This can happen at any time (novice or experienced) but occurs more frequently when you are learning. The common causes for this are:
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Incorrect bow arm position
- The solution? The ideal position is to keep the arm as straight as possible, aligning the bones of the arm and then slightly bend the arm. You’ll probably find that initially it’s hard to stay at full draw in this position, but if the bones are aligned then the strain on the muscles is reduced and they will soon adapt to this position. But if it continues to hit your arm then talk to a coach and they can help you with arm position. Always wear an arm guard to minimise the bruising caused by string hits.
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Clothing
- When you are learning you can be so focused on trying to get everything right that you don’t notice that your clothes and it’s easy for the string to catch on a t-shirt, zip, hoodie cord etc. This in turn deflects the string which hits your arm.