Another way to avoid the collapse

[jonsimoneau]

I know its been talked about on here a bunch about how you do not want to have your drawing arm collapse but another one that is important that can be equally bad is when you collapse your sting hand.  I would imagine this would be more of a problem for those of us who "hold" (read keep pulling) at full draw.  But I notice myself doing it sometimes.  What works for me to avoid this is that once I grip the string...I try to not allow my fingers to move again until after the shot.  Try this.  I bet many others are allowing their string hand to loosen in anticipation of the release. Set your string hand and do not allow your fingers to move at all.  Get it to anchor.  And keep them solid/still till after the shot.  I find that this also makes it easier to maintain back tension.  If you are a guy like me who likes to "hold" for a few seconds before the release, pay attention to your drawing hand fingers and see if you are relaxing them prematurely before the release.  Too me this is a big one that is easy to fix and improves accuracy.

[knobby]

Agreed. I've learned the same thing.

[Scott Barr]

Yep.  I agree.  Strong hook makes it much easier to hold at full draw and keep the back muscles active.  Surprisingly the release is cleaner with strong hook rather than letting string roll off fingers.

[ChiefStingingArrow]

Are you saying that you are relaxing the fingers without trying to move them....or are you just pulling through?

[jonsimoneau]

I'm pulling through.  But I "hold" at full draw.  I have to watch myself or my fingers will slowly start to collapse in anticipation of the release.  When this happens I seem to lose back tension and do not shoot as well.

[toby]

This really helps me, I hold and "keep pulling", many times I struggle to get the feather to touch my nose even though I feel I am pulling/rotating. This thread makes me think that I am relaxing my fingers making it difficult to get the feather back to my nose.

Thanks much.