The Compound Bow is a technique intended to lessen the amount of force the archer must use and to increase the total energy that is held by the bow. A lot of compound bows use cams at the end of the limbs to make the most of the leverage given by the archer while minimizing the holding force of the bow. The smaller the force needed to hold the compound bow, the lesser the strain is on the archer's back muscles while drawing the string. This gives the muscles more time to rest and the archer more time and energy to concentrate on his aim. Archers often use a release aid to help keep the string and the arrow steady and to release it accurately. This release aid has a trigger and is attached to the bowstring. This allows the archer to pull and release the string using the trigger.



Because of the lesser demands of the compound bow, it is often reduced to a 'training-wheel bow.' Usually, an archer with a solid recurve bow technique has a good compound bow technique. However, the compound bow must be altered to the limits of the archer like his limit in draw length. The correct draw length of an archer is determined mostly by the arm length and shoulder width of the archer.

The Padded Arrow Sport

The Padded Arrow Sport is an activity practiced by a small but growing subculture for a period of over 50 years. It has developed into an organized sport for some while it is a form of live action combat with an unclear system for others. Live Action War Games are made up of individuals or groups of fifty to a hundred people that are dressed in authentic combat armor and use padded sports weapons all in the attempt to simulate battlefields.

Although most war games use guns, some systems allow the use of real bows and arrows. These are however regulated by limiting the bow draw weight from twenty to forty-five pounds and by using blunt, coin-tipped arrows whose heads are wrapped and secured in an open-cell foam padding. These are called 'safety arrows'. Unlike the traditional bow techniques, the use of 'safety arrows' or the 'foam archers' have to deal with releasing weighted arrows resulting in a more awkward projectile with a maximum effective range of only about fifty or sixty feet. The players in the Padded-arrow sport should always remember that even though they are padded, actual bows and arrows are still used. With this, precautions should be taken like frequent equipment checks.

In addition to the clumsiness of the bow and the padded arrows, archers need to keep moving around to stay clear of the hundreds of other opponents. This makes the sport even more challenging and appealing. In the battlefield, players are up against people who are charging against them, hiding and using tactics to bring a person or a team down. Because of this, archers have to master the skill in aiming, proper positioning and calculating range, distance and projectile in order to make an effective hit while running from the enemy. Each player must learn strategy and tactics as well to avoid being attacked or removed from the game due to and injury point system or an actual physical injury.