I keep snapping my cheek.

[hntngrl]

Was out practicing tonight. This is my third ever day of shooting the longbow. I am getting better, I'd say 3 of my arrows usually hit together close to where I want and 2 fliers. But it seems that I often snap my cheek a little bit. On good shots and on bad shots. Here is a pic, you can see where my cheek is red (right over the bone). Am I getting too close to the string or what? I should mention that I tend not to cant the bow very much, only slightly. My husband cants his bow a lot more and never snaps his cheek. But he does get little marks on his hand from the feathers hitting it.

   


On a brighter note, my husband was shooting at 20 yards. So I decided to try one arrow just to see if I would hit the target at that distance. I have not shot further than 10 yards til this shot. And look what happened! My husband's arrows were the green ones and mine is the orange feathers.

   


And I also came darn close to my first ever Robin Hood at 10 yards! Actually shot thru the feather on my other arrow and damaged it a little bit.

   

[South MS Bowhunter]

Looking Good!        The hitting of the cheek maybe that you're not quite to full draw and your “gunbarreling” the arrow so at the release the draw hand is reacting to inertia and in turn making contact with your cheek.  

I have an issue with short drawing and at times this has been the results.

[Pete McMiller]

Nice shooting!!  Do you know if it's your string or your glove/tab that is snapping your face?

If it's your string it may be that you are overdrawing a little.  Do you have an anchor point for one of your fingers in the corner of your mouth or are you drawing back further?

You may also be turning your head towards your string if you a struggling with the bow's weight.  Hard to tell without seeing you shoot - have you had your husband watch you shoot and see if he can see something?

[VictoryHunter]

Nice shooting! You are really picking it up quick.

[hntngrl]

It is definitely the string hitting my cheek. I don't think the weight is too heavy. I am probably guilty of not paying close enough attention to my anchor point.... I will focus on that during my next practice session, probably Monday night. I also have "chipmunk cheeks", so maybe has something to do with it! Or maybe overdrawing... I try to touch my middle finger to the corner of my mouth when drawing back.

[Mike Most]

Hey, your getting there. I usually bump my nose on the way back and then realize my face is way to far into the shot so to speak. Moustache is also a little shorter on the right side, (dont ask how I know that one). TBB volume 4 has an interesting article about being able to visualize the arrow hitting where you intend it to go. (over and over). Positive thought on what you want the arrow to do and dont worry about all the flyers. (I found that worked better for me)

Mike

[damascusdave]

Seems to me you are still sweating the small stuff...that little mark on your cheek is likely nothing of consequence...I have a very experienced  friend who will shoot very short bows with a lot of finger pinch until his fingers bleed...you still need to get down the road to one of those local people who have offered to coach you...we are just guessing without actually being able to see you shoot and even then the issue is sometimes not obvious

DDave

[Shawn Leonard]

Try dropping the string and have your fingers fall down and back at release. Kind of like brushing your cheek downward. Shawn

[hntngrl]

Yes, I do need to make the trip to see Shaun. But my schedule just will not allow it until after the first weekend of September. And I'm not worried about the mark on my cheek. It was just something I noticed was happening and I was curious more than anything.

[hntngrl]

Shawn, I will give that a try. Thank you for the suggestion.

[FerretWYO]

That can also be the result of turning your head just a touch to far into the string. I have the same problem only I hit my lip!  

Lots of good advice. Shawn's idea will help for sure. Great shooting though.

[damascusdave]

Come to think of it I hit my lip sometimes too...always wondered why that only happened intermittently...now I will watch for that...thanks Ferret...btw Laura I think we can all feel your enthusiasm and hunger for knowing more about this elusive sport...just so you know I am 61 years old and still feel the same way at times...nice to see you getting started young...I did not come over from the dark side until I was 57

DDave

[hntngrl]

Haha, is the dark side compound bows? Because I still love my compound for its pinpoint accuracy and power. But I'm also coming to love the longbow for the challenge. A bullseye comes a lot easier with the compound so it's not quite as satisfying as hitting the X with a bare bow.

[Bladepeek]

I would bet if you posted a couple of videos on the Form forum, you would get some very specific advice from some top archery coaches.

If you can take a couple of them - one from above and behind, one from the front and one from the string side, Arnie or one of the other guys who have been active coaches for years can spot things you never dreamed of. It sure helped me to have someone look at my form and suggest specific things that improved both my form and consistency at the same time.

[Homebru]

Shooting tab or glove?  If a tab, that may be what is rubbing on your cheek.  That's a fairly simple matter of trimming the tab very slightly until it no longer drags on your cheek.
homebru

[Mike Falkner]

Stop grinning while you shoot!

[Orion]

Mike might have a point.       Also, as others have already pointed out, your face may be turned a little too much into the string.  Try turning it a little more toward the target.  That should also help position the arrow better under your eye so you'l be looking over the arrow, not a  little across it.  Good luck.

[Red Beastmaster]

If you shoot right handed you gotta put your chew in the left cheek.

[xtrema312]

If it is the string, it could be turning into the string or tipping your head into the string.  Maybe you don't cant the bow much but do cant your head.  Try and keep your head upright more and see if that helps.

[ChiefStingingArrow]

I do the same thing except it is because of a bad release. If I don't relax the back of my hand I have a tendency to put a lot pressure against the string when I release and it leaves me pretty bruised up. It is kind of silly that I hit myself like that. lol