Proper Thumbring Position on Thumb ???

I personally, use neither, I press the thumb nail into the second phalanx of the middle finger.

Mike

Jason,
I wear the ring close to the distal joint of the thumb as in your first photo. However, it does depend on the shape of your ring and how far you can bend you thumb.

I make the rings with a lip just long enough to cover the pad of the thumb when it is fully flexed. Longer lipped rings require the thumb to be less flexed and the wrist turned slightly more away from the face.

The advantage of the upper ring position is that the ring fits closer to the pad of the thumb which stops it from changing position easily.

Mike,

These photos aren't showing the thumb lock, just showing where the ring of the thumbring circles the thumb.

Position # 1 = close to the distal thumb joint.

Position # 2= further down the thumb, so that the tear drop shaped 'shield' actually covers the distal joint.

Which one do you use?



Thanks for your input Bede! One vote for position #1. How 'bout others thumbring location?

J.

Ok. Everybody's right. You place your thumb on the string with the ring up at the root of the thumb and it slides towards the joint as you draw.

Don't hook the forefinger too hard around the thumb when you draw, otherwise the ring will pinch the skin at the base of the thumb (ouch) and the shot will not be smooth.

By the way, there are different rings and different thumbs - no 'one size fits all' answer.

Sorry, I must have read wrongly. I use the first one, I don't think I could manage the second one even if I tried.

Mike

But they're the same, you see. I use the second one when I nock the arrow and place my thimb on the string; but it'll become the first one by the time I release.

Thanks Gentlmen!

Stephen, Does the lip or sheild cover the distal joint? or does the string lay against that joint when gripping the string?

J.

I'm still not getting it Jason.

Mr, Selby,

I don't notice the ring changing from #1 to #2.

I put the ring way down at the base of my thumb and when I draw, the string is on the edge of the ring part of the ring.

If I use one of the beautiful rings Jason made, I can do either or however there is discomfort caused by the ring.

I would have to agree with the different strokes for different folks method. Whichever way does not crimp the string right?

With that being the case Jason if it no longer hurts your thumb to push the ring to the base of your thumb then you might want to design your rings to fit there. If you like the ring to be closer to the middle joint I would recommend shaping your ring so that the pressure is offset and braced more evenly.

'With that being the case Jason if it no longer hurts your thumb to push the ring to the base of your thumb then you might want to design your rings to fit there. If you like the ring to be closer to the middle joint I would recommend shaping your ring so that the pressure is offset and braced more evenly.'

Well said my friend, however before I go changing my ring design and shape of existing rings, I want to know if there is a position that the ring isSUPPOSEDto be in.

J.

I do not use the thumb technique so feel free to ignore. If anyone told me I MUST do something that I found uncomfortable I would simply ignore their advice.
Stephen is quite right, you do what you feel comfortable with and what works best for you.

As we all know, people have been using the thumbring different ways, in different cultures over thousands of years. So I understand that there will be different thumbrelease forms, but I have had thumb injuries in the past because of ill fitting rings and now I see they may have been caused by improper ring placement. I want optimal comfort, without painful experimentation with what might, or might not work best. If there is no set method, then that is fine, but if there is and I'm just ignorant to it, I'd like to be informed before I re-injure.

J.

You are right in saying there are many types of rings, however the #1 positin is normal. The presence of the thick leather tab, plus that you want to move the ring away from the joint, indicates a serious problem with the string cutting into your joint. There is always some contact of flesh with string, but the tab should not be needed. Perhaps it would be best If you examine the shape of the ring's lip and find the best angle for the edge. If you are absolutely determined to use this ring, then, instead of the thick leather tab pressed on the flesh, a thin tab placed on the ring may be tried instead. This will provide more friction at the edge of ring to let the string sit more securely there (slightly farther away from the flesh and nor slipping down as you draw) and you see if there is any gain that way. Eventually the ring may have to be changed.

Adam

Thanks Adam. This is the most comfortable ring of the dozen or so that I've tried. You are suggesting that a thin leather strip is to lay between the STRING and the RING, right? NOT between the STRING and the THUMB (as I'm currently doing).

I'll give that a try!

Thanks!

J.

Jason,
Adam's suggestion is in line with some research that is being done now, I have been testing the idea of having the leather flap under the string for several years. The string sits slightly away from the inside edge of the ring. With a fully flexed thumb there is some contact with the flesh on the inside of the thumb, but it is caused by the bulging of the flesh instead of the sliding back of the string.

There is no perceptible velocity difference between flap over and flap under the string with medium weight bows. I have not tested the same effect on heavy bows yet.

Yes, Jason, the string sits on the flap, and the flap is made of thin leather with the fuzzy side up. This provides enough friction so the string can be kept slightly away from the flesh of thumb (as Bede confirmed). This friction would not allow the string to get away while drawing, even though it is not pressed deep into the thumb. You will have a little better control in your release. This is what I found worked for me at one time.

Bear in mind this is a crutch, not a solution. I also wonder if you perhaps flex your thumb too much, so the string slips into the joint. It may be good to try flexing the thumb less, although it may be harder to do, if your thumb tip is not pressed into the middle finger (as in the Middle Eastern/Turkish style).

Adam

Adam,
The rings I have looked at in the Grayson collection often have the skin side out. One even had two layers glued in.

One cause of the string sliding back on to the thumb is turning the wrist too far away from the face. This is more easily corrected by turning the wrist back until the fore finger lightly touches the arrow. If the physiology of the hand does not permit this, then your solution is a good one.

In general, you can feel whether the pressure is evenly distributed across the lip of the ring and adjust the hand slightly to keep it balanced. I turn the wrist slightly on the axis of the fore arm take pressure of the base of the nock when I want a fast arrow. I just have to be careful that I do not bring the tip of the index finger into the path of the string.

Some photographs taken just as the arrow was leaving the bow suggested to me that there is only a tiny gap between the thumb and the fore finger when the string escapes. The thumb appears to be forced out of the way as soon as the fore finger moves. The action is faster than the archer can straighten the thumb.

Bede,

Excellent. One more reason to give the leather against the ring a shot (or 500 as the case may be).

J.

Adam

Has you do I used the method discribed by Klopsteg, generally speaking index finger on the tip of the nail and in to the side of the middle finger. My thumbring is shaped enlogated style coming to a point. What I was wondering if you shoot the longer lip, becouse I still notice after a long shooting session the end of my thumb gets sore, the lip does not cover all of my thumb. But I do not believe it is from the string hitting it. For I am left with and impression of the ring where it stops. Now in his book he mentions about not having your ring to short or to long. Have you had this happen? I beleive what I should do is just make a ring with a longer lip. If you shoot with this type of ring does the lip cover the whole pad of the thumb?

Matt

Matt:

If I understand you correctly, you are having the ring's lip pressing hard into the thumb pad and the thumb tip getting sore. I think It may be because as you draw, the pressure of the string is mostly exerted on your ring's lip. Then the thumb's tip is pinched between the ring's lip and the index finger. I would try to relieve the pressure on the lip as much as possible. This can be done by making the ring fit more tightly onto the thumb in the vertical direction (tight against the sides of thumb's knuckle). It may also help to examine the inside of the ring - if the inside of lip is made concave for conform to the thumb's pad a ring with no such concavity could help to change the pressure points too.

It may also be that the index finger does not clear the thumb fast enough, so that the thumb's tip is pinched between the index finger and the ring's lip only when the string slides down the lip at the moment of release. You may try to improve your technique by making sure the index finger moves faster out of the way.

If the thumb's tip is not hit by the string on release, there is no reason to change the length of lip.

Adam

Matt,
If the tip of the thumb is left with an impression of the pointed lip of the ring, it seems to me that the shape of the lip is not suitable for the profile of your thumb and your technique.

The type of ring that Adam described earlier, like the ivory Turkish flight rings, would probably suit you better. The kind of ring I mean has more rounded edge to the lip when seen from above.

Adam's comment about hollowing out the lip of the ring to fit the thumb better will make a big difference. The shape of the ring affects which kind of hand position you can use.

I think I need to clarify what I said. I meant the rings witch have inside of lip hollowed out to conform to the thumb shape may not be desirable in this situation. A lip that is only rounded inside, but not hollowed out, may work better, because then the pressure tends to concentrate towards the base of thumb, not the lip. Whatever method relieves the pressure from the lip is good in this case. It is hard to say what is best without experimenting anyway.

Adam

Adam

It jsut so happens that the rings is not shaped for my thumb on the inside, I have found out in earlier rings it felt better not to. But with studing the ring contact on my thumb I would have to say for now that it is the pressure cousing it. But also the ring slightly snug at the knuckle, But I think their is enough room to wrap some silk around that area. So I'll give that a try.

Matt

Having been away, I've not been contributing as much as I should; but everyone seems to be on the correct line.

One point about techniques described in old books: often the strings used in those times were much thicker than those commonly used now. Things that would not have caused discomfort in the old days could be uncomfortable with light strings made using nine or ten loops of dacron or fastflight.

S

Adam has made a good point about the shape of the ring not conforming the the exact shape of the thumb. Rings from Turkey, Persia or India rarely had matching inner and outer curves. Instead the lips thickened towards the hole. This is the opposite of the Korean rings which are thicker towards the tip of the lip and thin near the hole.

I am talking about the majority of rings I have seen, but there are exceptions.