Help with release and finish

[cofen380]

You could check out Jake Kaminskis videos on release. He talks about trying to think about using your jaw or anchor point as the pivot point to keep your release high and moving back and behind your head.

Oh yeah I’ve watched a ton of his videos and they’re definitely helpful. I’ve learned a lot from his content


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[Wilderlife]

Not to hijack the thread but I always read every trad post just to pick up tips on form as I’m new to trad. Your tip about “elbow to tailbone” improved my shooting so much it’s crazy. Just wanted to say this as it was something I wasn’t conscious about at all before.

Glad I could help, mate, but Tom Clum is the one that needs the credit. Haha.

I find the 'elbow to tailbone' tip, as well as a really deep hook, helps my hand go where it needs to at release.

 

[Beendare]

I see a few guys with an exaggerated followthrough...it seems to me they are trying too hard.

I was guilty of that for awhile.

FWIW, I started shooting more consistently when I started concentrating more on back tension and a solid bow arm...and not worrying about where my hand was going.

 

[Wilderlife]

Of course, but where your hand goes can be a good indication of whether you are in good back tension, you are collapsing, or your tension is going in the right direction.

When Tom was watching me he said I was clearly in good back tension but the final part of my shoot was likely a bit of shoulder pull, and my hook not being deep enough was resulting in my hand coming away from my face a lot more, going slightly down, and then coming around. This was giving me erratic results at the target because my hand was kind of plucking the string a little bit.

Having my elbow come around properly is just an indication that I'm pulling properly and my tension is going where I need it to be.

You're absolutely right though in that plenty of people think a dynamic looking follow through is how things need to be, and that's also true in the compound world. I've seen plenty of people punch a thumb trigger, or consciously open their fingers on the string and give a collapse, only to have their hand come way back around and touch the back of their head or their shoulder. "You need to have two anchor points - one at the start and one at the finish".

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Shot looks a lot cleaner this go round!

As for training a relaxed forearm, it's not something to focus on when at full draw and shooting at a target downrange. There's only one thing you can fully direct at a time and that's your direction of tension. But you CAN set the tension level before you draw the bow. Something I just recently started using is the cue to think of holding a deck of cards in my hook, just barely tight enough they won't slide loose, and they certainly shouldn't be bending. I envision that when addressing the string, and keep some attention on it until I'm ready to aim and transfer. Then I just focus on my back tension.

 

[cofen380]

I see a few guys with an exaggerated followthrough...it seems to me they are trying too hard.

I was guilty of that for awhile.

FWIW, I started shooting more consistently when I started concentrating more on back tension and a solid bow arm...and not worrying about where my hand was going.

I think you’re right on par with that. I’m noticing that my release becomes pretty natural and smooth when I really emphasize scapular tension increasing in the right direction (behind and around)


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[cofen380]

Of course, but where your hand goes can be a good indication of whether you are in good back tension, you are collapsing, or your tension is going in the right direction.

When Tom was watching me he said I was clearly in good back tension but the final part of my shoot was likely a bit of shoulder pull, and my hook not being deep enough was resulting in my hand coming away from my face a lot more, going slightly down, and then coming around. This was giving me erratic results at the target because my hand was kind of plucking the string a little bit.

Having my elbow come around properly is just an indication that I'm pulling properly and my tension is going where I need it to be.

You're absolutely right though in that plenty of people think a dynamic looking follow through is how things need to be, and that's also true in the compound world. I've seen plenty of people punch a thumb trigger, or consciously open their fingers on the string and give a collapse, only to have their hand come way back around and touch the back of their head or their shoulder. "You need to have two anchor points - one at the start and one at the finish".

That’s helpful and seems to confirm what others are saying. When you say your hook wasn’t deep enough, where were you hooking and where did you end up hooking to be where you needed to be?


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[cofen380]

Shot looks a lot cleaner this go round!

As for training a relaxed forearm, it's not something to focus on when at full draw and shooting at a target downrange. There's only one thing you can fully direct at a time and that's your direction of tension. But you CAN set the tension level before you draw the bow. Something I just recently started using is the cue to think of holding a deck of cards in my hook, just barely tight enough they won't slide loose, and they certainly shouldn't be bending. I envision that when addressing the string, and keep some attention on it until I'm ready to aim and transfer. Then I just focus on my back tension.

Thanks! I heard this on a podcast the other day and thought it was so spot on. They were talking about how as new archers we tend to absorb everything and execute it correctly because we don’t know how else to do it. Then a couple months in you think “oh this isn’t that bad, I’m pretty good at this”. Next thing you know form breaks down, target panic comes in, etc. and groups are all over. That’s where I’m at with the recurve and working through trying to over complicate my shot. Appreciate your input on the relaxed forearm too.


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[Wilderlife]

That’s helpful and seems to confirm what others are saying. When you say your hook wasn’t deep enough, where were you hooking and where did you end up hooking to be where you needed to be?

It's hard to describe it and much easier to feel it.

I would say that a slightly too shallow hook is harder to pull against and expand with, because the strength of the fingers is part of the limitation in the system. When your hook is deep enough you can pull against it much harder when you're expanding, which can lead to a much cleaner release because you are pulling through it better.

Another thing to try is unhook the tab from your finger and see if you can make a shot and keep the tab in your fingers afterwards,