From: dap3@po.CWRU.Edu (Derick A. Pittman)
Subject: Re: Slapping forearm
Reply-To: dap3@po.CWRU.Edu (Derick A. Pittman)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 20:13:35 GMT


In a previous article, tang@akofin.enet.dec.com (Gabe Tang) says:

>
>re: (Tim Rigg) 
[Stuff Deleted]

>tim,
>	More than likely, you are suffering from the problem most archers
>	experience at one time or another in their shooting career. The
>	arm, from the elbow up to the shoulder is rotated in such a way
>	that the elbow is pointing downward. Many experienced archers
>	therefore learn to turn their arm in such a way as to have the elbow
>	face outward, parallel to the ground. The secret is to rotate the
>	shoulder, not the wrist,in order to get the elbow to rotate and
>	allow more string clearance. If you have initial difficulty in doing
>	this.....put your hand against a wall and lean on it so that the
>	hand/wrist cannot rotate. Then, do what must be done to have the
>	elbow rotate. By default, your should/rotator cuff has to move.
>	When the elbow rotates that 40 degrees or so, you may find that
>	might give you just enough clearnace to shoot without an arm guard
>	and not get slapped by the string. of course is neccesary

This is sound advice, but the real problem may be overlooked.  First, being
a target archer, who started in the sport as a compound shooter, I know what
it feels like to have 75+lbs of force come ripping across your forearm.  
Assuming that you are a right-hander here are some simple tips to help, 
before you pick up your bow, to 
practice rotating your elbow out of the way.  You can do this by extending 
your bow arm and rotating your hand until your thumb points at the floor,
then, using your wrist only, rotate your hand until your thumb is in a 
position that simulates the contour of your riser.  You'll notice that your
forearm does not immediately begin to rotate when you start back up.  At 
this point your forearm should be well out of the way.
	You may also want to consider your stance, if it is open by a
 considerable amount this takes away from the alignment of the bow, relative
to your body.  If this is the case, when you release, the bow will try
to restore its natural alignment and the momentum will carry the string
right into your forearm.  So if you close your stance so that you are 
closer to a square stance, you will restore the natural alignment of 
the setup and the side to side oscillations that cause the string to hit
your arm won't be neccesary.
	Having never used a mechanical release, I realized how important
a good release is, when I switched to recurve.  Your release is as important
to a good shot as your alignment.  The most efficient release is straight
back, not off to the side.  When you finish your release, your hand should
 be somewhere behind your head.  If your hand is still somewhere around the
side of your head, that may be a sign of "plucking" the string.  If you are
plucking the string, you pull it to the side as you release, as opposed to
straight back.  When you pull the string to the side it hits your forearm
as it rebound, when trying to restore natural alignment.
I realize it a lot of info to process and try to visulize, but I hope 
some of it is useful.  Something I learned from recurve shooting:  Once
you get a this stuff cold, wear your arm guard anyway.  No matter how
good we get, we aren't perfect, we still screw up sometime.  For me, 
being a target archer, my arm guard is the differnce between a 9 and a
7, when I let go of a shot that sucks the "Big One."  If you are a 
hunter, that arm guard could be the difference between, barely making 
a "merciful kill" and having an animal with a arrow in it's side run 
off and die slowly somewhere.

hope some of that was useful
D-man

-- 
"Now I lay me down to sleep.  In the peace
  of amateurs, for whom so many blessings flow.
    I thank you, God, for what went right!  Amen."
			--Robert Fulghum