Archery | Bent or Straight Bow Arm? 

The #1 reason I love your videos - you almost always answer "it depends," and then offer the pros/cons as well as insight into the irregular situations :)

New to archery. First thing I was told- "bend your arm to avoid getting slapped by the string..." I absolutely love your series.

Thank you for helping me. You have given me much knowledge through your videos. I have only done archery for 6 months and I suck, however, I now know why I suck and will change it. I have a very good coach that agrees with all of your points. He helps me a lot but I watch your videos in between classes to.... to... just to learn more I guess. Thank you for making such great videos. BTW I also like you warthunder videos. I use the t 34, the first one you unlock.

im about to start with archery and you have been a great help ! good and helpfull information. ill try to get a beginners course or atleast a come and try. thank you so mutch awsome vids !

I'm just beginning and your videos are excellent, always informative with pros and cons addressed. Cheers!

I heard men with bulky muscles have problems hitting their biceps. Bending your arm just a little will help, but I would prefer shooting in a more "open" stance. That means you move your right foot (when you're drawing with your right arm) a few inches forward (just a little bit). This also helps people who are large. It's been my experience that this adjustment puts minimal strain on the body.

I'm going to shoot my new bow today ... this has been very helpful.

there's no right or wrong... but the arm should be straight. that's what I got from this (ps I agree)

You provide every information I need.

Thanks for the video! Will give your advice a try. I have hyper mobility in my joints so my elbow won’t ‘lock’.

Best explanation of this kind. Great!

The thing that fixed string slap for me was opening my stance and fully expanding with back tension -- the latter especially pulls your shooting arm into alignment with the string so you don't induce horizontal oscillation at release.

Awesome advice! thanks

I did associate straight arm with locked elbow.. hope not many people stopped watching before that information came up in the video.

Is there any way you can do a video on how to adjust your tiller bolts on an Olympic recurve?

I bend my arm slightly, because I'm using a very short hunting bow. It stacks when I straighten my arm which makes me very inaccurate and shooting doesnt feel good.

great advice ......thankyou

Archery has a lot of the same sorts of principles as soft-style kung-fu. Its pretty cool.

Thank you for your videos! I learned a lot!With straighten arm i had a lot of tension and pain in my bow arm. I was desperated...(and somehow i have had 'dancing arrows'). With a slightly bent arm i have better controlled shoots and no pain?!

The biggest thing for me is the string hitting my arm. I don't wanna wear a guard. But straight arm feels better. No sight just an arrow rest. And knock point. Considering a trigger release too my fingers hurt after 10 shots. 50lbs reflex bow pull is a lil to much for me I think. Gunna gets a 30 or 35 next

Domo adigato, O Sensei.

I get major forearm slap-age. I'm still training my left arm to hold the bow efficiently.

Nice tweety bird hook on your door.

Bones lined up 2hat happens when everything is misaligned, my elbows and shoulders knees and legs dontt stand straight or is aligned due to injuries but I find instinctive shooting is the best for accuracy

Thank you sensei! I tried the elbow rotation thing, my bow arm doesn't shake as much as it used to. Could you make a video about back tention in relation with head position (should it be slightly tilted upward??)Thank you sir

I want to keep my arm straight, But the string always slap me, no matter how I rotate the elbow. If I want to keep my arm straight without getting slapped by the string, I should rotate my elbow over 45 degree. I wonder why they make a riser grip vertical? Is it legal if I use a custom horizontal grip so I can shoot with straight arm and utilize maximum bone structure? Thanks.

What is the name of the bow you are using in this video?

Tried archery for the first time and the string hit my elbow and left it crazy bruised 😭

I have always shot with a straight arm, and I feel most comfortable shooting that way. But i sometimes hit my armguard and it destroys the serving on my string. So some people at the archery club I go to are telling me to bend my arm before I shot, so now I have to learn a complete new way of shooting. I have been doing it lately and im not hitting my arm anymore, but my shots are a lot less accurate. I am a lot more comfortable shooting the way I started. Should I go back to the my straight arm shooting, or just continue learning this new bent arm form?

I always learned to shoot with a bent arm so should I change

Have you done any videos on arrow rest and how they effect your notch point?

You said that with hyper extension and shooting with straight arm causes string slap, which is true as ive tried it myself. But when you go World Archery channel and watch their matches, you'll see that almost all female recurve archers shoot a straight arm *+* hyper extension. These are all elite archers yet they still do this, why? How are they avoiding the string slap?

i just realized i had this issue to be honest it freaked out my trainer how far my arm rotated. if i out stretched it the pit of the arm will point completely up and elbow down. i think i must have had a injury when i was born since my other arm doesnt do it. so the mucles of my forearm would always be hitted by the string. i may have to learn to practice off hand if it was a really bad injury my arm never recovered properly from.

I just tried out archery today. I found that when I keep my arm straight my aim is more consistent than bent my arm. However, as I am a beginner, the bow string did hit my arm a couple of time when my arm is straight.

Thank you! This was a good refresher on proper form

So I used to lock my elbow and upon release I would feel a slight pain in my elbow so I bend my elbow slightly.

Does bending your elbow alter the draw length and impact on the accuracy of arrow delivery?

i was taught.do not lock your elbow shoulder down

Just a few things Sensei... 1. The term “double jointed” is a myth. The real condition is known as “hypermobility”. It’s most common in Asian females for some reason. 2. One thing I would’ve liked for you to address is the technique some teachers teach of bending the arm while drawing back, then straightening once you are at full draw. What do you think about this instruction? Thanks!

Please tell me what bow is that thank you

u cant push to the target with a straight arm

Just an FYI (3 years too late... whoops?) Double-jointed isn't a thing. It's actually called hypermobility and is to do with the stretchiness of your ligaments around your joints and has nothing to do with the actual joints themselves

Quick video - takes 9 min

i bend my arm to avoid getting string slapped

you could also get an arm guard if it keeps hitting your arm