The Set Up

[PrimitivePete]

I've been off air working on dissecting my form piece by piece and I found the sweet spot to my recent success has been the work or definition of the pre draw or what I call the set up. The more consistent I am to first step of my sequence the stronger the results have been to include a draw leading to a solid anchor/back set which I'm thrilled to have working for me. I'll admit I'm not an archer that sits on his anchor and immerses into aiming. I'm more of a fluid shooter. What has worked well and I'm surprised it works as well as it does is on my pre draw I hold the string with a bent wrist which straightens out at anchor. I feel the bent wrist actually reduces tension in my hand allowing for a smoother release. I'll try to post a video or pictures soon. Who knows maybe I'm doing something so wrong it ends up being right, lol.

[McDave]

A lot of people recommend starting the draw with a bent wrist, including Arne and Tom Clum.  You say it “straightens out at anchor.”  Whenever I’ve tried it, it straightens out pretty much as soon as I start my draw.  Do you try to keep your wrist bent after you start your draw?

[PrimitivePete]

What I noticed is that at anchor I do maintain a slight bent wrist due to my face shape and I do maintain the bend as I draw, it does straighten some but not completely. What I imagine is that the bent wrist vs straight wrist is I end up with a better contact with my face which naturally I feel enables better anchor placement and consistency. I find I am not trying to adjust the anchor at all, it settles in firm against my face with multiple natural contact points. Less to concentrate on and let me execute fluidly.

[McDave]

When I tried it, I didn't stay with it very long because in my case, as soon as I started my draw it straightened out.  There has to be something to it though, as some pretty high-powered people are recommending it.

Another thing that Clum recommends, that has worked for me, is to just touch my ring finger to the string on the pad rather than making it part of the deep hook with my index and middle fingers.  This has eliminated any tendency I might have had to overload my ring finger.

[PrimitivePete]

I agree with that as well, using the ring finger to balance the grip on the string but not make it too strong of an influence.