relaxed forearm

[nhbuck1]

do you guys ahve any tips on how to keep the string hand forearm relaxed?

[McDave]

For me, one advantage in holding rather than snap shooting is that once I get to full draw, I can run through a little checklist of things.  One of the things on the checklist is to check that my string forearm is relaxed, because it generally picks up a little tension in the process of drawing the bow.

Of course, for the checklist to do you any good, you have to be able to feel the difference between your forearm being relaxed and tense.  If you don't know if your forearm is relaxed or tense, I would suggest spending some time in front of a blank bale focusing 100% on your string forearm, until you gain awareness of whether it is relaxed or tense.

Or, as Arne recommended in a different post, get yourself a Formaster, that will force you to draw with your back, because it takes your forearm out of play.  It doesn't exactly teach you to be aware of your forearm muscles directly, but it does teach you to be aware of your back muscles, which is really more important.

[nhbuck1]

its tense when i hook the string and if its that way from the beginning it stays that way

[McDave]

Your string forearm should definitely be relaxed when you hook the string.  You need to learn how to relax it.  One of the challenges of archery is learning how to tense one set of muscles, like the finger muscles, while relaxing other muscles, like the forearm muscles.  The same challenge is there when you shoot: you have to learn how to relax your finger muscles while maintaining your back tension.  

In life, generally you either you relax all your muscles, or tighten them all up, like when you purposely tighten up your stomach muscles.  So it's a new skill you have to learn in archery: to relax some muscles while keeping other ones tense.  I think this is something that is not usually given as much attention as it deserves in archery training.

I can't really tell you how to do this, which is maybe why it is glossed over in archery training, but if you understand what needs to be done, and focus on the muscle groups involved in front of a blank bale, you'll eventually figure out how to do it.

[nhbuck1]

thanks dave this is def my issue when that arm is relaxed my shooting is great i cant miss

[McDave]

One thing that might help is that I've noticed that the main finger muscles that cause forearm tension are associated with the finger joint nearest your hand.  If you purposely keep the back of the hand flat, and only bend the outer two joints, it seems easier to relax the string forearm.

[nhbuck1]

seems mine comes from the middle joint?

[nhbuck1]

i think im just getting too much finger tension

[McDave]

You need to hook your last two finger joints as much as you can easily manage in order to get a deep hook.  If you force the last two finger joints into a deeper hook than you can easily manage, you will create unneeded muscle tension that will do more harm than good.

You don't need to bend the finger joint nearest your hand at all in order to get a deep hook.  Since your finger muscles and tendons run up into your forearm, it is difficult to relax your forearm while hooking your fingers, but it helps a lot if you relax all the muscles in your hand and fingers other than the ones needed to hook the string.  

If you relax your hand muscles and the finger joint closest to your hand, your hand will naturally flatten out when it is under the tension of pulling the string.  If there is any bend in the finger joint closest to your hand while you are pulling the string, it is not relaxed enough.  One of the symptoms of this is visible knuckles, and another one is that the arrow is often pushed off the rest.

[mgf]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but there are no muscles in the fingers. The muscles are in the forearm and the palm...flexors and extensors are in the forearm.

[McDave]

Originally posted by mgf:
Maybe I'm misunderstanding you, but there are no muscles in the fingers. The muscles are in the forearm and the palm...flexors and extensors are in the forearm.

Sorry, you are correct.  For a person who values precision in writing, I wasn't very precise.  It feels like we have muscles in our fingers that we relax and contract, but the actual muscles are in the hand and forearm.