Jie and Justin share some tips and insights about how to select a bow you can use for Chinese and Asiatic archery (thumb ring shooting). More info: thewayofarchery.com
You guys are: Precise, concise, and present facts in a manner which are congruent with the art of the task. Great work. I am a retired engineer and really appreciate your presentation. Thanks
It was nice to have the anatomy of the bow explained. How the string relates to the bow etc. I draw lighter weights, but on horseback, and really appreciate the information on vertical and lateral stability. Thank you.😍🙏🏼👍
Thank you for sharing this information. I'm looking into getting a Asiatic bow and hopefully more in the future. Beautiful works of art and history you can actually hold in your hand
Thanks for the info, always learn something new from your vids. Originally I got into traditional recurves, & one day I picked up a Mongolian horse/war bow they had at the archery I go to & I've been hooked ever since that first shot! I just got that Tartar bow from AF archery & thats just such an awesome bow, & I also have one o those plastic crab bows you had in the vid. Anyway love your videos man!
This is the toast and jelly of Asiatic bow videos! I like it so much I got jam on my nock. Thx! I just received one of the Nomad Warrior fiberglass horse bows and am having a blast with it.
3 года назад
Wonderful explanation... lots of clarifying details.
I really like these two gents. Having watched this video I'm now pretty confident in my two choices of my first bow. It's either the Black Mamba from Flagella Dei or the Black shadow from Freddie Archery.
omg, it's so interesting to think of natural equipments as a living organism. This applies to instruments as well~! I haven't finished the video yet but it's so interesting so far!
Great video! Very educational - thank you! I appear to have accidentally chosen an OK bow - although I knew/understood very little of what you've just explained. At least, now I know more about why it's a good bow...
Great advice. Personally, I own a plastic (crab) bow; a fibre glass and laminated Asian bows and love shooting them all. This information is gold- keep up the good work. Flaxen Saxon.
Great video. Also really like your book too. Not enough books about ancient Chinese military history/manual. Finally, your book got me very interested in picking up Chinese archery.
Ĝreat info guys, it's going to help me make informed decisions when designing my selfbows/sinew backed selfbows, I'm currently working on a sinew backed osage bow thats inspired by an Asiatic design. Tthanks guys,
Well done. I’m an experienced shooter, grew up with fiberglass and bear laminates. Some compound bows, but prefer the longbow and recurves. Looking at trying the Asian style and thumb release. Thank you.
What you said is also so true for Korean traditional bows, be they carbon versions or hornbows. When you made the comment that natural bows are like "living, breathing beings", I thought of my impressions/conclusions that Korean hornbows have a personality and character. Some I've loved; some I've hated. Unlike synthetic bows, where the materials are identical; the sinew, bamboo or wood, and the horn that are used to make the bows have the strengths, but also the imperfections of these once living things. No two hornbows are exactly the same. Learning to get in harmony with your bow can be quite a challenge, but is quite rewording when accomplished. Thank you for the informative and enjoyable video on this overlooked form of archery. Best and many hits.
I've been trying to learn more about the cultural differences in bow builds, and styles of archery through history. I found your video to be very informative. I appreciate the breakdown of many simple mechanics, like the string tip bow-back. would you happen to have any more recommendations on videos, describing any more historical information on bows of the region?
I can suggest a couple of nice starting resources: (1) ATARN: www.atarn.org/ (2) Peter Dekker's Manchu Archery site: www.manchuarchery.org/articles-manchu-archery
I live in Oklahoma it gets hot here in the summer and it gets very Cold I love solid fiberglass bows I have many of them I shoot with all the time I have had many wood and fiberglass laminate bows but for me I like solid fiberglass because of the weather patterns we have here in Oklahoma I do own some wood and fiberglass laminate bows but I prefer solid fiberglass over a laminate bow I don't want to worry about the laminate coming apart ever and The will separate over time because of the weather patterns we have here in Oklahoma thanks for the video..
Thank you for the great content. Could you please give a few more informations about the advantage of different handle shapes? For example turkish style in comparison to ming style were the curvature is on the opposit side.
It is good for a string bridge to be made in a way to catch the string, but the reason for the string bridge to exist in the first place is to shorten the string just before the arrow flies off the bow which then speeds up the arrow.
Ouah! I shall listen to your video 10 years sooner! Would save me bad decisions, yours advice for beginners got to be followed like you said it’s not a shame to began with a 25 pounds bow and gradually upgraded! In contrary it’s intelligent, you avoid injury and discouragement.
Thanks. Various makers. You can see this article for some ideas, though some brands may no longer be available: www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1416
Hunting, probably a Turkish or Korean bow bec they have a wide selection of quality laminate bows online. And they both have arrow speed for a Trad bow. A deer can outrun an arrow once it heard the string slapping so the speed helps. Target shooting, a Manchu style. Preferably the Tibetan or Mongol short version. 80lbs is a good weight for a reasonably fit dude. Just has to condition for a few months. It's fun and satisfying having your heavy arrow make a loud impact. The problem is finding a laminate Manchu bow of that weight. Biocomposite and real horn is too much $
Hi guys, thanks for the nice, informative video. It helped me to decide to buy a Korean bow :) Btw I found out from several sources that while shooting a bow without a "cut out shelf" (traditional ambidextrous asian) with the thumb technique, the spine should be higher than usual. For example for a 40lbs bow 32" arrow lenght the spine should be 600-800. It kinda makes sense for bows without the protraction, because we probably need the arrow to be more "wobblier" to correct its flight. But it's just my guess, could you please clarify if this is right?
@@TheWayofArchery Another source, actually pretty informative video on khatra release, said that, historically, people tried to use as stiff an arrow as possible. And that's why khatra has been developed. So I suppose you are quite right :D I'll definitely try out different arrows then. Thanks.
Bamboo and ash wood which one is better for speed in asiatic bow and all asiatic bow limb core are made of ???? Some Bowyer said that bamboo or some other say its same its depend on gluing
Laminated angular bows like one of the ones I have are very fast and dont wiggle. Angular bows are the fastest bows I've seen. 195 fps with 10gpp arrows. Most other bows with 10gpp are 170 fps
What bow is that you are using at the very beginning to discuss the parts of the bow? I've been shooting more conventional recurves for a few years, and that one in particular stood out as very appealing.
R. Parker The bow you're referring to is a Spearman Xiaoshao, for which you can find more info here: www.cinnabarbow.com/marinerbows/laoqiang.html#xiaoshao
Hi Lee, please have a look at the last paragraph of the "Bows" section of this interview I gave with Kungfu Magazine. www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1416 "Something you can keep in mind for a (distant) future purchase is a horn composite bow, whose prices range from $1,000 to $3,500. Some of the pioneering masters of the modern horn bow making revival have made Chinese-style designs, including Jaap Koppedrayer of YUMI Bows (Georgia, USA), Lukas Novotny of Saluki Bow (Florida, USA), Jang Yuhua (Taiwan), and Gao Xiang (Heilongjiang, China). There is also an energetic new generation of horn bow makers joining the revival, including Seventy-Nine (七九), disciple of Gao Xiang from Zhejiang, China; Li Qingyang (李青阳) from Chongqing, China; Alex Wittenaar of Medicine Bows (Switzerland); and Jiri Koulak of Tengri Bows (Czech Republic)."
I've got an odd question for you. I do LARP archery, and we use arrows that have large, round foam heads attached. Usually our arrows end up weighing around 1,000 grains. We're limited to a 35# pull at 28". Would a slimmer tip be desirable for getting these arrows flying more quickly or would larger tips have more of an advantage?
Haven't done the test to confirm, but first guess is the arrow-mass to bow-draw-weight ratio would be so high that you're better off with a bow that maximizes stored potential energy. This would be something like a Manchu bow. A Manchu bow with slimmer tips would be an extra bonus. Of course if you're not drawing long enough to take advantage of the Manchu design, any medium size bow would do. Best to use a chronograph to measure arrow speed with whatever bow you decide to use.
I've been shooting my cheap plastic Timber Creek mamba for a while now and I have been wanting to get an upgrade for my asiatic style collection. Is there a term for the type of chinese bow with those gigantic siyah and string bridges, as I think they are things of beauty? Would anyone recommend one? Has anyone had experience with HuntingDoor?
Can you recommend a site that sells carbon fiber bows at 60lbs? I tried looking but there either aren't a lot of results, don't ship to my country, or have a lower poundage than desired. Looking for a durable Asiatic bow that can last for a long time cuz I'll be practicing with it every day
Very informative and nice video, gentlemen. If only I've seen it before purchasing my bow. I have a 40 pound Fiberglass bow. Do you think its a too much for a beginner? I can draw it no problem up to 33 inches. I can hold it draw for a long time as well. Only thing that bothers me is, that I do "Wiggle" when I hold it drawn. Will I get bad habbits from it or do I get it better with practice and I can continue to practise with it? Thank you.
If your current bow is 40#@28", and you're drawing to 33", it's probably weighing 50--53#@33". That's quite a lot for a beginner. Maybe you'll want to see if you can get a 35#@28" or 30#@28" bow just to check whether your "wiggle" goes away. With too many "wiggling" repetitions, your brain might think that "wiggling" is normal, which would be a bad thing.
@@TheWayofArchery Thank you for your sugestions. It's out of my budget to buy another bow right now. I should knew better... I stick with the 40# but will not draw it over 30" until my technique is better. So I can minimalize learning bad habbits. I took a friend with me today and let her to film me while practising. It was interesting to see how my stance, drawing, holding and releasing is. I can compare it to your tutorials and see my mistakes. It's a far away from propper thumbrelease. My release is not very clean and I tend to move my releasing hand 1-2cm forwards before release. But my thumb career is 3 days old :D If you like you can watch it and meybe give me some tips. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-8FADxVHqMoA.html Have a nice day.
I concur! Google how to measure your draw length (i measured from the center of my sternum to the tip of my ring finger, and divided by 2.5, came up pretty good, maybe an inch short), which for manufacturers, typically includes the thickness of the bow's grip, measuring from the back of the bow, not the belly. Start out between $50 and $100 just for the fiberglass bow, arrows likely costing extra, of which you may want a couple dozen (expect to lose some, depending on where you shoot, so bright red feather fletching is nice). Different bow designs can have different minimum arrow weights that are allowed, avoiding damage to the bow while shooting. For instance, a Mongolian fiberglass bow may need arrows that are no less than 10GPP (grains per pound of max draw weight) to avoid possibly damaging the bow while shooting (draw length, not just bow design, being a huge factor in what makes this spec, but that's really only of concern to the manufacturer, you just need to know the minimum GPP for the bow which the manufacturer should be willing to provide). If you get the lightest arrows that are allowed for your draw weight and length on that particular bow, you'll be sure to get the most speed out of them that you can. Consider building up ambidextrously, very important on the symmetry of muscles, if you can swing it, so make sure your bow is not meant for just lefties or just righties, and consider whether or not you even want a shelf for the arrow instead of something more traditional. Contact the seller and/or manufacturer and confirm the specs to be accurately advertised (how many pounds at what draw length, typically 28", then, what the max draw length is)... My first bow was advertised as having a 35" MAXIMUM draw length when it was really only 30", yeaaaaah, that was fun figuring out. Consider somehow marking your arrows (possibly with white tape) so as to help guide you as to how far to draw the bow when actively shooting (while you're spending more energy trying to focus on developing your aim and posture, the tape/mark will really help prevent overdrawing the bow, in fact, i added a 2nd mark for my shorter 27.5" draw length, not just right before the max, so i tend to use the 27.5" mark when doing Mediterranean draw, and the maximum draw mark for the thumb ring. After some time, i may no longer need the tape/marks). Make this first bow something that you will want to warm up with after you get a 2nd bow, upgrading in weight, typically 5lb at a time. I guess i'll consider upgrading to laminated (making the bow lighter to hold, with less vibration when shooting) on my 3rd bow, but at that point, i may also be looking further into what could possibly help increase accuracy, if anything, possibly wider limbs.
I have a few Asiatic bows. The best thing about them is that, when you switch back to conventional recurve center-shot bows, you'll feel like an Olympic Gold-Medalist.
This is very true. I shoot trad western style bows and recently got myself an eastern style bow. What a difference! It's like starting all over again. What surprised me was you cannot even see your arrow tip if using thumbdraw to get a reference point so this type of bow is the hardest to get used to and be prepared to get totally frustrated when starting out. Once you do get the hang of it however, WOW! you will fall in love with this type of archery.Totally different type of feeling.Wish I'd got into this type of archery years ago. These bows are the most beautiful of bows and a huge a huge range of choice out there. Something for everyone.
Depends on your appetite for reading. It's okay to read a little, practice a little. Reading ahead of time is okay, but you may find that after you've practiced a while, certain chapters start to take on more relevance and are easier to absorb.
@@TheWayofArchery thank you! I ask as I am also searching for a heavier bow (45 pounds) as I improve over time. Any suggestions? Mostly so I can get stronger in this book and technique.
In what size increments would you suggest increasing draw weight. i have been shooting a 50 pound fiberglass bow for about a year now and the weight is quite easy for me now. So... I thought it would be a good idea to go up in draw weight so i get less arrow drop at further distances. So i went and got a 110 pound Monster. Hahahaha... not very smart i know. I cant even draw the beast fully.
jacob s 5--7# increments would provide the smoothest progression. Even 10--20# jumps are not fun or advisable. Please see our article for more info: sites.google.com/view/beyond-strength/home
Very nice. Certainly, this is all theory, your experience may differ considering your actual bow. Most of these bows seem like Grózer replicas. Just one hint: never use a fast flight string for your quality energy-storing recurve-reflex Asiatic bow.
Lukas Novotny's Saluki bows were actually the inspiration for a number of these makers. These makers also issue fast flight strings by default for their bows. Obviously, you have to check with the maker.
I mention the difference between fiberglass and laminated bows in this interview w/ Kung Fu Magazine: www.kungfumagazine.com/ezine/article.php?article=1416
I think you explain things very well. I've learn a lot. But I think if you talking about "Asiatic" bows you may include Turkish, korean, Japanese etc. bows too. They may not be on hand but at least you could talk about that bows too. Your collection is mainly Chinese kif I'm not wrong, and maybe later it would be great to watch a video from you guys about other Asiatic bows.
16:51 this, 100% You don't start lifting weights with the largest weights because you simply will have poor form, and will likely injure yourself - and break the floor, too! Don't listen to those archery snobs who say you must start with 50# or more. What's the bet they couldn't draw and hold for more than a second anyway 😅
Ok, here is a question i have long had. Please do not judge me too harshly for ignorance, because i am just trying to understand all of these things with bows & ancient history. Bows are so much more sophisticated than they appear on the surface -and, historically are certainly not McDonald's style mass production creatures like we tend to think of them through video games, role-playing games, or even just imagining them in terms of current technology when all the processes, materials, and measurements have been standardized & become universal. How is it that in the Western Hemisphere, where we are told Asiatic people settled so long ago, that the bow technology was so terrible (by comparison). While in many instances, the level of archery as a transmitted & evolving skill was still extraordinary as it was also in Asia, and in certain niches elsewhere, the level of development of the bow technology was no where near the Asian counterparts. The only idea that i can even begin to place on the table is a matter of priority. In the Americas the bow was still always a hunting tool first, a war tool second. Of course you had to develop excellent technique for good hunting, but... & this is where the idea becomes more confusing... they didn't seem to place technology on as high a priority as individual skill at your craft. And maybe that says more about us than about them. Animals didn't spontaneously start growing armor because our arrows got sharper or bows got stronger. But people did -according to how much they invested in warfare technology! ;) Just a thought. Why do you think this was?
I am sure armor and such things had a role to play in the design of the bows. Even in the Americas bows reached weight over 100 pounds draw weight. Something I remember hearing from Peter Deker (not directly quoting) is that in some parts of Asia, archery was a major part of the culture, it even could play roles in your status in society. Archery was such a major part of culture/a status symbol, it was something that was part of the elite in society, these are people who could afford for such bows to be made for them. It is not like simple longbows didn't exist in these cultures, it is just that there where those wealthy enough to afford horn bows.
I'm an archaeology/anthropology student and I think you're right, many Native Americans were hunter gatherers and for them bows were more for hunting than for warfare, so it wouldn't have made sense for them to waste time and resources building horn bows when wooden self bows were more practical in their situation. Many of the agricultural native nations in what is now the Eastern US lived in fortified towns and were often at war with each other, but in that case they lived in a heavily forested region where woods that are good for making self bows such as osage orange and hickory were plentiful, so they ended up using longbows instead of inventing hornbows for warfare. In Mexico, archery played an important role in warfare, however the Aztecs associated archery with the hunter gatherer tribes to the north of them so they looked down on bows as being weapons for primitive barbarians, and they preferred to use atlatls for ranged warfare, which they saw as being more civilized.
