Bent arm longbow??

[capt eddie]

After watching the videos of Terry Green shooting I question the straight arm draw.  I have read that the longbow is ment to be shot with a bent arm at the elbow.Is this true?  I notice that the bow is R/D,  Does that make a differance?   I need help to asssure that I have the basics down correctly. Your help would be great.

[mike g]

I slight bend of the Arm is acceptable...

[bayoulongbowman]

Everything I have ever read about shooting a longbow talks about shooting witha slightly  bent arm.This is the way many of us were taught. If ya do shoot straight arm , your leaving yourself open to physical problems later. Just my 2cents...Good luck!  

[capt eddie]

I should not shot the longbow with the same arm as I do a recurve? What kind of problems can I have?

[Artur]

Originally posted by capt eddie:
After watching the videos of Terry Green shooting I question the straight arm draw.  I have read that the longbow is ment to be shot with a bent arm at the elbow.Is this true?  I notice that the bow is R/D,  Does that make a differance?   I need help to asssure that I have the basics down correctly. Your help would be great.

I haven't seen the video, my 'net connection is too slow for uploading videos... But I do know that sometimes when an arm is ever-so-slightly bent, it appears to be ram-rod straight -- and Mr. Green's arms look big enough to add to such an appearance.

Put all of your weight on your bow-arm while leaning against a door frame (grab the frame as though you were holding your bow). Make sure your arm is straight with the elbow locked... Notice how the elbow joint kind of wants to "rotate" so that the bottom is in and the top is out?  Feel any strain in the elbow joint itself? Now relax your elbow a bit and see what happens... When you put all that pressure on the elbow, keeping it locked like that, you also put a lot of strain on the joint -- and you risk wrecking the joint. By locking the elbow, you also increase the chances of the bowstring giving you huge welts on your arm (even the best arm-guard won't stop every string-slap). Some people do need to lock their elbow to be a good archer, but it is not recommended.

Besides, by bending the elbow a little bit, your arm can act like a shock-absorber and it really does make it easier to control the bow. The only real difference in handling a longbow versus a recurve that I have ever noticed (I'm not an expert, and I do not claim to know everything - but I have learned more than some) is in how you hold it: A straight wrist versus a "broken" wrist. It has to do more with the shape of the bowgrip than the type of bow.

I hope that some of this helps.

[Tom A]

I prefer a straight arm on all bows. To be accurate you need to have a consistent draw length. If your bow is as far forward as you can put it then you only have to worry about head position and anchor point being the same.

[Adam Keiper]

Bent arm?  No way.  A straight arm...

1. is more consistent.
2. makes drawing easier since the weight is born largely by the skeleton instead of the muscles. (Both of which add up to better accuracy.)
3. causes less elbow issues.  (The only elbow trouble I ever had was when I experimented with a bent arm after reading about it in a book.  Dumb.)
4. allows a longer draw length, which is a plus for us guys with short draws to begin with.

[Bob Lord]

I shoot with a slightly bent arm. I shoot a Meigs bow which is not R-D. I find that when I shoot with a straight arm I feel alot more shock and I tend to torque the bow. I get my best shooting with the grip resting against first joint of the thumb where the base of the thumb  meets the main part of the hand. I can only hold the bow like that when I have a slight bend to my arm and wrist. That way the base joint of my thumb and the middle joint of my index finger point to the target. Its hard to describe in words but it works for me.

[TSP]

Hmmmm...I'd have to completely disagree with pretty much everything that Adam K. just said.  lol, sorry, Adam  

Guess thats just part of what makes us individuals.