Grasping of Bow (How to fix?)

Habit of Grabbing a bow upon release can be a real problem when an archer shift from shooting an wooden bow without sling into shooting recurve, without any proper guidance or by self learning. Somehow when something becomes a habit, it is quite hard to change it back. It requires determination and re-adaptation of muscles of our body and re-discovery the feeling of shooting.

So, ever wonder if there's anyway to change it back quick?

Possible cures for grasping

By grasping the bow during or after the shot, the level of accuracy of the shot diminishes. It is evident that you should try and avoid this as much as possible.

It is very easy to see if an archer grasps the bow. An automatic grasping response takes place almost immediately when executing the shot. Another mistake is that an archer grips the bow as tightly as possible, so, that the fingers are tense and the knuckles of the bow hand turn white. Also, a bow hand forced to be open with stretched fingers is also less desirable because of the reduced control over it.These methods require extra muscle control that makes the shot harder to be reproduced.

The most simple solution for these mistakes is to isolate the error and work at it. It is best to focus on consciously letting the bow jump out of your hand (using a sling, of course!) and pay no attention to anything else. In this way you can become aware of what exactly happens with the bow when the arrow is released and get used to the reaction.

The best way to do this to draw the bow only a few inches (not more than 2 inches) without an arrow, but with sling, and letting the string go. Look and feel how the bow leaves your hand and what movement takes place here. When you are familiar with this movement, start shooting while concentrating on letting the bow jump out of your hand. In the beginning this is hard. Convince yourself that the bow is firmly attached to your arm and that there is no way it can fall. It also does not hurt to try and use a different type of sling, preferably a a wrist or finger sling.

Finally, there are a two less orthodox ways of curing grasping that are too interesting not to mention.

A Korean coach says that an archer cannot get the right feeling of the bow leaving the hand when he or she uses a sling. His method of teaching how to use a sling is therefore the following:

The archer shoots without a sling and keeps the bow hand open and relaxed. After the shot, he just lets go of the bow. The coach lies in front of the archer and catches the bow. In this way, the archer should get the right feeling of the bow leaving the hand without being afraid to let go.

A very drastic measure to prevent grasping is using drawing-pins. Use adhesive tape to attach the pins to the handle on places where the hand grasps the bow. The points should point outwards. Now it becomes very painful to grasp the bow. This method should definitely only be used as a last resort.

So, happy changing!