I made a form correction by lowering my elbow. Please give me your thoughts on any part of my shot sequence. BTW: I'm really struggling to keep my elbow down, so I had to slow down my draw to attain the lower elbow position.


http://vid774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/longbowfanatic_1234/DSCN0013_zpsbgzoglgi.mp4

http://vid774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/longbowfanatic_1234/DSCN0014_zpslgoyyo1i.mp4

http://vid774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/longbowfanatic_1234/DSCN0018_zpsl51efgxq.mp4

Here is a video of how high my elbow was prior to my form correction.

http://vid774.photobucket.com/albums/yy25/longbowfanatic_1234/DSCN0008_zpswl8rvjzw.mp4

It looks like your draw starts OK (I'd like to see the string wrist more out and the arrow pointed to the left of the target, but...)  But look at your videos as you approach full draw.  See the top of your shoulder (deltoid) and the muscle from your shoulder to your neck take over and then lift the shoulder and string arm as you anchor?  You can see the transfer of bow weight to the top of the shoulder very clearly.

You are letting that set of top shoulder muscles take over rather than letting the back ( much lower) take the weight of holding the bones in alignment.

Your release looks really good, in fact your entire shot looks good except for the shoulder lifting rather than staying down and moving back.  Concentrate more on the elbow coming around by pulling the shoulder back.  It is shoulder movement to the rear (perpendicular to the arrow)that will help with that elbow.

Arne

Great point, Arne. I didn't realize that was happening. I'll re watch your rotational draw video.

You MAY want to look at the rubber band video too.

Arne

Thanks. I will. I'm really having difficultly learning to draw with the rhomboids. Anything that can help teach me this would be appreciated.

Interestingly, I was having trouble with the string hitting my lower lip, upper lip and  tip of my nose with the high elbow. Once I mad the correction to a lower string shoulder, I all but eliminated the string hitting my face.

Look at this if you haven't seen it..."The Wedge"  www.youtube.com/watch?v=8pCejcb6DAI

Thanks, Mike. Ironically, I just finished watching all seven series of the Wedge. Great minds think alike. Thats where I learned my problem was a high shoulder.

You might also want to review Jimmy Blackmon's "Form" video. He makes a big deal of and does a good job illustrating that "opening up" or being "expanded".

IMO without that, you just make your self real tired trying move or rotate this or that.

Mike,

I've watched everything Jimmy has posted, form wise. Can you tell me specifically what you're seeing that may be causing issues? I'm open to all suggestions.

Thanks,

Dennis

Sure. In the first couple of minutes of this video  www.youtube.com/watch?v=LceBNHj1FDM

Getting the shoulders "expanded" brings the string arm in line. IME to do so without the shoulder expansion just makes you twist the shoulder funny and it hurts. LOL

It's just another way of illustrating "the wedge".

There's just no way to take a given amount of body length and shove it into a shorter space without having some twists and curves in it. Those twists and curves just kill us when we're trying to launch arrows.

Got it. Thanks, Mike!

Longbow, your form looks great.

One thing to note is that you're burning up a ton of energy trying to get that bow back with a real slow controlled draw cycle. This can help if you're triggering your shot quickly after approaching anchor, but you seem very controlled at anchor.

Try picking up the pace of your draw cycle a little bit. This will help you engage your larger muscles easier. You're having to engage your smaller muscle groups through your draw cycle to keep it so controlled and steady.

You don't have to aim and control to the degree you are until you're settled into anchor / start expanding / commit to shooting the shot.

Get the bow back, engage your back muscles , expand and aim at the same time, and let the shot go off.

Thanks, Matt. I have an issue with my string hand elbow being too high. At full draw, I feel like I'm trying to push my string hand elbow down. That's why I was slowing down my draw cycle, to keep my elbow flat. You're right. I need to pick up the pace to spend more time on commitment, aiming and expansion. Thanks for your encouragement of my form.

'The Wedge' is basically the same exact thing that I've been calling 'The Magic T' for years.

All that is stuff is in the form clock thread and the shooting form threads of others featured at the top....plus in The Bowhunter of Tradgang DVD.

My form is more of a horizontal rotation instead of over the top......HH shot the same horizontal rotation.

Nice video by the way

Thanks, Terry!

The best shooter I ever seen shot with a high elbow. Some pitchers throw side armed some throw over head whats wrong if your hitting the target?

Stonewall,

This is why I concern myself with the high elbow. Proper alignment. With a high elbow, the archer is out of alignment. Here is a link. Fast forward it to 6:20, then watch the explanation on proper form and alignment. This is what I'm after.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJtZT2KcIM0