archery articles Archery News

MOLECULAR ENGINEERING ON THE STEPPE

The Biopolymer Revolution – Molecular Engineering on the Steppe The steppe composite bow is often viewed merely as an ethnographic artifact, yet from an engineering perspective, it represents humanity’s first true composite structure. Thousands of years before the advent of carbon-fiber technology, master bowyers had already developed an Interpenetrating Polymer Network (IPN) that optimized energy storage and release at a molecular level. The Composite Matrix: Horn, Sinew, and the “Biomatrix” The structural integrity of the bow is derived from the synergy of three primary materials. This is not simply a…

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Hungarian style three-finger draw
archery articles Archery News

THE TECHNIQUE OF ARCHERY

MANY OF US HAVE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF WATCHING ARCHERY ON TELEVISION OR IN MOVIES. WE MIGHT EVEN HAVE HANDLED A BOW OURSELVES WHEN WE WERE YOUNG. FROM THIS WE KNOWTHAT, FOR A RIGHT HANDED ARCHER, THE RECURVE BOW IS HELD IN THE LEFT HAND, WHILST THE RIGHT HAND PLACES (“NOCKS”) THE ARROW ONTO THE STRING, AND DRAWS IT BACK, TOGETHER WITH THE ARROW, UNDER TENSION. THIS TENSION IS FINALLY RELEASED TO ENABLE THE ARROW TO FLY THROUGH THE AIR TO ITS TARGET. However, it’s certainly the case that fewer people…

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New Nomad Laminated Tatar recurve bow
archery articles Archery News

PRACTISING THE ART OF ARCHERY FIGHTING

THE SKILL OF BATTLING ON HORSEBACK REQUIRED CONSTANT PRACTICE. ONLY THOSE WHO HAD ACQUIRED THEIR RIDING SKILLS AS A CHILD, AND HAD SPENT MOST OF THEIR LIVES ON HORSEBACK, COULD REMAIN IN THE SADDLE TIRELESSLY, FOLLOWING TRACKLESS PATHS FOR HOURS AND HOURS, AND ONLY THOSE WITH EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THEIR HORSES UNDER CONTROL IN TAUTSITUATIONS. THEREFORE THE USE OF WEAPONS ON HORSEBACK, ESPECIALLY DRAWING THE ARROW AND TAKING AIM, DEMANDED CONTINUOUS PRACTISE. Chinese historians recorded that the Hun used to teach their children how to ride on…

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Grozer hand-painted Turkish bow
archery articles Archery News

STRINGING THE TRADITIONAL RECURVE BOWS

WARRIORS AND HUNTERS CARRIED THEIR MOST DEVELOPED WEAPON, THE MANCHURIAN-TYPE BOW, BRACED, JUST AS THEY DID WITH ITS PREDECESSORS, THE MONGOLIAN, THE HUNGARIAN, AND THE SCYTHIAN BOWS. AFTER USAGE THEY WOULD UNSTRUNG THE BOW AND SLID IT INTO A LEATHER COVER/SACK LIKE THE PROTECTING SACK OF AN UMBRELLA. To be able to maintain and restore the “reflexive” curvature of the bow, they used a wooden rack, or stand, specifically developed for this: here, the bow rested when it wasn’t in use. When they wanted to use it, they would have…

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Traditional Assyrian composite horn bow
archery articles Archery News

THE BONE TIP BOW

BOWS WITH BONE-TIPS HADN’T BEEN BURIED IN THE GRAVES OF THE SCYTHIAN ERA NOR IN EUROPE NEITHER IN ASIA. THIS CHANGED, HOWEVER, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHRISTIAN ERA, AROUND THE DAWN OF THE 1ST CENTURY. IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORIES OF TODAY’S MONGOLIA, AND TO THE WEST FROM THE LAKE BAIKAL, ‘TABLE-TOMPS’ (GRAVES COVERED BY STONE-TILES) WERE FREQUENT, WHICH, ACCORDING TO THE ARCHAEOLOGIST, DATE BACK TO THE 3RD—2ND CENTURY BC. THEY ARE CONSIDERED TO BE THE EARLIEST RECORDS OF THE ASIAN CUMANS.  IT WAS FROM THESE GRAVES THAT THE EARLIEST…

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Grozer Assyrian bow and primitive arrows
archery articles Archery News

NATIONAL HUNTS AND WARGAMES

THE YEARLY WARGAMES AND THE CULTIC, NATIONAL HUNTS OR WARGAMES AND CHASES PLAYED A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MAINTAINING THE HUNTERS’ BATTLE SKILLS. THE KITAJ HUNTS OPENED WITH A SPECIFIC CEREMONY, A PRAYER ADDRESSED TO THE GREAT SUN GOD. The territory selected for the ritual games had already been marked out the day before the event. After the prayer, the huntsmen were divided into two groups. At certain points in the hunts, there were ritual libations. The manoeuvres and exercises carried out in files were conducted by commanders.  Since the hunts…

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