Excellent, excellent video. I've been shooting from the left side of the bow my whole life. Now I bought a Magyar horse bow and I'm trying to learn to shoot from the right side with a thumb ring. I found this video very helpful. Thanks for posting.
thank you great to understand...I took archery at University and it was fun...I've been watching a lot of Kdramas lately and couldn't help but notice the difference techniques in the Asian and Western way to draw a bow...and in do research on the differences I discovered you really good video...
Great video Justin. I shot thumb draw today for the first time and I have to say I have not had so much fun at the range in a long time. Going to take a bit to get my thumb used to pulling the bow. Btw I also ordered your book yesterday. Can’t wait for it to arrive!
Great thanks, very clear explanation . I am shooting 3D with recurve and long bow (american flat bow), Mediterranean draw. But long time ago shot a asian horse bow and they always had my interest, I never shot it with a thumb ring though. So now I want to find me a bow and shoot it the way it was meant to be shot with a thumb ring.
Thanks for your insightful video, Justin! I've just recently bought myself a thumb ring and am really struggling to use it properly; I think my problem is that I'm squeezing the arrow a little and so it's falling off before I even get chance to think about releasing. I'm going to give your suggestions a try and see how it goes.
Justin, great videos. Love the gaozhen method. I have been exclusively shooting that foe the past few months to retrain from old bad habits. Where did you buy your thumbring? it looks different than others I've seen online. Thanks for your work. It encourages me to keep training.
Hi Matthew, thank you. Glad to hear you're finding it useful. The ring is a Vermil Victory, which you can find from Vermil Archery's online store. I also distribute these for The Cinnabar Bow. The model I use these days is the Silver+ Vermil Victory. www.cinnabarbow.com/marinerbows/rings.html#metalvictory
Thanks! I have video that gives an overview of "gaozhen" (close-range form practice bale) practice. facebook.com/TheWayOfArchery/videos/1704912942855694/
You're welcome. The poster is for the Chinese Archery Program (the 5th iteration we'll be holding in March 2017: facebook.com/events/1516023745371225/). The designer of the poster is Tanawat Muninnimit (Sgt_Smile), a fellow Chinese archery practitioner: facebook.com/Sgt_Smile-207079072680324/ I think we might still have some copies available for sale. Please PM me if you'd like more info.
Thanks for your excellent video. I do have one question...I am right handed, own a Hwarang model Korean bow that I very much want to shoot with a thumb ring. I am missing my index and middle fingers on my right hand, due to an unfortunate experience with cancer. Is there anything you can think of that would help me continue to shoot right handed? I've tried left-handed shooting, and can make the switch if it's absolutely necessary, but would prefer to stay with right hand shooting if possible. Thank you! 😊
If shooting right-handed, you might experiment with hooking the string with your thumb then rotating your wrist counterclockwise to secure the hook (side of the palm near the finger base knuckles making contact with the right side of the string). I've seen Peter Dekker doing a demonstration of this with a Manchu ring, hooking and pulling the bow without placing any fingers over the thumb. The same idea might work with a lipped ring (though I have not tried this myself). Otherwise, nothing wrong with learning to shoot left-handed. In fact this is something I do for my heavy bow training. -Justin
I am about to order one of these thumb rings. None of the options fit my thumb measurement. Should I go with a looser or tighter fit ring? Which is more important? The thickness or the width of the thumb fitting? Maybe you can make a video on how to choose a thumb ring size.
charles910 Both width and thickness are important. Let's suppose that AxB is the ring opening size (A is the minor axis, B is the major axis). Then you want the width W of your thumb join to be A < W
Justin Ma So should I make the thickness more important than the width? Basically I don't want the ring to fall off my thumb, I want to put it on and not worry about it. Also, is it better to go with a little loose or a little tight? My thumb measures just under 17x20mm, should I go with 18x20.5mm for better comfort?
charles910 Ah, that's tricky. Could be either. A little tighter is fine (so long as it's not choking your thumb), but then the worry is the lip might be too short. Won't know until you try it. If you buy from me at The Cinnabar Bow, you could pay for 2 sizes, then return the one that doesn't fit for a refund. Or you could buy one size and send the ring back for an exchange if it doesn't fit.
When I tried doing this, the skin on forefinger was rubbed off after a couple hrs of shooting. How do you prevent that from happening? (One issue I might be having is that my arrows’ nocks are slightly lose and don’t grip the string well, but I’ve read that shouldn’t be an issue for Eastern archery. Nor do I have a nocking point - again, I’ve read the same. But basically, in order for the arrow to stay in place, I am pulling with both my thumb and the forefinger pressing on two sides of the arrow.)
can you elaborate on the forefinger bit? taken literally a couple hrs of shooting, wow that would not be good for your form(and shoulder) . cheap option dip your nocks in boiling water then squeeze them to tighter shapes. you use your index finger to press(or nudge lightly) the arrow in place (but according to the last sentence youre not using a ring/thumb to draw?)
I've been using a leather thumb ring and have found the tip of the thumb to be a little numb. Could this be because the string is resting on the joint on top of the ring, restricting bloodflow? Should the string rest elsewhere? ALSO, how hard should the tip of our thumb be pushing up against the middle finger during the draw?
For me, leather rings cause the string to rest on the thumb pad, which causes numbness. For heavier draw weights, I prefer a hard ring. With a hard ring, it's possible to get the string to rest under the crease of the thumb joint. Personal preference on amount of pressure thumb applies to middle finger. However, according to our latest practical experience, no pressure (floating) is just as acceptable. Please see: sites.google.com/view/beyond-strength/home#h.p_j1nFf04e5-_2
thanks! have you ever shot a traditional hornbow? (made of horn and sinew rather than carbon and fiberglass). How do hornbows made the traditional way compare to these bows of a similar design made with modern materials?
yes, my more recent vids feature shooting with a horn bow. for example: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-00oNdxJWhTI.html the horn bow isn't necessarily faster --- i find efficiency depends more on the reduction of mass in the ears (rather than the material of the bow). however, the horn construction (when done well) is very tough and durable, and the pull is pretty smooth.
I see you have the arrow on the right hand side of the bow whilst using a, recurve it's on the left hand side. Are you showing the correct method for horsebow or just your personal preference ?
DAVE Turner , thanks. Arrow on the right side is the classical method. The location provides stability when handling the bow and arrow in mobile situations.
