Hey there, weapons people. I'm not a practitioner of any weapon MA so my apologies if this guy is old hat, but I found the archer in the video clip in the article below rather interesting. Moreso than him, though, I was interested in the extrapolation of bow technique from ancient art and text. Nicely done all around--at least to my untrained eyes. Have a look: http://deadspin.com/this-glorious-goober-will-blow-your-mind-with-his-sick-1681361881/+charliejane Any comments?
Makes me want go get my bow out!! Amazing archery skills. I've read a bit about some of the techniques (carrying arrows etc) in stuff I have read about the Mongols. Good to see someone keeping the old ways alive.
By the way, Bozza, T J Desch Obi's book about capoeira's origins mentions the warfare habits of people living in the Kunene river valley in southern Angola and one of the things about them was that they carried only a few arrows and--having them off--would close in for close quarters melee combat. I'd love to be able to fire a bow with anything approaching that skill level. Time to put something else on the list!
So that thing about restringing on the right side: I learned to load on the left side, as I imagine most righties did. It's certainly slower, as I tended to lay the bow horizontally to load the arrow. But I don't remember it requiring a change in grip at any point. EDIT: No wait. I get it. Wow, that really is filing off precious seconds at every opportunity.
Nice find. Though I am no where close to being an archer by any (I own a compound bow) I fell in love with archery because of this: http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Art-Archery-Eugen-Herrigel/dp/0375705090
I still need to get that book. Is that in In Fighting for Honor? As it said in the video it was a common practice to hold a few arrows. I've tried it...damn hard, but I don't actually know how they did it so I was just messing around. IIRR the Mongols put the arrows on the right side of the bow too...I should give that a shot (no pun intended ) They pulled the string with a very different technique. I really can't explain it, so here's a wiki link about different drawing techniques take it for what it is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bow_draw Archery is a lot of fun. I don't have decent equipment, I just bought a cheap "horse bow" and some arrows and shoot into an improvised target when we are at the mökki (summer cottage / house). I'd like to get some proper lessons one day. There is a group near me that does "primitive archery/weaponry", I am not into the modern stuff so much, been thinking about meeting up with them. Problem is they seem to like dressing up as Elves, Crusaders or Robin Hood and talk about flagons of mead. I don't think I'd fit in too well! But they do a whole bunch of stuff; longbows, throwing axes...I think they have a forge too and make their own equipment. Give it a go!
That guy is awesome. Considering that he discovered martial wisdom in old books, you can well imagine how much I approve. Sometimes the old ways really are best. The modern world often falls prey to historicism, the idea that history marches forward from an imperfect past into an increasingly perfect present. This kind of stuff shows that it ain't necessarily so. -Mark
Hmmm... I've got a feeling some of those shots were a bit more set-up than they let on. Still amazing skills though. Some counter points and explanation: In response to "historical" speed shooting: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cr_1z3GwxQk"]Military archery and speed shooting videos - a little rant - YouTube[/ame] Reasons for arrow to be on left or right of the bow: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NrNIbWAWlw"]Traditional archery: Reasons for having the arrow on different sides of the bow - YouTube[/ame] Archer's Paradox in slow motion: [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RkmozHc4jg&feature=youtu.be"]Slow motion traditional recurve bow release - YouTube[/ame]
AWESOME! None of my weapons fire projectiles, but that is impressive marksmanship. I can appreciate it.
Yes, that's the one. Might not hurt to wear elf ears once or twice (easy for me to say since I don't have to do it). The more I think about it the more I want to take up some form of archery (will have to wait until 2016 though).
I see Mr. Easton's point on the lack of power in the archery shown in the video. However, one can always use a more aggressive draw when facing opponents wearing more protective armour. To be honest, I suspect the maille in the video was merely butted, not riveted and hence easier to penetrate. That being said, when using any weapon, one uses the correct force to cause injury. In a hypothetical sword duel, I could use a fairly light "tag hit" (zecke in German) to the forearm and possibly disable an opponent. Facing an opponent who was wearing a gambeson (heavy padded armour coat), that same cut wouldn't work so well. Cutting linen is HARD. I would have to use more power to inflict injury, or use a different technique such as a thrust to the face, which also changes the target to a part of the body that isn't armoured. Likewise with archery. I imagine his historical counterpart might use a quick light shot to give a closing opponent pause, giving him time to draw further for a more devastating shot. But I don't know jack about archery. -Mark
Yeah, I imagine the same, though I don't have the expertise to assert that. Just thought you guys might appreciate another point of view.
Nothing that diminishes his skill really, but I wonder how many takes they took when he messed up, also I doubt very much that his mate was aiming an arrow right at his face when he shot it out of the air. It's got that theatrical tricking kind of air to it, like he wants to be Legolas, rather than an ancient archer. Of course, I have no idea really, maybe he did everything first take and really did shoot an arrow out of the air that would've gone through his face if he failed.
It's an impressive vid for sure but it does look very larpy (is larpy a word?). Some serious accuracy on show and very quick target accuisition but a bit to much random bouncing around for my liking lol. The Legolas comment seems pretty spot on to me. That's not a criticism of his skill but more his attitude, he seems more into looking impressive than being functional. That's just my personal taste though and frankly I'd be happy to be able to what he can. Also worth noting Im not an archer, I've played around a bit but not enough to get the significance of the different carrying and loading techniques.
And I'd bet that if he can handle a heavy bow he'd be able to functionally shoot a fair bit better than many archers anyway. He can hit targets at range.
I don't doubt his skill I was just stating that the video was not to my taste. His leaping about and bouncing off trampolines was what I objected to more than his actual shooting. His ability to quickly pick out a target and hit it is very impressive, his speed is very impressive, his ability hit targets at range is impressive and so is his ability to hit small targets. His ability to run around in the woods and his ability to bounce around does not impress me.
I think some of you need to cut the guy some slack. It's a demo of his skills, so of course he's going to be showing off and acting in a certain way. Did none of you get that there was a bit of humour in the video too? But what did you expect? To see him in battle against the Mongols or Persians? To be honest, if he can pull off some of the stuff in the video 1 out of 20 times, I am sure he is still better than most and, as Sifu Ben (the other one) said, hit targets accurately at a fair distance.
I'm with Bozza. I'm not sure what value there is in "function" given that we're talking about archaic range weaponry. The only function it serves, in this day and age, is personal enrichment. I get emphasizing functionality if you're talking about hand-to-hand. Even some weapons (e.g., knife and stick). But the only reason I can think of to be good with a bow is because you're entertained by being good with a bow. That said, I can't honestly say I'd spend my time bouncing on trampolines and shooting targets. Partly because I'm not wired that way and partly because I'd almost certainly find a way to shoot myself in the knee in midair. (Yeah, I made an "arrow to the knee" joke. Years too late. BOOM GOES THE FOGEY!)
