Pre-draw in recurve: build core, shoulder line and force triangle, raise bow and draw arm together and reach 70% back tension in the process.
The honest answer up front: in the pre-draw you build the foundation for the whole shot: activate your core, keep shoulders low, raise bow arm and draw arm together, and already build light tension. If you are sloppy here, you cannot fix it later during the draw.
The DSB position-phase model describes two stations for this: the pre-draw position (body upright, head turned to the target, bow shoulder nearly pointing toward the target) and the raised position (both arms at about eye level, force triangle stabilized) [1]. In the raised position, the model already puts the ratio at 70% back tension to 30% forearm tension [1]. In plain words: your back is already working before you really pull. This is a teaching model, not a measurement.
Why does it matter? While aiming, shoulder blade muscles and arm hold steady. In a lab study of ten men, shoulder muscle activity was higher at full draw than at partial draw; more muscle activity went along with more tremor, and the scapular muscles were important for keeping the upper arm steady [2]. That was a lab simulation, not a real competition shot. If you build up cleanly beforehand, you work more calmly later.
How hard is it? You can reproduce the picture in an hour. Internalizing a stable sequence takes months, in experience terms. That is why this skill belongs to the intermediate stage.
One more word on expectations: the pre-draw is invisible to spectators and yet the part coaches correct most often. It is worth seeing it not as a warm-up movement but as the first part of the shot.
You stand shoulder width apart, with about 60% of your weight on the balls of the feet, 40% on the heels [1]. Activate the core, tilt the pelvis slightly, lower the sternum, keep the shoulders low and level [1]. Milestone: on video you see that the shoulders are at the same height in every shot.
Draw arm angled, upper arm close to the ribcage, draw hand vertical at navel height. Bow arm extended, hand at an angle of about 45° [1]. The web of the hand sits in the lowest point of the grip.
You push forward with the bow arm and pull lightly with the draw arm, that is, opposing push and pull [1]. The head is turned to the target, the hips parallel to the stance, the bow shoulder points nearly toward the target [1].
Both arms go up together, to about eye level [1]. The draw shoulder keeps moving toward the "support line 1-3" (called "extra set" in the model) [1]. The pre-tension increases.
In the raised position the force triangle is stable and the pre-aim point is acquired [1]. Milestone: in 10 shots in a row, the draw hand ends up in the same place and the shoulders stay low.
Film yourself from the side and from behind and pause the video at the raised position. Do hips and shoulders stay in one line, and is the draw-arm elbow in the arrow line? If so, you have the foundation. If not, correct it now, not at full draw. Also practice with a stretch band and no arrow: 5 slow repetitions before training in which you do only this part build the feeling before the real bow brings load.
The phase between zero position and draw: activate the core, raise the arms together, build opposing push and pull. The DSB model calls it the pre-draw and raised position [1].
The DSB model gives 70% back tension and 30% forearm tension [1]. It is a teaching model. More important than the number is the feeling that the back joins in early.
About eye level [1]. Too high makes the shoulder rise; too low makes the path to the target needlessly long.
According to the model about 60% on the balls of the feet and 40% on the heels [1]. A firm stance is the basis for everything else.
Transfer and Expansion: Back Tension All the Way to the Release