Reinventing the fastest forgotten archery

[goyacobol]

Lol. I shoot a Korean bow these days - the string is gripped by the thumb instead of 3 fingers. 170 yards to the target - over 5 seconds of flight time. I also have a cheap horsebow like Lars' that I shoot at the beach. Sometimes I shoot from a kayak onto the beach. I definitely have more fun than Kyodo players, who take the cliche form over function seriously.

What a coincidence, I just watched one of the Armin Hirmer Archery reviews you mentioned and it was for a Korean bow. I was stationed in Korea and watched some Korean archers practice in a field. Their targets were the simple red dot in the center.

I have an old fairly short Bear recurve bow that I bought for my dad years ago but I haven't used it in quite awhile.

I always wanted to try the thumb release and I would like to try the horsebow sometime if "time" permits.

I would have never thought to shoot from a kayak (at the beach no less). That would be similar to shooting from horseback I think. Sounds like instinct shooting and a lot of fun.

I noticed that the arrow seems to be placed on the opposite side of the bow for asian style shooting (like right side for a right hander). Is that how you do it?

 

[ReasonBear]

Shooting off the outside of the bow is the only way to go. Archer's paradox doesn't exist because the bow actually moves out of the arrow's way, and I never ever slap my forearm with the string anymore because of the way the handle is shaped. This all has to do with the simple matter of fingers torquing the string one way or another, which is the reason thumb released arrows must go on the outside of the bow.

Your Bear is designed to be shot from the inside of the bow, requiring you to thread the arrows through the bow itself. If you try thumb release this way the arrow will torque inward as you grip it, causing it to fall off the shelf. Thumb-held arrows on the outside can easily be held upside down or whatever. The books Lars Andersen studied are available free online.

What he discovered or recovered is actually prevalent in many combat-type sports, or at least weapon based ones. I've noticed a trend of 'dumbing-down' or defanging the weapons for civilian/sporting use. Eventually the institutional authorities establish a 'style' that's far from efficient at doing what it's supposed to do. The result is something like millions of people threading arrows through their bows and shooting off the wrong side, which ultimately lowers expectations for personal performance and perhaps even the abilities of mankind in general. Lars raised the bar for everyone simply by remembering the past. Not surprisingly, 'serious' archers have no love for him, despite the fact that he's proven his skills are transferable by training actors

 

[goyacobol]

What he discovered or recovered is actually prevalent in many combat-type sports, or at least weapon based ones. I've noticed a trend of 'dumbing-down' or defanging the weapons for civilian/sporting use. Eventually the institutional authorities establish a 'style' that's far from efficient at doing what it's supposed to do. The result is something like millions of people threading arrows through their bows and shooting off the wrong side, which ultimately lowers expectations for personal performance and perhaps even the abilities of mankind in general. Lars raised the bar for everyone simply by remembering the past. Not surprisingly, 'serious' archers have no love for him, despite the fact that he's proven his skills are transferable by training actors

Wow, the things you can learn on this forum. I always wondered what the differences were in different countries and archers.

Thanks, ReasonBear. Thumbs up seems appropriate.