- lining up the bones on the string side of the body with the bones on the bow side -- and it feels like the bow gets lighter in draw weight.  The bones of the arms and shoulders are supporting bow weight, NOT muscle.

There are a lot more bones to line up for this compared to the standing up example but the idea is the same.

This is really pretty easy to demonstrate in person but more difficult to describe in words -- at least for me.

Arne

[moebow]

I'll add this.  When the bones are lined up, and you are holding the bones with muscle, those muscles are in the back, not the front or in the arms.  So THEN, when you release, the string hand will "follow through" to a point in the air right behind your ear.

I'm referring to the "release" post.  With good "bone on bone" a "static" release is really difficult and can lead to other problems.

Arne

[toby]

Arnie,
Great explanation, I will work on that.
Thank you
Toby

[AlanD]

Arnie that makes a lot of sense. And with the description of humerus in the shoulder socket brings about a question for me. I've read about the push/pull when it comes to drawing the bow. Won't I be extending the humerus from the shoulder socket when pushing? Or am I misunderstanding something?
Alan

[moebow]

Alan,  I am not a proponent of the "push/pull" technique, although MANY use it successfully.

Actually, you don't "extend the humerus" unless you dislocate the shoulder socket.  But you do kind of extend the entire shoulder and hence the arm and bow towards the target  - a VERY little.  But in my opinion, our shoulders and arms aren't made to move like that.  Plus, the push/pull requires movement that is coordinated on both sides of the body.

So with the technique I teach, the entire shoulder and bow arm is nothing more than a beam that braces the bow out there.  No attempt or thought or effort to press towards the target.  This eliminates any additional movement on the bow side during draw and at full draw (holding).  Then all the rest of the draw and shot execution are on the string side.

Pushing with the muscles to make that "push" on the bow makes us use muscles rather than just letting the bone 'beam' set the static distance between the bow and the body.  Go back the the standing example.  You can stand there 'most all day using the bones.  Now, stand there and push with your legs against the ground.  Not only do you not achieve much of anything, but you get tired too.

Bone beams are good -- very strong AND reduce muscle use.

Arne

[AlanD]

That makes a lot of sense and follows along with what I experience. When I try push/pull I feel like I'm loosing control of the shot sequence. Added movement. I'm finding that holding locked on target, maintaining back tension and maintaining a relaxed draw hand is proving plenty to ingrain into my shot.
Thank you, I've really enjoyed all the advice you give as well as your videos.

[Terry Green]

Look at the form clock image top left of this forum....and read the form clock thread featured near the top...Proper Alignment = Bone on Bone

[Bowwild]

And with reduced muscle use comes a more consistent shot.