General Archery
Traditional Archery - Archery Equipment
By Shawn Burgy
May 3, 2009 - 5:07:46 PM

No one can be for certain how it all came about, It's very unlikely that anyone will ever know for sure on the exact history. The facts are, The Bow is a device in which stores human muscle power and energy. This energy or power is in a bent stick or sections of bone until this energy is released and imparted to a straight stick that we call an arrow. Great energy is taken from the arm muscles and back of the archer, to draw the bow, this energy is stored in the arm's of our bows. A bit of energy is lost due to inertia, friction and vibrations as our bow is drawn, more is lost as we release the string and the energy is pulled through the arrow.

Originally the string was usually made of some type of linen, Today this has been replaced by new synthetics. This has reduced the need for constant tuning of the bow as it is being shot, this perhaps reducing the vibration amount in the setup. Therefore bows can be made to a lighter weight; our arrows are also more consistent and straighter with each shot taken. These physical actions however are the same as they were when the early peoples began gathering food in this manner.

The most familiar traditional style of bow is the English Longbow, This would be the bow similar to those that the legendary Robin Hood would have used in Sherwood Forest, Nottinghamshire, England. These were very large, heavy-weight-drawn bows, they require considerable muscle strength to have drawn and shoot. Examples of these old traditional Longbows place them between 5 to 6 feet long, there draw weights are a respective 80, 90 and even 100 pounds. There are some of these examples even heavier than that. Only the beat and strongest archers could even consider trying to shoot these massive beasts, Still considering, they must have been effective.

English Long bowmen traditional archers. were indeed helpful in winning many a battle against enemy's, even at an outnumbered defensive. Some of these ancient longbows are still available for study, Indicating that the archer experimented with the basic design and gave each its own personal setup. Todays traditional longbow shooter usually “prefers to shoot from the shelf,” there have been early attempts at moving the arrow rest closer to the center of the bow. When shooting from the shelf, This means that the arrow is rested against the body of the bow itself or resting on the archers hand. One would have to assume that the archer was wearing some type of glove, this of course would have been to protect the archers hand from a high power pull from string to arrow. This would have meant that the feather fletching would have passed straight over the thumb and forefinger. As we look at this from many angles, The Longbow shooter must put lots of muscle into the draw and the release procedure, Theres no relaxing until the arrow is completely away.

We learn that the bow doesn't just belong to Robin Hood or William Tell but to all of us.

If its only to read and study about the history of Archery.

It still holds a lot of information and learning potential for your mind to develop on something new.

Get the Cat Scratch Fever, See the potential and learn about Archery today.