So I'm definitely doing it wrong, right? 🤣

[u/AddlePatedBadger]

I should at least have looked at a picture or video or something before randomly trying to shoot stuff eh? 😅.

[u/Lord_Umpanz]

Yes, yes you do.

First get an armguard.

Second, without seeing how you shoot, pay attention to your bow arm not being in the line of flight of the string.

[u/KatanaKruger → u/Lord_Umpanz]

Definitely helps. I would add ; break your wrist a little bit so your arm doesn't stay in the way

[u/ghostgamer242]

Rotate your forearm inwards without moving your wrist. (I.e twist your forearm so that the part of your forearm in line with your palm is parallel to the bow). Try grabbing a wall, and practice this. It will stop the string slap

[u/SolitarySysadmin]

Yeah definitely get an arm guard as those injuries are no fun and can potentially be very serious. 

I had a more severe incident when I was trying our club compound out and had too closed a stance - our coach said I was too perpendicular to the target and should rotate anti-clockwise as I am right handed, that corrected my arm position relative to the string and I haven’t had another strike since, but I still wear my arm guard every time. 

[u/Cool_Seaworthiness18]

Yes, get an armguard or wrap a thick piece of leather around your arm. Thick fabrics do not protect at all, needs to be thick leather or plastic or something similar. This may be caused by several factors, I had similar problem when I first shoot my bow, my arms were not strong enough, therefore my wrist and elbow were locked into some unusual position. Then I did strength training and trained my form with a lower poundage bow and the problem went away. Just record a video of yourself to see what is wrong with your form and try to correct it.

[u/RGijsbers]

i feel this picture, turn your elbow out buddy

[u/ResponsibleForm2732 → u/RGijsbers]

When in doubt elbow out.

[u/Fussel2107]

Welcome to the club of: We've all learned the hard way ;D

[u/bikin12]

No no everything hunky dory you hit the' right' spot 😀

[u/awfulcrowded117]

Watch a YouTube video on grip, nusensei has a good one. This position of string slap usually means that you're gripping the bow too much like a handshake. Your knuckles should be at a roughly 45 degree angle with the bow

[u/ohata0]

i don't think that's what they mean by getting swol.

armguards are your friend, but also check your arm position, especially if you're double jointed. i think you can still get bruised w/ an armguard if you do it wrong enough, so keep an eye out.

[u/Icy-Performer-9688]

I find it to draw the bow with straight arms before release. Which 9/10 I notice that it has an inward bend which makes the string hit your arm. Now there’s 2 ways in my short lived archery experience. Rotate your elbow clockwise while your have it at full draw without rotating your wrist that holds the riser. This takes a lot of practice and a lot of competition archers do this. Now if you’re like me and can’t seem to rotate the elbow every time I find it easy to bed the elbow just a bit outward which would make the string miss your forearm.

[u/ExcitementTraining41]

Not If you learn from it

[u/FitSky6277]

You're holding it wrong. Rotate your hand to where the grip is on the "lifeline" of the palm, make sure your elbow is pointed out, not down. Also double check draw length.

[u/n4ppyn4ppy]

Since you are not posting in r/IWantTooMessUpMyArm yes you are doing it wrong :)

[u/AddlePatedBadger → u/n4ppyn4ppy]

It's a glorious bruise 🤣.

[u/Exceptiontorule]

Nope. You are right on schedule.

[u/Human-Huckleberry-81]

Move your back foot forward this will immediately fix your problem

[u/Onebowhunter]

Turn your elbow outwards

[u/Fabled09]

Are your elbows hypermobile? I have to be careful overextending my arm or I’ll get constant string slaps. My arm seems straight to me but it is not lol it feels like I’m shooting with a really bent arm but it helps a lot

[u/TheMagicMrWaffle]

Arm guard so learning doesnt hurt