SPEED SHOOTING AND SNOBBERY

As with every group of people, there is snobbery to be found in the world of archery. Perhaps for a long time it was buried deep inside, trying to find a reason to get out. Then about a year ago, the Danish archer, Lars Andersen, provided a reason. His Youtube video on archery quickly went viral and became the most viewed archery video to date. It did not take long for the scathing criticism, debunking and pawning to begin.

Lars Anderson's video

I admit, there are claims in the video which I think are flawed. I am not convinced that the archery he describes was employed by war archers on the battle field. Nor is Lars the one who has rediscovered speed shooting. While I understand the theory of shooting from the right side of the bow, and it is undoubtedly what makes him the fastest archer today, it is a practice I have not seen amongst Eastern archers. Using paintings and tapestries as an indicator of how archery was practiced is like using an Orthodox icon to determine what someone looked like. The point of the art was not to create a life-like, detailed historical account.

Lajos Kassai reintroduced horseback archery and speed shooting to Hungary

My scepticism and doubts aside, there can be no question that what Lars Andersen has achieved and demonstrated (however many takes he needed to do those stunts) is worthy of admiration. There is no reason to frown upon speed shooting and trick shooting. Its purpose is not to replace target archery: it is simply offering something different and, in a way, more appealing. Lars Andersen has probably done more to reinvigorate interest in archery, and particularly horse bows, than Legolas and Katniss combined. The archery world (not least those selling out of horse bows like never before) should be thanking him.

Of course, I can imagine the frustration of archery instructors when some young wannabe Hawkeye turns up to a club and wants to learn as soon as possible how to imitate what he saw on Youtube. Yet surely the new interest in speed shooting and trick shooting is something which the archery world should embrace. Even I, as a novice who instinctively favoured traditional bows over modern, felt out of place in my first archery club the moment I turned up with a longbow. I could not understand why there appeared to be such a sharp divide between compound, modern recurve, and traditional archers. I guess it is just good, old fashioned snobbery.

Some 10,000 years since the invention of the bow, and only a few decades after being restored to the Olympic games since its debut in 1900, surely there is room for variety in this most ancient of arts and most modern of sports. Archers are shooting themselves in the foot by insisting that it should be only target archery, only modern recurves, only field archery, or only longbows. Maybe archers have a lot to learn from fellow archers who enjoy a different aspect of the same sport. Don't nock it til you try it.

FORM AND CONSISTENCY

Hitting a bullseye does not mean a great deal in archery: hitting it six times in a row time after time does. Archery, particularly target archery, is about consistency. There is something to be said of Japanese archery - Kyudo, or "Zen archery" - in which the true target is oneself. In a way this holds true of all archery: only mastering the subtle movements of one's limbs and repeating the same movements time and again will enable the archer to land all his arrows in one tight spot. So here are some of the basic aspects of form one must learn to repeat with precision in order to become a consistent archer. The combination of these steps is known as a "shot cycle". When one always repeats the same actions with the same timing (even if one wishes to have fun with speed shooting) it is easier to maintain consistency.

I. Stance

In all forms of archery, one stands firmly with legs slightly apart and with his shoulders aligned with the target. Normally, the archer will stand upright, but when canting a bow, as is often the case with horse bows and longbows, the archer can be slightly hunched in order to facilitate the movement of the string and to aim down the arrow (though not all archers aim this way). 

II. Grip

The bow arm should not grip the bow tightly. This is easier with modern recurve bows, which have risers designed to fit the hand better than stick bows and the like. The palm of the hand should press outward, with the fingers held around the handle just enough to prevent the bow from slipping once the arrow is released.  The harder the bow is to pull, the more difficult it will be to avoid tension and a tight grip in the bow arm. This leads to the bow arm jerking on release and throwing the arrow off course. The elbow of the bow arm should face away from the bow. Getting this wrong often leads to "string slap", when the string of the bow on release hits the inside of the bow arm. This is very painful, and leaves nasty bruises. As a precaution against this, many archers (even the most experienced) wear a brace around the bow arm to protect it from the caustic consequences of bad shots.

III. Draw (and breathe in)

On drawing the bow, the body should form a T-shape, with the elbow of the draw arm not below shoulder height. The strength of the draw is meant to be derived from the back muscles more than the bicep. Learning to do this means less shaking, less tension and less fatigue in the arms and shoulders. This is particularly important when drawing heavy bows for long periods of time.

Leaving aside the Mongolian thumb release, there are  two methods of holding the arrow when drawing. The first involves pulling the string with the first three fingers under the arrow, and the thumb and small finger tucked away. The second is the "split finger" method, with the middle and third finger under the arrow and the index finger above. The first method better enables the archer to align the arrow with one's eye level, making aiming down the arrow easier, and it also allows for what is called "string walking", whereby the archer can adjust the height of the arrow by moving the position of his hand up and down the string until (s)he finds the optimum spot. This is helpful for shooting at short distances, but for longer distances it is of no avail.

Another element of my shot cycle they did not teach me at the archery club, but which I learned from another archer, is breathing. This is also an important part of Japanese archery. Consistently breathing in on drawing the arrow and breathing out on release, often helps me maintain consistency.

IV. Anchor point

The anchor point is the place to which you hold the arrow at full draw before loosing it. There is no particular place you must have this anchor point - it could be the middle finger to the corner of your lip, your hand under your chin, or whatever point you find comfortable. What is important is that it is always the same. It may take some experimenting to discover your preferred anchor point, but once you have found it, it must remain the same shot after shot. Any slight deviation from this point will result in significant differences in where your arrow lands. 

V. Visualise and Aim

Yet another method learned after my formal lessons in archery is visualisation. It is a technique many a traditional archer swears by: imagining the arrow landing in the desired spot. How and why this works I can not say. It has not yet worked for me.

That aside, aiming in traditional archery is one of the hardest things to teach or explain. An ancient practice, which some still employ, is to look to one's target and instinctively align the bow to land at the desired spot. One must know his weapon, the trajectory of the arrow for the given distance and the height to which the bow must be held accordingly. The weather, of course, may also have an effect on the arrow's flight.

Another method is to look down the arrow and try to align it with the target, again with all the variations pertaining to the weapon, distance and weather in mind. It is my experience that aiming down the arrow is considerably harder to do with horse bows.

Whether one shoots with one eye or both eyes open is entirely up to the archer. Some ancient sources suggest that shooting with both eyes open is the older practice.

Another thing concerning aiming you will hear many experienced archers exhort novices to do is "aim small". That is to say, the smaller the area you aim for, the less likely you are to miss the area around it. Conversely, the larger the area you aim for the more likely you are to miss the entire target. For example, if I am shooting at a conventional target, I could aim to hit the target face, and my arrow could land anywhere in one of those circles or miss the target altogether. If I aim at the centre circle, I am more likely to land my arrows somewhere closer to the centre when I miss.

VI. Release (and breathe out)

The release is one of the most important things to get right if one is to maintain consistent groupings. Having come to full draw and aimed at the target, the fingers holding the string should simply draw back and let the string go. It is said that one should think of holding the bow and arrow at full draw as though one has a piece of fruit between one's shoulder blades. The release should be thought of as pressing the shoulder blades together to crush the fruit. In other words, the movement of the string arm should be minimal, and it should not move outwards, or down or up, as this causes the string to jerk in various ways, which will lead to inconsistent grouping and arrows penetrating their target at divers angles. 

A tip I learned which helped me enormously to develop a consistent release is to have a second anchor point to where you will move your draw arm on release. For me, it is the back of my ear. So on releasing the arrow, I simply move my draw hand across my face to the back of my ear, thus creating as little jerk on the string as possible and preserving a consistent, clean release.

VII. See the shot through

The shot cycle is not over until the arrow hits its target. The archer should wait for the arrow to land, and not move from his position or reach for another arrow until the previous one has reached its target. This helps maintain a rhythm in one's shot cycle, which creates a calm and measured approach to archery. This in turn yields rewards not only for one's consistency, but also for the archer's sense of inner peace and stillness.

As we said in the beginning, archery can be very meditative. Kyudo practitioners take the meditative quality of this martial art very seriously, but it is a quality of all archery which anyone can enjoy. 

THE STRAIGHT AND ARROW PATH

Confounded arrows! Nothing is so frustrating for a beginner in traditional archery than arrows, particularly wood arrows. Yes, I know, we all like the idea of wood: it is how archery has been done for centuries, it is traditional, and it is aesthetically more pleasing than aluminium and carbon. But let's face it: they crack and bend too easily, and they are not as proficient as their modern counterparts. So thanks be to Apollo and Artemis and Cupid! There is a way of marrying the beauty of a traditional wooden look with durability and efficiency: carbon arrows painted to look like wood with feather fletchings. I acquired such arrows from Merlin Archery (image below). They look beautiful and perform wonderfully.

I was told that when shooting with a horse bow or longbow, one should really use wood arrows, as they flex better around the bow than do aluminium and carbon. Experience taught me this is nonsense. It is simply a matter of discovering the right arrow measurements for your particular bow. While this is also true of wood, there is a great deal more luck in finding the right wood arrows.

Whenever I tried to consult the more experienced on finding the right arrows to match my horse bow, I was met with much hesitation and doubt. I have been told that there are so many variables that one could not possibly provide any suggestions, lest they be proven wrong at my own expense. "It is trial and error" I was told. While it may be true that one must test arrows until (s)he finds the right ones, I would like to proffer some suggestions for beginners in the hope I may spare you a few shillings here and there on your quest to finding what works for you.

Here are some basic but important factors regarding arrows:

Arrow length

One of the first things that would be determined when you first have a go at an archery club or when you wish to purchase your first bow is your draw length. The average draw length (against which the poundage of bows is generally measured) is 28 inches. It is therefore customary to refer to the poundage of a bow at this draw length. So a 50 ib bow usually means it pulls 50 ibs at 28 inches. The arrow length is measured from one end of the shaft to the other, and does not include the heads and nocks which are placed at each end. Nonetheless, one's arrow length should be at least a couple of inches longer than the archer's draw length, since it is possible, particularly after a bow has been used a few times, to pull beyond the average draw length. An arrow too short could lead to impaling one's bow hand with the arrow. So for a 28 inch draw, one should acquire arrows of 30-31 inches. While one may think that it is safer to get a longer arrow, the length does effect the flexing of the arrow, so do not go too far with safe lengths. The shorter the arrow, the stiffer it will be.

Spine thickness

One of the most difficult measurements to figure out with wood arrows is spine thickness. Fortunately, some arrow makers and sellers present arrows suited for bows by poundage, which makes life a lot easier. When this is not the case, it can be hard to know how the arrows will behave. One way of knowing whether your arrows are too thick or too thin for your bow is by whether the arrows are penetrating your target straight or are entering in from the left or right. If one is a right-handed archer and arrows are persistently entering their target with the nocks to the left, it means the arrow is too weak. If they are entering with nocks to the right, the arrow is too thick. Generally, arrows being shot from bows without a shelf need to be weaker in order to flex around the bow. If arrows are penetrating the target from all angles, it is possible that the problem is your release, not your arrows.

In my experience, carbon arrows are suited to a broader range of bows than wood. For example, with a 500 spine and 100 gram arrow heads, my 31 inch length carbon arrows shoot straight from my 30-35 ib horse bow, my 40 ib longbow and my 30 ib modern recurve bow. My wooden arrows (available from Amazon - see image below), 82-85 cm in length and 8 mm in diameter, shoot straight only from the 40 ib longbow.

Arrow heads

Another important aspect of the arrow is the weight of the heads. The greater the weight of the head, the more the arrow will penetrate, but too heavy and the arrow will lose velocity in flight too soon. 

Fletchings

Thankfully, there is little for the archer to really worry about in this regard save for aesthetics. At least three feathers are required to stabilize an arrow in flight. Nearly all arrows are fletched with one feather of a different colour, as this is the feather that is supposed to be facing away from the string when nocking the arrow to avoid knocking the arrow off course as it flies past the handle. However, this is not as important with feather fletchings as it is with plastic, since the former are more flexible and forgiving. For traditional bows, feather fletchings are better than plastic, since the arrow has to further to bend around the bow handle to find the straight path to the target, and this feather interferes less with these kinetic shenanigans.

But even fletchings can get complicated. When customising or making arrows, one may be faced with the choice between right and left wing feathers, or the choice between straight or helical fletching. Helical, or offset, fletching is where the the vanes/feathers are twisted, which makes the arrow spin in flight, providing greater stability and therefore accuracy. Whether they spin right or left depends on whether your arrows are right wing (taken from the right wing of the bird) or left wing. I am not aware of any significant difference between right or left wing feathers, and they have no bearing on whether one is a right or left handed archer. The only important thing to consider is that the two are not mixed up, or one is likely to end up with inconsistent results. 

Material

With carbon, fibreglass and aluminium arrows, one need not worry so much about the quality of the material. Not so with wood. Arrows made of high quality wood are expensive. Considering how much more likely they are to crack when one arrow scrapes against another, or when you split the nock of your previous arrow with your next shot, or how much more likely they are to bend, you might really want to consider "traditional" carbon arrows, such as those available from Easton. 

Spruce and pine are a popular choice of wood in England these days, as they are fairly cheap, but I have been unimpressed by arrows made of these materials. I find cedar wood make for pretty consistent shooting, but even more impressive is bamboo (example bellow, available from Amazon), which is obviously the material for arrows in Chinese and Japanese archery.

CHOOSE YOUR WEAPON

Let us Begin

I shall spare you the customary introductions to archery. For you would not be here reading these words if the art had not already perked your interest. One need not investigate the matter with great meticulousness to know that archery is a very ancient practice, used by man for hunting, warfare, meditation and sport. Nor do I need to tell you why you and others like you favour traditional over modern forms, though it is quite inevitable that I will touch upon these subjects if you stay with me long enough.

I shall begin with the various kinds of traditional bows, their advantages and disadvantages, notwithstanding variations in quality and design. This is to help you decide your weapon of choice, though there is no reason, other than lack of resources, that you should not possess and use more than one. Let it be said, however, that for a beginner, it is advisable to spend considerable time with one particular bow before trying to master another, since bows which require different techniques and which shoot different distances with varied power, will demand constant change in the archer’s method, which makes mastering proper form more difficult.

The Flat Bow

“Flat bow” is a generic term for bows which are shaped much like a straight piece of wood when unstrung. The term “stick bow” is also used (at least for more primitive versions). It defines almost any bow which is not a recurve shape (more on recurves later). Flat bows may or may not have a shelf, or rest, upon which the arrow sits when shooting. Many archers favour bows with rests or shelves, as this provides the archer with the means of greater accuracy and consistency. Bows without rests, such as English longbows or horse bows, require that the arrow be placed on the bow hand, with one’s knuckle acting as the rest, or shelf. It is advisable for the archer to wear a glove on the bow hand, as the feathers can leave painful cuts as they fly across the hand when leaving the string.

Archers who shoot bows without an arrow rest often cant the bow when shooting so that the arrow does not fall off the knuckle (other bows are usually held upright when shot).

Flat bows vary in size, depending on the height and choice of the archer. Like all bows, flat bows come in various poundages: the higher the poundage, the more power stored in the bow, and the harder it is to pull the bow to full draw. But more on power later.

The Longbow

Longbows, while they are sometimes placed in the general category of flat bows, deserve a category of their own, not least because many archers favour the longbow due to its significance in English military warfare. There is no clear definition of the longbow, but technically a longbow is any bow that is taller than the user.

The legacy of the longbow is inextricably linked with the military strategy for which it was invented and employed by Welsh and English archers. The war bows of yore possessed a draw weight of at least 100 ibs. The training required for archers was not so much to become extremely accurate as it was to acquire enough strength to repeatedly pull the bow to full draw. Many archers in ranks with bows of such a poundage, shooting arrows with arrowheads designed to pierce chainmail or plate armour into the air, with the intention of raining down hundreds of arrows upon the enemy, was an effective military strategy at Agincourt, after which the longbow became somewhat legendary amongst the English.

Despite its legacy, and though I am sure to incur the wrath of longbow admirers, it is my opinion that the longbow has no advantage over other bows when it comes to target archery or field archery. While I have yet to shoot a longbow beyond 40 ibs at a draw of 28 inches, it is my experience that recurve bows and horse bows of a lower poundage can reach greater distances than longbows and most other flat bows.

If one’s primary interest is target archery, the only great disadvantage to a longbow is transporting the weapon from place to place. If one wishes to indulge in hunting, a longbow can be difficult to shoot from discreet places, due to its size. The longbow was certainly not designed for hunting.

The Recurve Bow

Perhaps the most common bow in our day is the recurve bow. This is the design of many modern bows, such as those used by Olympic athletes, but it is also the shape of many wooden bows. The advantage of the recurve is that the limbs are thin and flat, and toward the end of the limbs, the bow curves away from the archer. When the bow is strung, this recurve shape adds velocity to the shot, providing the archer with the ability to shoot greater distances, depending on the poundage of the weapon. Generally, a recurve bow will shoot greater distances than a longbow or flat bow of equal power.

A further advantage of many a recurve bow over the longbow is that the arrow rests closer to the centre. This means that the arrow does not need to flex around the bow as much as it does with a longbow when loosed (this flexing to and fro in flight until the arrow straightens is called the “archer’s paradox”, a subject to which we may return in future). Shooting from closer to the centre makes accuracy and consistency easier to master, and also makes picking the right arrows for the bow simpler.

While the vast majority of modern recurve bows are “take-down” bows (meaning the limbs can be detached from the handle, or “riser”), wooden or “traditional” recurves, which seem to be highly favoured by field archers, can be either “one-piece” or “take-downs". The take-down bow has two advantages over the one-piece bow. The first is, of course, ease of transportation. The second is that as one gradually increases his strength and ability to shoot higher poundage bows, the archer can, in many cases, acquire new limbs without having to acquire an entirely new bow. Naturally, this is a more affordable investment if one is a novice.

The Horse Bow

The horse bow is the original recurve, but it has yet a greater advantage over other recurve bows. When unstrung, the limbs curve away in the opposite direction from the archer. In some cases, as with many Turkish bows, the limbs form a C-shape when unstrung. The bow is strung in the opposite direction, towards the archer. This means that a great deal of power is stored in the bow when strung, even more so than other recurve bows, which are fashioned in that shape, providing only a little extra power in the limbs when strung. Moreover, because a great deal of power is already stored in the bow when strung and due to its short length, it is much easier to pull a horse bow than it is to pull other bows of a higher poundage.

It is for these reasons that the horse bow was very effective in warfare in Eastern Europe and the Far East. It was designed to be used by soldiers on horseback. The shortness of the bow provided ease of movement, while its power and easy draw meant that archers could shoot at great speed with enough power to pierce armour at short distances. The Huns were particularly noted for the rapid shooting of their mounted archers, while the Parthians became known for turning in their saddles and shooting toward the enemies behind them while on the move. This became known as a “Parthian shot”.

Some horse bows are asymmetrical. That is to say, the bottom limb is shorter than the top limb. This is particularly useful for horseback archery, as it provides greater ease of movement about the horse. But it also provides an extra “flick” to the arrow when shot.

It is very difficult to acquire consistency with a horse bow. As we have seen, these bows were designed for rapid shooting at various moving targets all around the archer. It is therefore little wonder that it is not often the weapon of choice for target archers. However, its small size and its power make it a reasonable choice for field archery, where one has to constantly adjust to targets of numerous sizes at various distances.

One cannot leave the subject of horse bows without referring to methods of arrow release. The authentic method for shooting a horse bow is considerably different to Western forms of archery. Eastern archers used what is called the thumb release, also called the Eastern or Mongolian release. This is in opposition to what is called the Mediterranean, or Western release. The Mediterranean release is pulling the string to full draw with the first three fingers, with the arrow in between the index and middle finger. The arrow is pulled back to what is called an anchor point (usually the corner of the lip or under the chin). The draw hand is then loosened, and sometimes drawn back to a second anchor point (such as the back of one’s ear). These anchor points assist the archer in maintaining consistent accuracy.

The Eastern release is very different, and often requires (at least for high poundage bows) a thumb ring. The archer, using his thumb pulls the arrow back to his anchor point, using the index finger, or index and middle finger, to lock his thumb into place, and then releases the arrow. The advantage of this technique is that there is less twist on the string than there is with the Western method, thus providing a cleaner release and therefore greater accuracy. However, many horseback archers draw back to and release from the breast rather than from the face or chin. While this certainly makes sense for horseback archery, where movement would make a normal anchor point difficult to control, it does make consistency more difficult.

How Much Power Do You Need?

It is important when one begins archery that (s)he begins with a low poundage bow. To shoot with a bow that is too great a struggle to pull to full draw persistently will lead to the novice developing bad form, or no form at all. This is called being “over bowed”. While it is undoubtedly a costly process, one must gradually adjust from lower to higher poundages, in 5 ib increments. When considering the poundage one would like to reach, (s)he should do so after considering the purpose of one’s archery. For hunting, 40 ibs is the minimum (but one must also consider the appropriate arrows, since arrowheads for target archery are designed to create minimal damage). In terms of distance, the power of the bow is not the only factor to consider. Every bow shoots differently, and some fly faster but penetrate less deep (this also depends on the arrow, of course). For target and field archery, if one wishes to shoot 30 yards or more, 35 ibs is usually sufficient, though again this depends on the bow: horse bows and recurves generally require less power than flat bows and longbows for the same distances.

What, no Crossbows or Compound bows?

Both crossbows and compound bows fall outside my field of experience and interest. Crossbows are entirely different weapons for which the methods of archery described herein have no bearing. As for compound bows, these are far too modern to earn a place in writings on traditional archery. So weep and lament, ye lovers of crossbows and confounded compounds! What ye seek will not be found here.