Ask Steve Ruis - Euan's Elbow

I suggested to George (. . . Davidson, I don’t know how many George's there are in your club*, England put quite a number on their throne) that it is easier to me to answer questions than to guess as to topics you might be interested in, so I asked him to scout around to see if any of you had questions.

Disclaimer: I am on record saying coaches should not work for free. Even youth coaches are getting healthy stipends from parents, and so should you . . . maybe (we used to give out “scholarships” to kids we knew didn’t have the financial means). The question is “Steve, if we shouldn’t coach for free, why are you writing for free?” Good question. For one, according to my mother (me Mum . . .see I am bilingual) I am part Scottish (a wee dram if you get my drift). For two, I have worked/collaborated with Simon Needham (Olympic archer and author), who I think the world of. And for three, if you like my postings, you might buy one (or more) of my coaching books (all are available on Amazon.UK, I am told). (Our editor has seven of Steve's books .. John has about the same. John's fav is "Why you suck at Archery")

Okay, so George did some asking and he came up with a taker! Euan, who is described as “one of our better archers” and “6´4˝–ish with a 31-inch draw length, not heavily built . . . with a bushy beard.” In other words, Euan is one of my people as I am 6´3˝–ish with a 31-ish inch draw length, but alas all of my beards are in the past.

Euan’s Question: Elbow height: I've always had a low draw elbow but this suits me better. I'm aware that the higher elbow came from Korean technique and that Americans (used to before they all started getting coached by KSL) use a lower draw arm elbow. I would love to know your opinion on elbow height.

Euan ponders Coach Ruis's words

Me: No one provided the particulars like is Euan a Recurve or Compound archer, but since he mentioned Korean technique, I am assuming he is a Recurve archer (as Koreans seem to be allergic to compound bows, you know the Dark Side and all that). In the future . . .you know, mention what type of bow, what side you stand upon, etc. (Editor: My bad .. much apologies - Right handed, Recurve, Chicago Bears fan)

There is some physics behind this question. Archers are told to pull straight against the bow but what does that mean? If you look at an archer at full draw from the side there is something called the “primary force line”. The point of this line is if your elbow (the tip) is on this line then you are either pulling straight against the bow or very damn close to that. The bow hand has a center of pressure, which is the pressures supplied all over the bow hand and averaged out to a single point. The DF Line is from that straight through the tip of the draw elbow.

Now, if the elbow tip is either inside or outside of a plane through the bow (it is called the sagittal plane by the science types as it splits the bow vertically into two halves) then you are not only pulling back from the bow but you are pulling/pushing at right angles as well. If your elbow is above or below that line then you are pulling up or down (respectively) as well as back. Basically we do not like these extraneous forces because they complicate things. And, well, as usual things are more complicated than this. If your elbow is far from the line, it affects the pressures of your fingers on the string (not as important for users of handheld release aids, but not completely unimportant either).

Even though I am a card-carrying scientist I tell my students to never let physics get in the way of your enjoyment of our sport. But, I suggest they try to shoot with a “better” elbow height. If after a significant test, your results are the same I suggest you should use the elbow height that is most comfortable for you. If, however, your scores are significantly better after the change, and you want to go back to your old elbow height, then you are someone I’d rather not work with. I like people who change to get better, which is why you consult a coach in the first place, sheesh!”

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Steve Ruis is the author of many books on coaching archery and maintains a blog for archery coaches at archerycoach.wordpress.com. (Scots note .. its free and well worth a visit) He is the former editor of Archery Focus magazine.

* There can be only one!