Since the 3rd century archers who used the thumb technique have worn a thumb ring for protection. These rings were made out of metals such as bronze, iron and silver, out of stones like jade, nephrite and jasper or even simply out of leather. High-ranking individuals wore a ring out of gold or ivory on special occasions – these were often richly decorated with jewels and ornaments. There were many different shapes of ring that varied by region....
“The hand of man has never wielded a weapon more perfect than the bow” Hadith In addition to the popular, so-called “Mediterranean” technique for drawing the string using the index, middle and ring finger, there is also a method for drawing the bow that involves the thumb, which is still used in Asia today. This was the technique employed by many traditional riding people such as the Mongols, Tartars and Huns. Even in Turkey and...
Traditional, intuitive archery Why intuitive archery ? In our daily life we do many things intuitively without thinking about it. We reach for a full mug of coffee without knocking it over or we throw a scrunched up piece of paper into the rubbish bin. We don’t have to think about how to carry out these movements, we just do them – intuitively. The term “intuition” is related to perception and insight. It is the ability to make...
The techniques I want to show you on these pages are no longer considered up-to-date and have generally become obsolete. However in the days when a bow and arrow was an effective long-distance weapon, these techniques were very important: mastering them often meant the difference between winning and losing a battle. The Ottomans and Persians in particular perfected these skills to an art form, attempting to outperform each other to gain an advantage in...
The first time I held a real bow in my hand I was immediately fascinated by it. It transported me back to my childhood, the last time I had held a “bow” in my hands. At that time it was just a stick of hazel wood…
These days there is very little time for people to think about themselves – and this is where archery comes in. Archery gives you the opportunity to learn a new sport that allows you to relax, trains your ability to concentrate and to become centred.
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