CANTING THE BOW

There are some things I was taught when I took up archery which hold true for all styles of archery, but others are taught with only modern archery in mind. Alas, traditional archery is something I have had to teach myself, with only what I learned in clubs and from other archers as guides, as well as my own experience. One aspect of modern form which did not lend itself so well to traditional archery is the upright angle of the bow and the grip of the bow hand.

When I took up traditional archery, with bows sporting quite a different design to modern recurves, I discovered problems with my form which I struggled with and still struggle to amend. My main quibble is my bow arm jerking when I release the string. While a loose grip with a modern recurve bow - designed to sit comfortably in the palm of the hand - facilitates such a grip without dropping the bow, a traditional bow (such as a horse bow or longbow) or a field bow with a flat grip (such as my favoured KG Osprey) does not lend itself so well to conventional methods.

Canting the bow is useful when shooting a weapon without a shelf, as it prevents the arrow slipping while pulling the string, but I have found it useful also for maintaining a loose grip. Canting the bow allows the bow to rest upon the thumb, with the forefinger wrapped around the bow to hold it in position. This method facilitates a looser grip without tension in the arm forcing it to move upon release of the string.

If you shoot a bow with a flat grip and you struggle to keep your bow arm still when releasing the arrow, I would recommend canting the bow to allow for less tension in your bow arm. Adjusting the bow this way does effect the flight of the arrow, but one need only to practice and learn to cant it at the same angle every time to acquire consistency.