# String touching chest gaurd?



## dylpickleeeeeee (Jun 6, 2013)

In Kim Hyung Tak's book page 141, "If the string is pulled away from the chest when extending".
It seems that Coach Kim also recommends string touching the chest guard.

What is the suggestion to fix stability of bow arm (or hand or..) during aiming/expansion phase besides pushing toward target and back muscle? In this case, this reference point between string and chest guard does not exist at all.


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## Viper1 (Aug 21, 2003)

d - 

There's a difference between a light touch and digging in so far that the chest protector or clothing interferes with the string.
I generally try to have zero or as little contact as possible. 
The the easiest way of making that happen is to lean SLIGHTLY forward from the waist. 
Most times people don't realize just how small the "lean" has to be. A casual observer usually won't even notice it. 

Viper1 out.


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## lksseven (Mar 21, 2010)

_"What is the suggestion to fix stability of bow arm (or hand or..) during aiming/expansion phase besides pushing toward target and back muscle?"_

For me, getting to a stable bow hand/sight picture was a three legged stool: 

1) lighter draw weight (thank you Viper) so I could properly experiment with finding my optimum draw length, which turned out to be about an inch longer than I had been shooting for quite a while (thank you, Rick McKinney). 

2) the longer draw length allowed me to get into '_my_' optimum alignment geometry, which allowed me to have relaxed and equal expansion from both sides of my spine (an equal push/pull) so that the sight picture stays still as I'm expanding and reaching/yearning toward the target with my bow hand (thank you, John Magera, Gabe Querol, Gary Yamaguchi, Glenn Meyers).

3) figuring out that my hand/wrist physiology likes a riser with a medium wrist grip angle, acquiring a riser that accommodates that vertical angle, with a very good basic grip (thank you, SKY, and Paul Jager), and then building up/customizing that grip so that the grip dovetails into my relaxed bow hand effortlessly, so that during the draw/expansion/release phase I don't spend any conscious thought on the grip or my hand placement (the good shots, anyway) - the grip factor all just kind of disappears because it's a comfortable marriage.


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## DWAA Archer (Oct 14, 2011)

Contact with the chest guard is bad news it changes the tiller of the bow and interfere with the path of the string. 

That first six months the Koreans do without a bow when learning to shoot is spent learning to standup straight so they get good posture and correct alignment. 

So standing up straight, reaching out to the gold will help get good string clearance. It should also correct most high bow shoulder issues, high draw elbow issues, better draw hand position at transfer holding and reduce the likelihood of the bow arm dropping on release.

So if you have string contact and most western archers do (due to lack of training on posture) You need to correct it asap it will add points to your score lots of points how many

Good bow tuning = 10-20 more points

Good form = 100+ points Fact!!!


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## blaze (Dec 24, 2005)

http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/showthread.php?t=2009035&p=1067179892#post1067179892


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## dylpickleeeeeee (Jun 6, 2013)

kshet26 said:


> The string can and should touch the nose and chin to get a solid reference point for a repeatable anchor. But it is highly recommended that the string not touch your chestguard at anchor though. Granted some larger body types can't avoid it. There should be enough string clearance between the chest and the string so that they never touch.
> 
> To do this you can:
> - Make sure you chest is down (tighten abs, there should be no arch in the back)
> ...


So there different opinions regarding string/chest guard. However, based on my understanding, above quote is what KSL's book said.

So maybe the bottom line question is having stable bow arm (or posture) instead of whether string touching chest guard.


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## TexARC (Mar 5, 2003)

Chest Down. In the chest down posture, the uppermost carriage - the shoulder assemblies, actually get to move slightly forward towards the toes. The part of the body just below the shoulders also moves in an arc towards the lower spine. Very slight things, but for most archers this will result in string clearance on the chest.
The canting of the bow MIGHT be related to contact, but always good to eliminate other possibilities such as gripping bow or improper hand placement on the grip, and especially improper distribution of tension on the string fingers. You can see the effect on canting by simply, at full draw, alternating most tension on the index and then the middle finger. As you increase tension on one finger, the bow......cants, with minimal hand contact on the grip.
Oh, and it is also important that the archer achieves holding for the chest-down to be most effective. 
These are easy to test with a PVC bow or a very lightweight bow. Get to full draw/anchor in a mirror, and go from chest up to chest down, and simply gain empiric knowledge!


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## alaz (Mar 8, 2009)

With all this being said, can anyone recommend a quality chest guard?


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## AdAstraAirow (Aug 22, 2011)

I have had good fit and service with a Hybrid Chest Guard from Arrowhead in the UK. I has an inserted smooth vinyl chest panel that eliminates many of the concerns previously posted. You can see the item on this link.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ARROWHE...00417503673?pt=UK_Archery&hash=item5d3abe39b9

Mark


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## alaz (Mar 8, 2009)

AdAstraAirow said:


> I have had good fit and service with a Hybrid Chest Guard from Arrowhead in the UK. I has an inserted smooth vinyl chest panel that eliminates many of the concerns previously posted. You can see the item on this link.
> 
> http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-ARROWHE...00417503673?pt=UK_Archery&hash=item5d3abe39b9
> 
> Mark


Is this the only place you can purchase it? Does the sizing chart match what you expect?


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## Bob Furman (May 16, 2012)

http://www.lancasterarchery.com/arrowhead-chest-guard-20906.html/URL]

or

[url]http://arrowheaduk.com/


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## bobnikon (Jun 10, 2012)

Is that at all sweaty in the summer? I like the ventilation on my current one, sort of the standard mesh. Looking at that design looks like it might get warm.
Just curious.



Bob Furman said:


> http://www.lancasterarchery.com/arrowhead-chest-guard-20906.html/URL]
> 
> or
> 
> [url]http://arrowheaduk.com/


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## TER (Jul 5, 2003)

Yes, it is copiously sweaty in the summer.


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## KenYeoh (Feb 21, 2010)

Bernardini Gillo Chest Guard. Very breathable and very smooth in case you need to string to contact


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## alaz (Mar 8, 2009)

KenYeoh said:


> Bernardini Gillo Chest Guard. Very breathable and very smooth in case you need to string to contact


How does that mesh compare to a cartel midas 201? I also noticed it only goes to large. I am not huge by any means....but I take a 48 long jacket. Would a large fit?


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## KenYeoh (Feb 21, 2010)

alaz said:


> How does that mesh compare to a cartel midas 201? I also noticed it only goes to large. I am not huge by any means....but I take a 48 long jacket. Would a large fit?


I'm really not sure. I'm 6 foot and quite lanky and it fits me perfectly fine.

Also I have never used a Cartel Midas 201 so I cannot give comparisons


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