Early in my days of shooting that old fiberglas bow to shooting my compound, I've haven't had the need to wear an arm guard.
I'm moving into Trad style now because my shoulder cant hold up the ol Martin any more...
Should I be wearing an Arm Guard ?, because my form is bad? Should I be getting hit because my form should make that happen?
I guess that would be your choice. Personally I always wear an arm guard.
Get slapped a few times and it will make a believer out of you.
It DOES leave a mark !
If your form is correct, most of the guys I've talked to who know what they're talking about say you shouldn't get hit. I like a fairly low brace height on my longbows and as careful as I try to be, I get smacked probably 30% of the time. Wearing an arm guard just takes that out of the equation and lets me concentrate on getting the rest of my form as good as I can get it.
I always wear one hunting, just to keep my sweatshirt/coat/whatever from snagging the string and messing up what might be my only really clear shot of the season.
I have shot with many good shooters. Some of them need an arm guard, some don't. I'm sure there are form errors you can make that would make you hit your arm with the string. But there are also shooters with really good form who need to wear an arm guard. If you need to wear an arm guard, I would just wear one and not worry about it.
Cheap insurance. I rarely hit my arm with most of my bows, but occasionally, due to lapse in form or whatever, I whack myself, Not pleasant, don't want to have to worry about it. With long, bulky sleeves, it's a must.
I shoot a recurve and never hit my arm and don't wear one in the summer. With long sleeves and coats I do wear one.
Thanks for the replies!
Wearing an arm guard will not cause you to make form changes...thinking about not getting string slapped will
DDave
Yeah, I might just start wearing one when I get a recurve in my hands.
Thanks again.
Only if I'm wearing a jacket or a coat.