THE TEN STRENGTHS BOW

Most people do not think of archery as a sport for which one must be in shape, but the reality is that in addition to target practice, there is a need also for continuous training to build or maintain strength. Archery requires the use of back muscles which most people do not engage in other activities. If one is not practising archery very frequently, an archer easily falls out of shape. Many archers use training bands to practice their form and to keep their strength and technique honed for real shooting. This is particularly important when one wishes to acquire the strength to build up to bows with higher draw weights.

In ancient times, such strength was acquired simply by pulling a bow over and over again, until one was able to hold the bow at full draw and shoot with accuracy, and steadily progress to a series of higher poundage bows. Alas, to do this nowadays with traditional bows is a rather costly affair. If one wishes to build to a higher poundage, he must acquire a whole new bow, and not just new limbs as one would do with a modern take-down recurve bow. 

In connection with this ancient method of building strength in archery, a friend of mine recently visited a museum where he saw this "ten strengths training bow".

If your eyes are failing you, the text from the exhibit reads thus: 

This test bow was used to assess the strength of candidates in military examinations during the Qing Dynasty (AD 1644-1911). Candidates drew a series of bows up to 18 "strengths". This is a "ten strengths bow", requiring the ability to lift about 130 pounds. Excellence in military exams was one way an officer could rise through the ranks. The other was to show great courage in battle. Archery was an important skill throughout Chinese history, used in hunting, warfare, and physical training. The Manchus, who invaded China and founded the Qing (ching) Dynasty, also valued skill in archery and promoted it in their army.

130 ibs was the weight of a 10 strength bow, yet they went up to 18! Alas, there is no indication of what the poundage of these strengths were - whether each strength was measured by 2 ibs or 5 ibs, or how long it took to build from one strength to the next. Whatever the case, it is quite difficult to imagine the strength of these archers! I think I would probably burst a blood vessel and cause myself some serious spinal damage trying to pull half that weight!

So there you have it: a fascinating piece of archery history for traditional archery geeks. I hope to learn more about it in the future.