You pull back on your bowstring, tension building along your arm, back, and shoulders. You reach your anchor point, pause briefly to steady, and release, envisioning the arrow hitting its intended target. Moments later, however, that feeling of hope is quickly dashed by a jolt of searing pain down your forearm and the sight of your arrow missing its target.
This is a situation experienced by nearly every new traditional archer, and it can be one of the most confusing, frustrating, and painful parts of learning the sport. It can turn new archers away due to the severe bruising it can cause on every shot. When I first began shooting traditional bows, my arm looked like it had been hit with a baseball bat. Bruises covered my forearm from contact with the string on every shot. The experience was very frustrating, but with some research, I discovered different ways to prevent it from happening and saved my arm from years of pain and suffering from that pesky bowstring hitting my forearm.
MOVE THE ARM GUARD
There are a few different causes of this for traditional archery newcomers, but they can all be remedied quite easily. The simplest fix could be moving your arm guard to a different position on your forearm; however, this is not always sufficient to prevent it. In my experience, the bowstring can still find a way to hit you in an unprotected area, even while wearing an arm guard.
Beginners tend to grip their bow with the middle of their palm, ensuring that their elbow will rotate towards the string. The solution is to loosen your grip on the bow and simply support it with your hand, holding it between the pad of your thumb and the lifeline of your palm. This grip should put the knuckles at a 45-degree angle. In his article for bowhunting.com, Steve Flores says that the hand is there for support and that you should not need to hold your bow up. He explains that a looser grip will reduce torque, allowing the bow to rotate away from your arm.
ADJUST THE GRIP
I have not had a single arm slap from my bowstring since I began using a loose grip and holding the bow between my thumb pad and my hand’s lifeline. If the grip change alone does not work, try rotating your elbow further to the outside to distance it from the bowstring. If you cannot get your elbow into the correct position, Archery 360’s article has a good drill to help. Their article has excellent videos and diagrams to visualize the result you are trying to achieve.
CHANGE THE DRAW LENGTH
Steve Flores says another cause of the bowstring hitting your forearm could be the bow’s draw length being too long, which a trip to your local archery shop can solve. If you still have trouble after trying these solutions, you may need to work with a coach to help correct your form. Archery 360 has a great tool to help find coaches and stores in your area.
Following these tips or working with a coach can prevent your arm from being battered by your bowstring and will put you on the path to becoming a proficient traditional archer. Whether you are picking up archery as a hobby or to hunt, protecting your forearm will save you from the pain and frustration caused by an incorrect grip or draw length and ensure you enjoy this great sport for years to come.