Traditional Archery

[Adam Kryder]

Is anyone interested in traditional archery?

[Charles David]

I'm planning on buying a crossbow when I return to Canada.

[Kingmonkey]

Yes!

I was trying to get into it about 10 years ago, but for several reasons I didn't get to far.....

I always wanted to get a traditional chinese or mongolian bow, but since I do not have any time left for new ideas this is put on ice for the moment.

Pat

PS Is there a tradition of archery in Kung Fu circles?

[Kathryn]

Traditional Archery

Hi Sisook Adam, I'm an archer. I have a Longbow and a recurve. In answers to Sisook Kingmonkey, as far as I understand archery was at one time seen as part of the martial arts as well as horseriding. The Japanese keep all of this tradition alive today, it consisted as part of the Samurai training.

Regards

Kathryn.

[Kingmonkey]

Hi there

I just found this

[Andrea]

Definitely

I tried some archery many years ago but the modern sport bows didn't feel right and I was not able to find traditional bows and archery then. Yet I still keep the dream alive. Actually just before reading this post yesterday I was looking at a course that teaches first skills in traditional bow crafting and archery . Interesting co-incidence ... but then it might not be one .

About Chinese bow making ... I came across this video some time ago (first there is a small add .. then the video):http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoChannel=2602&videoI

I would be very interested too in hearing more about Chinese bows and whether or not archery was integrated with Chinese martial arts.

Andrea

[SimonR]

Hello everybody,

I have recently started practicing archery and I find it amazing. I have been training a few times with the costarican national champion and is very interesting how the essence of his highest level is so related with the essence of what we practice in our school.

I find archery very complementary with our shaolin training, it is amazing how the presence, the calmed mind and the use of a sutil intention work beatufily when you practice it. It helps me go into a a very pleasent and comfortable state of mind, and definetly my shaolin training has had a wonderful effect in the archery.

For those of you who are interested in starting I realy encourage you to do it.

I am looking forward to reading some more coments on the subject.

Best wishes!

Simon

[joko]

I tried some archery many years ago but the modern sport bows didn't feel right and I was not able to find traditional bows and archery then.

What is the difference between traditional archery and modern archery?

I have been training a few times with the costarican national champion and is very interesting how the essence of his highest level is so related with the essence of what we practice in our school.

Does the national champion practice traditional archery or modern archery?

Thanks,
Joko

[Andrea]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrea
I tried some archery many years ago but the modern sport bows didn't feel right and I was not able to find traditional bows and archery then.

What is the difference between traditional archery and modern archery?

Maybe others can answer this better. I would say the main difference lies in the aims and objectives. And because of this the bows are different.

Modern sport bows are high-tech devices using fibreglass and carbon. They are optimized for winning a sports competition and include stabilizers and aiming aids. Personally I found those bows very cumbersome. But then in a sports competition neither the archer nor the target moves, so I guess it does not matter. There are two different shapes: the recurve bow. Its upper and lower ends are bent forward and the string touches the bow (please forgive me my poor description). This shape also exists in traditional bows. And the compound bow, which is a modern invention. It uses a leverage system so that the archer does not need as much strenght to pull the bow.

Traditional bows were used for hunting and war, thus the requirements were different. Depending on the specific usage (range/distance, shooting position: on the ground, on horse etc; transport) and technical skills of the makers, they developed into different sizes and shapes: Shortbows, Longbows, Recurve bows, Reflexe bows ... They are made of wood, bamboo and other natural materials. Actually I find it fascinating to see the diversity. The same is true for arrows.

As today even a traditional bow will only very rarely be used for its original purpose (there are still used for hunting in some European countries), I believe the essential skills today for both bow types are the same: the ability to stay calm and focused and the usage of intention to reach the target. And thus it is only a preference of materials.

BTW did you know that the bow has existed and developed for over 10'000 years ...

Andrea

Bellow a modern sports recurve bow and a traditional recurve bow. I for my part prefer the beauty and simplicity of the traditional bow. But it is a choice.

[Kingmonkey]

What is the difference between traditional archery and modern archery?

What is the difference between traditional Kung Fu and modern Wushu ?

[SimonR]

Dear Joko Sisook and friends,

I believe Andrea’s explanation on the differences is very good and the pictures help a lot. What she says about the aims and objectives I believe is very important, and I think that a lot of the high level practitioners of modern archery have the essence of traditional archery in their skill. The Costa Rican national champion practices modern archery but he has studied a lot of traditional Japanese archery, which he considers very important for his practice. It is beautiful to see the state of mind he enters when he is going to shoot an arrow. In different words, he talks about the importance of "zero mind" when you practice archery, and I guess that is a common aspect of most of the "masters" in traditional or modern archery.

(There is a very nice book called "Zen and the art of archery" if someone is interested.)

In that sense, I believe that we can adapt our interests to what we have available, here in Costa Rica, is very difficult to have access to traditional archery, but using a modern arch my emphasis is on presence, calmed mind, intention and joy, I really enjoy it very much. Actually the arch I use is very similar to the one in the picture on the right, as I don’t use the stabilizers or the sight.

What is the difference between traditional Kung Fu and modern Wushu ?

Very interesting question for our Virtual Kwoon, probably you could open another thread on the subject.

Best wishes for all,

Simon

[Kingmonkey]

Zen in the art of archery

Very good book, indeed....