Bending your bow arm?

[Bakes168]

I went to the range today and shot a little. My elbow started to act up so I quit.
I was just wondering...how much do you guys bend your arm while shooting? Is there a wrong way to do this?
I do the push pull kind of shooting, I don't have my bow arm extended and then draw. I was just curious because I thought this could be whats bugging my elbow.

Also I remember seeing a picture that was taken above a guy and it was supposed to be good form, he formed like a triangle with his arms and the bow...anyone have it or know what I'm talking about?

Thanks
Zack  

[jacobsladder]

zack....check out terry greens clock pic...on the shooters forum.... i think that may be what your after...steve

[Orion]

A little bend is OK, and most shooters prefer to bend the arm a little.  Just don't lock your elbow regardless of the arm position.  It's not unusual for an elbow, shoulder, etc. to act up if you do a lot of shooting, shoot a heavy bow, haven't shot for a while, etc.

[Bear Heart]

I think push pull drawing puts extra stress on the bow arm elbow but I'm just going off my experience.

[sdpeb1]

Give it a rest for a few days, if it hurts at all when not shooting start with some advil and ice it down, if you keep shooting with it, it will get worse and then when you have to quit it could be for months. Forget the push pull imo. If you think about it you are already pushing and pulling, you have no choice.IMO.. Just make sure you watch  what your aiming at untill the arrow hits

[kevsuperg]

push/pull may be causing your pain due to repetative motion. repeatedly pushing your bow arm against the resistance from the bow puts undue stress on the elbow.just have a slight bend in the bow arm hold her steady and draw the string to your anchor.

[Wabash]

I wouldn't change my form, I would try to develop the muscles in the back of the arm to take the load off the joint. Do push ups or cheat like I do and stand about 3' from the kitchen sink, grab the edge and do 3 sets of 30 to start out with  everyday,when your up to 3 sets of 60 or more youll be ready for spring.

[Daddy Bear]

It requires muscle tension to lock out your elbows or your knees and this is not a natural, relaxed position to maintain. Doing so directs stress towards the weaker parts of the joints. No matter how strong your muscles, such a position can expose these weaker areas to damage and injury. To take full advantage of our natural bone support and to make best use of our larger muscle groups, our knees and elbows should be in a natural bend short of being locked.

I use a swing draw and maintain a natural arm position throughout the swing. Some teach to push out towards the target to slightly lock the elbow and then relax to obtain this natural slight bend. Others teach to obtain and maintain a locked position for target archery, but I'm of the opinion that this increases the chance of injury when shooting flat hand with a heavy longbow. Not sure if using a push-pull technique to reach a natural arm position is as risky as locking out, but using a swing draw is far less taxing than the push-pull, which is why I use it for heavy bows.