I recently diagnosed a bow shake problem in my own process, the reason for me was that I was subconsciously holding my breath when holding the bow at draw, tensing up my abdomen, chest, and shoulders too much. When I reminded myself to breathe I relaxed a lot more and got a steady aim. Get that tension onto your back and off the rest of your torso!
Yea, we have to lock our stabilizers together and shake our bow hands violently like 2 deer fighting in order to establish dominance, it's the way to determine shooting order
Another excellent video, and it addresses the exact problem I have been having in my last few sessions. Now if only I had seen the video about "overbowing" before I let a salesman talk me into buying a 40 pound hunting bow as my first bow lmao
all too common occurrence. I need to make a few assumptions here, but I suspect it's not all bad news since 40lbs is not crazy for an average healthy young/middle aged male. you have to remember that in archery, you are going to be using muscles which have never had to be used so often with this much resistance. I suspect when you mentioned "hunting", it raised the importance of draw weight since hunting certain game requires minimum draw weights by law.
@@x3roxide Yeah, my coach later called it a hunting bow because of the poundage and the fact that it is short (for me) and simple. Thinking back on it, it looked like the oldest bow on the rack and I think he just wanted to get rid of it. I told him I wanted it for "casual target archery". The poundage is manageable but after trying lighter and longer bows I wish I had gotten a second or third opinion before diving in. I digress
It’s why I have a pair of 18lb limbs for form training. 18, 28, 38 limbs. Also a 50lb (non ILF) for strength conditioning from time to time. BTW: nice graphics!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼❤️
WOW this was really helpful i just got in to archery and i was always shaking none stop and i thought it was because i was weak or smtg but it happened to my strong friends too now i know why i'm shaking and i'll be sure to use these technique when i go agian soon
Old video but still great information and very useful for new archers, most of this I knew but i was finding that my bow hand was steady and my draw hand was slightly shakey...so probably means i am not dividing the weigtht equally...obviously wasn't a problem with lighter bows but now i am at 40lb it seems to make a difference.
Nusensei>if you have hand shake, you may have "to high" of draw weight, and or "new" to archery. Me> raising hand, guilty as charged. Went from 25# recurve to 50#. Am curing shake however by increasing weight to 55#,......and a compound bow Lol🤗
I was taught by a good bow hunter to keep tightening down a adjustable weight compound bow slowly as you get stronger until you max it out over time. I think it is great advice, most people never recommend this or seem to have a phobia of draw weight and if you are not strong enough to say pull 70# you will never be if you don't work those muscles out. Obviously this is a slow process over time unless you want injuries, but they never recommend this. They just say lower your draw weight.
Perhaps monitoring the weight of the bow is an ideal way of keeping the "shakes" to a minimum. The tension created by just keeping under your maxed out draw weight can be helpful in this regard, and it also helps with release.
@Jonathan Spier what bow style are you thinking of getting? If you shoot compound with a release, you'll need a left handed bow because the release hand will need a bit of range. However if you shoot with fingers you shouldn't have a problem either way, as there isn't much wrist movement in either hand then. Do you have any archery shops nearby? They will let you test a few bows in either hand to see which will be most comfortable. A major big box store like Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops will do the same. Of course there's also the option of shooting a mouth tab, although you shouldn't need to go that far with a lighter poundage bow. Here's a thread from archerytalk with some info www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=224263
@Jonathan Spier Buy a relatively inexpensive yet well made ambidextrous fibreglass recurve bow ~25lb daw weight. Send an email to chinese bow makers at Alibow, they will be helpful if possible, I have been pleasantly surprised by these guys.
Thanks. BTW, use a manual focus because your autofocus is very crappy. Or don't forget to change a focus distance if you have been using the manual focus.
I was at hamarikyu in Japan watching a young Japanese man practicing kyudo. His arm was shaking heaps yet the 4 shots I watched hit dead centre each time.
Kyudo technique is different. In basic terms, the kyudoka is meant to pull and release when the body is prepared to release - that is, they will expand and hold until they shake for the cleanest release. Not quite the same thing as the bow hand shake.
Arrow nock "throats" (where the string rests inside of nock) comes in two sizes small and large. Depending on the poundage of your bow you will have more strands (running vertically) wrapped by horizontal servings where the arrow nock locks. I just went from my 50# recurve to a 55# compound which required nock change. Lancaster archery supply (on line) and either Cabela's or Bass pro shops are excellent places to go for nocks. P.S. overnocks are very interesting also.
All joking aside when i was young i would start on lower lbs of an adjustable weight compound and pull it all the time even in the house and slowly raise the weight as i got stronger over time. Make sure you never dry fire though!!! This also helps with letting the bow off too as it is the opposite muscles as pulling. You might go somewhere to get your bow set up and have to pull it back for them to adjust peep or draw length... you don't want to be the guy who can't let it off properly with a line of other archers waiting lol
There aren't many that you can do besides shooting to be honest.. There's a few stuff you can do with an elastic band but it's pretty much the same shape as shooting so it's just better of shooting with a bow. If you want to increase your drawn weight start slowly, don't raise more than 2 pounds a pop and shoot about 2/3 times a week. Archery (as far as I know) uses mostly the Rhomboids muscles which are almost not used apart from when pulling a bow, so even the fittest people would have hard time to use a 25 pound bow+ if they have never shot.
@@bumstudios8817 honestly the best advice There are tools like the bow-trainer which are great for this, however they can be a chore to use daily and don't allow for practice of shot cycles (maybe some tools do, I'm not sure). They do, however, allow for the user to train in situations that would otherwise might not be possible (such as between breaks or during poor weather). I believe the best way is to use an actual bow, one that you can repeat shots for a considerable amount of time, but at the end of the day, it feels like you went to the gym. if you're goal is primarily to strengthen the back muscles, I would recommend staying away from compound bows since the let-off is counter-productive for this. maybe using a bow with the ILF system to incrementally increase your strength at a reduced cost - since buying limbs are cheaper than buying new bows. something like the samick discovery will work well since the limbs come in 5lbs increments upto a max of 60lbs. If you're wanting to go higher than that (some people just enjoy shooting higher poundage bows), you may want to consider something like the bow trainer which can go upto 115lbs @ 28" or buy heavy bows. bare in mind that there are greater number of brands/tools than those that I've mentioned above - it's just some which I've actually used and would recommend. also if using your bow for strength training and not actually shooting, PLEASE ensure a good grip so that you do not dry-fire your bow! you WILL cause damage at higher draw weights and CAN cause injury to yourself or even those around you.
Hey there, I've been shooting for a year or three. I use a 30 pound bow and it's a perfectly managable draw weight for me (I'm a fairly fit young man), especially on the 18 meters that I shoot. In fact, it's so comfortable that I sometimes forget to use proper technique, as poor technique gets me a full draw too. Now what I'm wondering is: would a bow with a higher draw weight force me to use good form? Would it help me train those muscles? I ask this because I saw a nice Chinese bow on amazon (thanks Matt Easton) and I was wondering if it was also useful, alongside being pretty and interesting. Yes, I am looking for excuses to buy another bow. I'm sure you understand. ;)
Chinese bow would traditionally be shot using a thumb draw requiring different technique and form. maybe not the best for increasing draw weight - unless you intend to shoot it with the same technique as your current bow - I'm assuming Mediterranean or 3 under. with regards to technique using your current bow. Try only shooting when you're concentration is at 100%. At the indoor range, force yourself by only using 2 or 3 arrows per round, taking time between each shot and really focusing on improvement. Yep practice is different than shooting - differentiate between the two if you want improvement.
Ran a taster Session for my club yesterday, and saw a lot of this. Ended up doing a demo which included a loose bow grip...forgetting I didn't have a sling XD - just about caught the string before the entire bow pinged out of my hand onto the floor; not my best first impression haha
If the fletching is cutting the bow hand it's usually because the nocking point on the string is too low. This is especially true on bows without shelves where the arrow sits directly on the bow hand or recurves and longbows where you're shooting right off the shelf rather than with an elevated arrow rest. The nocking point shouldn't be at the same level as the shelf or rest, but should be somewhat above it. It's common advice to set the nocking point 1/2" (12-13mm) above the level of the shelf or arrow rest, then adjust from there.
@Jonathan Spier eye dominance does not matter , both open or one closed the sight picture will just be a reference, the arrow flies how you release it eyes closed or not. you should really talk to a doctor about the wrist first question is there pain shooting left vs right , and second is the is the stability of the fused joint better of with a static load (pressure/strain) or the dynamic snapping motion of the release that has more muscles in the forearm involved (forearm flexor holding and absorbing forces in and from the string )
@Jonathan Spier I am was an L.M.T., Licensed Massage Therapist. For a fused wrist, I would also recommend, if you have not tried, doing three sets of twenty minutes heat and twenty minutes cold, compression with ice and hot towel, or soak in a hot tub then get out and go outside to cool the wrist joint. This allows the contraction, cold, and the expansion, heat, to increase blood flow to the area, and if you do this prior to shooting and perhaps after, to recover, I think you shall notice some improvement in your archery and perhaps have some more relief in the fused wrist area. I would also recommend a hot tub time, and then get out and walk or sit in open air for your cool time, alternating each, for twenty minutes, in sets of three. Hope this helps you. Thank you for your service. U.S. Navy Veteran, myself, fourth generation in my family. Take care of yourself brother.
What weight would you guys recommend me using? I’ve never held a bow in my life and I’d say I need to work on my conditioning and arm strength and I weigh about 200 pounds at 17 years old
Exactly what I needed, thank you! I've bought a bow 5 pounds heavier to grow into and looking forward to unshake my grip :D Quick question - what might cause feeling like the bow is hitting me back? Not the string. After arrow release I sometimes experience something similar to recoil.
Thanks sensei . Awesome video. Just to share my experience initially using standard recurve bow I used 20lbs . Only take 1 hour I got convinience hitting yellow area consistently. The next 1 month 1 increase my draw weight to 24 lbs. It's quite bit shaking 😂 and the result is not consistent. Question what is exercise required to increase my bow draw weight ? Thanks sensei
Moving up in draw weight really comes down to doing a LOT of shooting. The body will develop and adjust with frequent, continual practice and training. There are no shortcuts; you have to shoot.
I have added limb dampners (Yosoo) with limb savers and string silencers (bowjax) to my recurve as well as an mini stabilizer. The difference is amazing.
I have bow hand shake because I take 40 medications a day after a bilateral lung transplant. If it weren't for that, I'd be a champion Olympic archer. As it is, I'm just a spectacular amateur archer. Excuses, excuses, right? ;-)
I recently diagnosed a bow shake problem in my own process, the reason for me was that I was subconsciously holding my breath when holding the bow at draw, tensing up my abdomen, chest, and shoulders too much. When I reminded myself to breathe I relaxed a lot more and got a steady aim. Get that tension onto your back and off the rest of your torso!
you want movement in form of contraction tension is static
I'm trying to take in a breath as I draw the bow and "slowly" exhale breath through aim and release process.
Saw the notification and thought it was some secret handshake archers use lol
It isn't? 😱
Yea, we have to lock our stabilizers together and shake our bow hands violently like 2 deer fighting in order to establish dominance, it's the way to determine shooting order
lolol
That would be cool.. i have like 4 different hand shakes for different family members and friends. My young daughters love the complicated ones
Like the motorcycle rider nod. Ha
One of the first things I learned in my club, and I will never forget it: "This is not a broomstick"
“Harder!”
NU: 0_0
OH!!!! I couldn't understand what it said lolol
TY!!!!!!
Seriously your last two videos have been what I have dealing with. Amazing. Thank you.
Great video, I would love to see a video on your personal shot process from start to finish.
Domo Arigato NuSensei. Excellent instruction as always.
Another excellent video, and it addresses the exact problem I have been having in my last few sessions. Now if only I had seen the video about "overbowing" before I let a salesman talk me into buying a 40 pound hunting bow as my first bow lmao
all too common occurrence.
I need to make a few assumptions here, but I suspect it's not all bad news since 40lbs is not crazy for an average healthy young/middle aged male.
you have to remember that in archery, you are going to be using muscles which have never had to be used so often with this much resistance.
I suspect when you mentioned "hunting", it raised the importance of draw weight since hunting certain game requires minimum draw weights by law.
@@x3roxide Yeah, my coach later called it a hunting bow because of the poundage and the fact that it is short (for me) and simple. Thinking back on it, it looked like the oldest bow on the rack and I think he just wanted to get rid of it. I told him I wanted it for "casual target archery". The poundage is manageable but after trying lighter and longer bows I wish I had gotten a second or third opinion before diving in. I digress
@@somethingwitty100 never trust salesmen, always do your research before you buy anything
Nice vid, good to see you doing archery again
It’s why I have a pair of 18lb limbs for form training. 18, 28, 38 limbs. Also a 50lb (non ILF) for strength conditioning from time to time.
BTW: nice graphics!!! 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼❤️
WOW this was really helpful i just got in to archery and i was always shaking none stop and i thought it was because i was weak or smtg but it happened to my strong friends too now i know why i'm shaking and i'll be sure to use these technique when i go agian soon
Thank you for this video, much needed!
Thanks for all your videos, your are helping me a lot to improve my technique.
Thank u sensei! This is really useful!!
These points are very close to firearm shooting fundamentals. Great vids. btw.
Old video but still great information and very useful for new archers, most of this I knew but i was finding that my bow hand was steady and my draw hand was slightly shakey...so probably means i am not dividing the weigtht equally...obviously wasn't a problem with lighter bows but now i am at 40lb it seems to make a difference.
Nusensei>if you have hand shake, you may have "to high" of draw weight, and or "new" to archery. Me> raising hand, guilty as charged. Went from 25# recurve to 50#. Am curing shake however by increasing weight to 55#,......and a compound bow Lol🤗
I was taught by a good bow hunter to keep tightening down a adjustable weight compound bow slowly as you get stronger until you max it out over time. I think it is great advice, most people never recommend this or seem to have a phobia of draw weight and if you are not strong enough to say pull 70# you will never be if you don't work those muscles out. Obviously this is a slow process over time unless you want injuries, but they never recommend this. They just say lower your draw weight.
Perhaps monitoring the weight of the bow is an ideal way of keeping the "shakes" to a minimum. The tension created by just keeping under your maxed out draw weight can be helpful in this regard, and it also helps with release.
This is a problem I've been having for a while, I think I'm too tense during the shot process.
@Jonathan Spier what bow style are you thinking of getting? If you shoot compound with a release, you'll need a left handed bow because the release hand will need a bit of range. However if you shoot with fingers you shouldn't have a problem either way, as there isn't much wrist movement in either hand then. Do you have any archery shops nearby? They will let you test a few bows in either hand to see which will be most comfortable. A major big box store like Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops will do the same. Of course there's also the option of shooting a mouth tab, although you shouldn't need to go that far with a lighter poundage bow. Here's a thread from archerytalk with some info
www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=224263
@Jonathan Spier no problem, enjoy the sport!
@Jonathan Spier Buy a relatively inexpensive yet well made ambidextrous fibreglass recurve bow ~25lb daw weight. Send an email to chinese bow makers at Alibow, they will be helpful if possible, I have been pleasantly surprised by these guys.
Have a tourmanent today thank you
Thanks. BTW, use a manual focus because your autofocus is very crappy. Or don't forget to change a focus distance if you have been using the manual focus.
Face tracking didn't seem to pick up my face in this one.
First your the best RUclipsr
Wow! You helped so much with it! Thanks Sensei 😃 !
I was at hamarikyu in Japan watching a young Japanese man practicing kyudo. His arm was shaking heaps yet the 4 shots I watched hit dead centre each time.
Kyudo technique is different. In basic terms, the kyudoka is meant to pull and release when the body is prepared to release - that is, they will expand and hold until they shake for the cleanest release. Not quite the same thing as the bow hand shake.
Every arrow I look at, the nock is too small to fit on my bow string. what’s wrong??? Is there a place I can buy arrows with wider nocks or what
Arrow nock "throats" (where the string rests inside of nock) comes in two sizes small and large. Depending on the poundage of your bow you will have more strands (running vertically) wrapped by horizontal servings where the arrow nock locks. I just went from my 50# recurve to a 55# compound which required nock change. Lancaster archery supply (on line) and either Cabela's or Bass pro shops are excellent places to go for nocks. P.S. overnocks are very interesting also.
What exercises would you recommend for conditioning your body for archery?
Pulling a bow.. lol
All joking aside when i was young i would start on lower lbs of an adjustable weight compound and pull it all the time even in the house and slowly raise the weight as i got stronger over time. Make sure you never dry fire though!!! This also helps with letting the bow off too as it is the opposite muscles as pulling. You might go somewhere to get your bow set up and have to pull it back for them to adjust peep or draw length... you don't want to be the guy who can't let it off properly with a line of other archers waiting lol
There aren't many that you can do besides shooting to be honest.. There's a few stuff you can do with an elastic band but it's pretty much the same shape as shooting so it's just better of shooting with a bow. If you want to increase your drawn weight start slowly, don't raise more than 2 pounds a pop and shoot about 2/3 times a week. Archery (as far as I know) uses mostly the Rhomboids muscles which are almost not used apart from when pulling a bow, so even the fittest people would have hard time to use a 25 pound bow+ if they have never shot.
@@bumstudios8817 honestly the best advice
There are tools like the bow-trainer which are great for this, however they can be a chore to use daily and don't allow for practice of shot cycles (maybe some tools do, I'm not sure). They do, however, allow for the user to train in situations that would otherwise might not be possible (such as between breaks or during poor weather).
I believe the best way is to use an actual bow, one that you can repeat shots for a considerable amount of time, but at the end of the day, it feels like you went to the gym. if you're goal is primarily to strengthen the back muscles, I would recommend staying away from compound bows since the let-off is counter-productive for this.
maybe using a bow with the ILF system to incrementally increase your strength at a reduced cost - since buying limbs are cheaper than buying new bows. something like the samick discovery will work well since the limbs come in 5lbs increments upto a max of 60lbs.
If you're wanting to go higher than that (some people just enjoy shooting higher poundage bows), you may want to consider something like the bow trainer which can go upto 115lbs @ 28" or buy heavy bows.
bare in mind that there are greater number of brands/tools than those that I've mentioned above - it's just some which I've actually used and would recommend.
also if using your bow for strength training and not actually shooting, PLEASE ensure a good grip so that you do not dry-fire your bow!
you WILL cause damage at higher draw weights and CAN cause injury to yourself or even those around you.
Check out archery strong, they have archery specific training programs which are amazing
Hey there, I've been shooting for a year or three. I use a 30 pound bow and it's a perfectly managable draw weight for me (I'm a fairly fit young man), especially on the 18 meters that I shoot. In fact, it's so comfortable that I sometimes forget to use proper technique, as poor technique gets me a full draw too. Now what I'm wondering is: would a bow with a higher draw weight force me to use good form? Would it help me train those muscles?
I ask this because I saw a nice Chinese bow on amazon (thanks Matt Easton) and I was wondering if it was also useful, alongside being pretty and interesting. Yes, I am looking for excuses to buy another bow. I'm sure you understand. ;)
I'm of the school of thought that a high draw weight does not force good form; it punishes bad form. A high draw weight does not teach.
Chinese bow would traditionally be shot using a thumb draw requiring different technique and form. maybe not the best for increasing draw weight - unless you intend to shoot it with the same technique as your current bow - I'm assuming Mediterranean or 3 under.
with regards to technique using your current bow. Try only shooting when you're concentration is at 100%. At the indoor range, force yourself by only using 2 or 3 arrows per round, taking time between each shot and really focusing on improvement.
Yep practice is different than shooting - differentiate between the two if you want improvement.
That is useful advice, thank you both. I'm still considering buying that Chinese bow, but now with more careful consideration and research.
@NUSensei sir can you give suggestion what kind of gym training to condition bow hand. Thank you
I need this tnx
Ran a taster Session for my club yesterday, and saw a lot of this. Ended up doing a demo which included a loose bow grip...forgetting I didn't have a sling XD - just about caught the string before the entire bow pinged out of my hand onto the floor; not my best first impression haha
You're strangling the poor bow!
thank u😊
My bow had a bridged riser which reduces vibration.
Is holding the bow too tightly and wrongly the reason to get fletching cuts on the webbing of your bow hand?
If the fletching is cutting the bow hand it's usually because the nocking point on the string is too low. This is especially true on bows without shelves where the arrow sits directly on the bow hand or recurves and longbows where you're shooting right off the shelf rather than with an elevated arrow rest. The nocking point shouldn't be at the same level as the shelf or rest, but should be somewhat above it. It's common advice to set the nocking point 1/2" (12-13mm) above the level of the shelf or arrow rest, then adjust from there.
My problem is that my hand holding the bow starts bending
weak bone on bone and wrist strength work on isometric bow arm from the setup
@Jonathan Spier eye dominance does not matter , both open or one closed the sight picture will just be a reference, the arrow flies how you release it eyes closed or not. you should really talk to a doctor about the wrist first question is there pain shooting left vs right , and second is the is the stability of the fused joint better of with a static load (pressure/strain) or the dynamic snapping motion of the release that has more muscles in the forearm involved (forearm flexor holding and absorbing forces in and from the string )
Shame for u
@Jonathan Spier I am was an L.M.T., Licensed Massage Therapist. For a fused wrist, I would also recommend, if you have not tried, doing three sets of twenty minutes heat and twenty minutes cold, compression with ice and hot towel, or soak in a hot tub then get out and go outside to cool the wrist joint.
This allows the contraction, cold, and the expansion, heat, to increase blood flow to the area, and if you do this prior to shooting and perhaps after, to recover, I think you shall notice some improvement in your archery and perhaps have some more relief in the fused wrist area.
I would also recommend a hot tub time, and then get out and walk or sit in open air for your cool time, alternating each, for twenty minutes, in sets of three. Hope this helps you. Thank you for your service. U.S. Navy Veteran, myself, fourth generation in my family. Take care of yourself brother.
had a mate (who's quite fit) struggle to pull 20lbs purely because he was terrified of the string at his face
What arrow rest is being used on that riser?
What weight would you guys recommend me using? I’ve never held a bow in my life and I’d say I need to work on my conditioning and arm strength and I weigh about 200 pounds at 17 years old
How do I untwist a string?
Exactly what I needed, thank you! I've bought a bow 5 pounds heavier to grow into and looking forward to unshake my grip :D
Quick question - what might cause feeling like the bow is hitting me back? Not the string. After arrow release I sometimes experience something similar to recoil.
You might be shooting too light of arrows. Maybe try heavier arrows/tips.
Thanks sensei . Awesome video. Just to share my experience initially using standard recurve bow I used 20lbs . Only take 1 hour I got convinience hitting yellow area consistently.
The next 1 month 1 increase my draw weight to 24 lbs. It's quite bit shaking 😂 and the result is not consistent.
Question what is exercise required to increase my bow draw weight ? Thanks sensei
Moving up in draw weight really comes down to doing a LOT of shooting. The body will develop and adjust with frequent, continual practice and training. There are no shortcuts; you have to shoot.
I saw this and thought it said “hand shock” i was like “wait, hand shock? i didn’t know you could feel hand shock with a bow”
Try shooting an untuned bow, your hand and forearm will be sore afterwards from the shock. But that's another video altogether lol
I have added limb dampners (Yosoo) with limb savers and string silencers (bowjax) to my recurve as well as an mini stabilizer. The difference is amazing.
Is a 22 LBS bow good for a beginner of 16 y/o??
I did some archery with ten arrows in skme theme park or something. Shot the arrow over the target, the wall and almost hit a guy (outdoor)
This dude used to make war thunder videos lmao
John_William_Collier and?
@@popcorngenerator1925 And I wish he still did,they were good ass videos
I call that target searching lol
When I started shooting I shot a 35lb bow
Can we use tripod in archery?
It work for snipers and photographers to eliminate handshake.
even better, a gimbal
*edit* I just remembered, the tripod technically exists... called a hooter shooter I believe.
I have bow hand shake because I take 40 medications a day after a bilateral lung transplant. If it weren't for that, I'd be a champion Olympic archer. As it is, I'm just a spectacular amateur archer. Excuses, excuses, right? ;-)
I never had my hand shaking.
harder 🤣
many heterosexual men use more than 30lb or even 40lb+ bows 😅🤣😂
Step one: shoot your bow many, many, times.
Build the damn muscle groups and...
Step two: quit whining.