Hook, Grip, and the Bow-Arm
So, you have a solid stance, your posture is picture perfect, and your head is positioned so you have eyes only for your target... What now?
This is the point at which we finish establishing the remainder of the set position which involves positioning the hook, grip, and bow arm.
To begin, if your archer is using a stabilizer, it's always great to remind them that beginning with their stabilizer on the floor makes it difficult to set their hook without compromising the posture they worked so hard for.
An Olympic recurve hook is accomplished by placing the index finger above the arrow and the middle and ring fingers below the arrow on the string. The hook needs to be established before the grip because the grip is achieved by pulling the bow into the bow-hand (we’ll explain this more below). The string should fall just before the first knuckle so the bone of the knuckle is not bearing the weight of the bow; but it should not rest on the fingertips because the nerves in the tips of the fingers will get damaged by shooting this way over time. Ideally, you want to achieve an approximation of this weight distribution in your hook:
Index: 75-90%
Middle: 10-20%
Ring: the bare minimum
If you have the time, take a look at Episode 5 of Jake Kaminski's Recurve Archery Form Series on YouTube; it's an incredible resource from a two-time Olympic Silver Medalist who has a wealth of knowledge in this sport!
The grip, as mentioned above, is set after the hook so as to pull the bow into the bow-hand; the reason for this is because relaxation of the bow-hand increases accuracy by eliminating tension from the shot. One way to describe how to position the bow-hand properly on the grip is as follows:
Without a bow, begin by placing your feet in the proper stance, setting the shoulders, and addressing the target the same way you would to begin your shot cycle, but keep your arms at your sides.
Raise your bow arm to the side so it remains in line with the rest of your body until it is perpendicular with your ribcage and parallel to the ground. The hand should be flat (fingers together) and the palm should be facing the floor.
Remaining on the same plane, turn the wrist toward the outside of the body without compromising the parallel orientation of the hand. The position will mimic that of a hockey stick.
Tilt the hand up toward the sky so that a check-mark figure is created between the index and middle fingers.
Allow the fingers to relax while the rest of the structure is maintained. This allows the bow to rest in the meat of the hand between the thumb and the life-line on the palm.
68 Likes, 0 Comments - Olympic Archery In Schools (@oasarchery) on Instagram: "What's your grip like? Did you know that your grip can make or break your shot? 😱👌👌 --- 📷:..."
Putting this into practice with a stretch band is simple.
Begin with the proper stance and posture for the shot.
Position the bow-hand at your side with the stretch band placed properly on the meat of the thumb. Set the hook and keep the bow-hand relaxed.
Raise the the arms as though preparing to draw while maintaining a relaxed bow-hand. The stretch band pulling back on the hand should be the force pulling it up into the proper position.
454 Likes, 5 Comments - Online Archery Academy (@onlinearcheryacademy) on Instagram: "Simply stretching your hand out like this before you put it in your grip can really help you learn..."
Online Archery Academy (@onlinearcheryacademy) depicts a great, fast way to position the hand to set your grip! Take a look at the position of his hand in the photo above for reference. Click here for more information on the hook and grip from Online Archery Academy!
The last thing we’ll cover in this section is the bow-shoulder. A common tendency when loading the bow-arm under pressure is for the shoulder to creep up toward the ear.
To decrease this kind of movement, engage the lats right beneath the armpit toward the outside of the body (also known as the latissimus dorsi muscles). Keeping these muscles engaged throughout your shot cycle makes for a stronger and more controlled shot.
Archery requires the ability to remember a plethora of steps simultaneously, so sometimes it is best to allow the archer to learn the feeling of a new concept without taking on the responsibility; this way they maintain everything else while their body puts all of the movements together! In lieu of touching the shoulder to remind an archer of a problem area (which can often cause more problems), try tapping the lats as described above with a ruler or the rounded side of an arrow (be careful not to poke with either sharp end!) to draw their attention to this area without outright distracting the archer.
If you’re in search of ways to help your students continue to build peer relationships in your new virtual learning environment, click here for advice from the Search Institute!
Let us know how your virtual training sessions are going on our social media pages and make sure to use @oasarchery so we can show our support for your program! Happy training!