proper release

[kevshin21]

Hey guys I am wondering what is or how do you loose/release and arrow? Eric kind of explained it to me but I would like other peoples elaboration and description on how to loose a arrow. From what I read (zen archery book) you are suppose to let the tension over come your fingers and let it slip out. But I was not so sure after reading Erics description (I also did a search on proper release but without any results). Thanks guys!

[moebow]

If you are holding good back tension and have a properly relaxed forearm and wrist, you just relax your fingers ( the hook) and the string slips away.  If done correctly your string hand will just slide back along your face - straight away from the direction of the arrow - and not flip out away from your face.

[Winterhawk1960]

Kevin,

There are two different kinds of a release, a dynamic and a static. The dynamic release happens just as moebow describes above. The static release involves the relaxation of the fingers but the hand doesn't necessarily slide back along the side of your face. It stays pretty close to where it was when you turned the arrow loose.

I have watched and watched people with a dynamic release and have done everything within my power to emulate it........and have failed miserably in my attempts. I have a form master, I have all the back tension that is required......I just can't get my hand to move back along the side of my face. Eventually, I'm going to get to one of Rod's clinics and I also want to attend Rick Welch's two day class. Two distinctly different types of releases between those two guys. I figure that if I get "saturated" with enough instruction from people that have the teaching skills that these two guys have that I'm bound to be able to learn something.

Winterhawk1960

[kevshin21]

Forgive my ignorance Winterhawk but if the static release works for you, why don't you stick with it? You get the same results with static compared to dynamic right?

[Winterhawk1960]

Well........you see, the thing that "I don't know" is whether the dynamic release will make my shooting better or not. I do know that I have a callous on my ringfinger of my string hand. That callous is caused by my finger hanging up on the string when I release......Rod Jenkins says that your fingers should be callous free, and without me torquing the string I could very well shoot better than I do now. My finger (the calloused one) isn't sore, nor has it ever been. I have watched video of people shooting with a dynamic release and their releases are smoother than a baby's butt......that is what I strive for.

Perhaps after attaining that release I won't be able to see any difference in my shooting abilities (but I seriously doubt it). I'm not that good of a shot, but I have days where I just "gel" with the bow that I am shooting and can really shoot well. Torquing the string is a "form flaw"......some people do it and I'm sure can shoot circles around me, so I'm not putting it down. I've just gotta know for myself whether it will improve my accuracy or not.

Winterhawk1960

[moebow]

If you are holding XX number of pounds, and that force is suddenly released, you have little choice but to react to that loss of pressure.
Winterhawk, I too have seen many really good shooters use the static release and it is certainly better than a "flip away from the face" release.  I submit though that if the hand stays stationary on the face then the shooter is doing something to counteract the natural movement of the hand.  I'm NOT saying it's wrong just that something else is getting involved in the shot.
Kev, what works --works. But a dynamic release will put more "zing" in the arrow.  I just was at one of Rod's clinics and this is exactly what he will tell you.  The icing on the cake is that he can show you the differences too.

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

Winterhawk,

I have the same issue with the callous on my ring finger.  It is slowly going away now but I am not sure I have improved my release or just my new glove.  I was using a very poor static release and am now using a hybrid of static and dynamic (hand goes back but not much).  I will let you know how it goes.

[kevshin21]

Originally posted by moebow:
But a dynamic release will put more "zing" in the arrow.  I just was at one of Rod's clinics and this is exactly what he will tell you.  The icing on the cake is that he can show you the differences too.

This is what I was looking for. What does the zing mean? Does it shoot more consistently, more straight?

[2Blade]

I guess I fall into the dynamic release category. I always try to make that my hand touches my shoulder that way I know im consistently pulling through the shot.

[ncsaknech1ydh]

I'm not at all sure if I am right about this or not, but I slightly increase my back tension and draw just before my release and my hand does slide back, isn't the difference then if your hand stays in the same place or moves slightly forward that you are using a dead release? There of coarse are top shots that use both ways to release and I am not at all saying that one is better then the other so I say use what works for you. My question again is, am I understanding the difference between the 2 styles or am I missing something?

[moebow]

kev,  By more "zing" I mean that the arrow looks and feels more lively.  Will it show up in chronograph figures -- I don't know , maybe.  But when it happens, you know it.  Rod Jenkins calls it "a more powerfull shot."  Consistency is a function of form and nothing else.  "More straight" I guess I don't understand.  If you mean more accuracy,  That too is a function of consistent form.

nc,  You are about right in your definitions of dynamic and dead release.  I would say, however, that if the string hand moves forward at the shot that that is a collapse and robs power from the shot and destroys the form you want to work for.

[McDave]

I've been to both Rod's and Rick's classes, and as different as their releases may be, the one thing they will both tell you is the importance of having a subconscious release.  In other words, no conscious decision or movement is made to release the string.

Rick says, "Hold, hold, hold, and wait for it to go off."

Rod says, "Continue to increase back tension and the release will happen."

For many people, just understanding the concept is enough.  I am one of the fortunate ones, and don't have to think about releasing the arrow; it just goes off.  I don't know about Rick's other students, because he teaches one-on-one, but in the class of Rod's I attented of about a dozen people, there were two people who seemed to have trouble with the subconscious release.  One seemed to pick up on it after a little personal coaching by Rod, and the other one seemed to have a harder time with it.

I seem to have an easier time triggering the subconscious release using Rod's dynamic release than Rick's static release.  There's something about increasing back tension that triggers it for me just about every time.  When it is triggered properly, the first thing I'm aware of is my string fingers touching my neck or shoulder and the arrow is already gone.

Problems I still have with the subconscious release are rushing the shot (the subconscious release goes off too soon) or plucking the shot (I'm not sure why I do that, probably nerves, but when I do it's pretty obvious: my hand ends up in the air as if I'm waving to somebody).  Neither one of them happens very often these days, but when they do the cure seems to be the same: turn part of the job back over to my conscious self, at least to the point where I'm in allignment at full draw and ready to begin balanced pulling to conclusion, and then turn the job back over to my subconscious self.  It sounds a little weird, but it works for me.

[moebow]

McDave,  I too sometimes get the "flip" of the hand.  I find for me that it is always because I loose the connection to my back.  Re-focusing on back tension and the shot comes back together immediately.

[BobCo 1965]

Here is the short and sweet version.

Release is only part of follow though. Make follow though your main priority and the release will automatically happen without thinking about it. Follow though and back tension envolved does not end until 3 seconds after the arrow is off.

[Terry Green]

When you shoot enough,...and understand the shot enough....it is as simple as letting go of the  reciever when you hang up the phone.......let go of your coffee mug when its returned to the desk....release a ball you've thrown.....let go of a piece of trash over the garbage can.....

They all happen when the time is right for it to happen....and so should your release....without effort or thought.

[kevshin21]

I am still not understanding the subconscious part. How can you wait for a shot to come or know when is the right time? Isn't this at the conscious level becuase your aware of back tension, form and the surrounding environment? Maybe I just need to shoot more?

[Northwest_Bowhunter]

Shooting more is never bad.  You feel your back tension pulling to conclusion, ur are boring a hole in the "spot" on your target.  When you shoot enough you can just tell when the time is right, when it is time for the shot to go off.  You may not know the exact moment conciously, like squeezing the trigger on a pistol, you know it's going to go off within the second, but are still a little surprised at the bang.

[Ragnarok Forge]

I find that when I am applying back tension my brain knows when I can't hold on any longer and just lets go.  If i have everything relaxed in my shooting arm my hand touches my shoulder and the arrow goes in the spot every time.

[McDave]

The point of a subconscious release is to eliminate the time it would take to make a conscious decision to release the arrow.  If you consider a 6" group at 20 yards to be accurate shooting, consider that a movement of more than 1/8" of the arrow point will throw you outside of that 6" group.  As the arrow point is moving more than 1/8" all the time, it is not possible to make a conscious decision and send that message from the brain to the fingers in time to make an accurate release of the arrow, particularly in instinctive shooting when we really don't know exactly when the arrow is lined up with the target anyway.  It has to be a direct eye-brain-body connection, similar to the other body functions the brain controls without conscious decisions being made.

So if you follow the Welch method, you just wait for the shot to come.  If you follow the Jenkins method, you gradually increase back tension until the shot comes.  What you hope for is that your brain will send the signal to release the shot when your arrow is on target, because there is no way you could do that consciously.  Fortunately, we know that this seemingly impossible task has been accomplished by many of our fellow archers, as achieving 6" groups at 20 yards is within the reach of most people who really want to do it.  Maybe that is because we have been trying really hard to do that for the past 50,000 years or so.

[Ranger B]

I agree with the comments above about how natural it has to become. I have seen people get so worked up over the hand releasing that they start flinching. If you focus on the follow through, as BobCo recommends, you'll not get overly focused on the hand. I use the blind bail a lot and it has helped me tremendously.  It will also help you hold at anchor longer. I pull to anchor and mentally make sure everything is right and then release. It feels very smooth and natural with my eyes closed and the more you do it the better it gets.