Traditional Archery - History of Archery

Traditional Archery

There are two classical traditions in archery, the occidental and the oriental. The occidental form of traditional archery uses wooden bows that look like a straight staff. A shrinking bowstring can damage the bow, so the bow is unstrung when not in use. The bow is made of yew, willow or lemon wood.The arrow is made from beech or boxwood, and is quite rigid,fletched with three fin-like feathers, painted with color rings to identify its owner. The points are bronze, brass or steel. Many types of bows are used in oriental archery and the arrow is typically long, slender and flexible.

In traditional archery, the bows are generally made of elastic materials, held bent and drawn by a string attached to the ends of the limbs. The Asian and Arab traditional bows are made of thin layers of horn and softened sinew glued to a central core of wood. They are shorter (42”-72”) than their European counterparts (60”-78”). The Japanese bow measured up to 84” in length. For a right-handed Asian archer, the arrow would rest on the right side of the handpiece. For those using a finger release, a right-handed archer will have the arrow resting on the left side of the grip. Arrows were fired from horseback. European, African and American Indian traditional bows were intended for use from the ground, though American Indians used shorter bows effectively from horseback.

Bowstrings were made of hemp, silk or gut and either twisted or plaited with beeswax to make it waterproof. Arrows were usually made of single length of wood, but sometimes, different types of wood were spliced together to enhance the properties of the arrow. Arrow flights were almost always made of feather.

Clout shooting, popinjay, wand shooting,butt shooting, flight shooting and speed shooting are the various traditional archery competitions.

History of Archery

Archery (Traditional Archery and Target Archery) is an ancient art still practiced in modern times. The bow and arrow has been man’s means of subsistence and existence in the ancient times, providing safety, food and raw materials. Archery has played an important role in the civilizations of the world. Egyptians, Assyrians, Hittites, are all known to have been skilled archers. The term ‘parting shot’ is said to have derived from the Parthians ability to shoot backwards from a galloping horse. It was the major weapon of defense in England for centuries. Legends tell of the exploits of Robin Hood and William Tell using the bow and arrow. English longbows played an important role in the battles of Crecy and Agincourt in France in the 14th century. A royal decree in 1863 required all Englishmen to practice archery on Sundays and other holidays. The advent of gunpowder saw a decline in the use of the bow and arrow, but archery continued to thrive as a sport. Archery tournaments can be traced back to England.In the history of archery Competitions were held as a part of community festivals in the 17th century.

Target Archery

Traditional Target archery equipment consists of recurve bows with limbs made of laminated wood and fiberglass or carbon fibers,metal, wood, or carbon composite risers, carbon or aluminum carbon compound arrows. Plastic vanes or real feathers could be used in for fletches. The angle of attack should be very small to ensure that the airflow comes to the same side on each vane. The nocks can be attached to the arrow in two ways: either put the nock onto the cone at the end of the arrow or use insert type nocks. The bowstrings can be made of Dacron, Aramid fibers or polyethylene fibers. The target face consists of ten rings composed of five different colors. The scoring is done from the inner ring to the outer ring in the following order: 10,9 (gold), 8,7 (red), 6,5 (blue), 4,3 (black), 2,1 (white).

National Archery Association

J. Maurice and William H. Thompson formed the National Archery Association of the United States in 1879 at Crawfordsville,Indiana. The National Archery Association conducts challenging tournaments and shoots, training camps, and provides coach certifications and other opportunities. The official publications provide the latest news and results of all that is happening in the exciting sport in the Untied States. The Association has various membershiplevels, from students to professionals.

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