Korean Archery

[Sir Michael]

I don't know nuthin' about nuthin' when it comes to bent sticks so having said this here goes.

I was watching a Korean movie the other night and it revolved around an archer.  Is several scenes he used a "U" shaped channel to hold his arrow while shooting very long ranges and for shooting very short arrows.  What gives? :?  :?

[Fletcher]

Was he also shooting off the opposite side of the bow from what you would consider
'normal' and was he using a thumb ring for the draw?

All of these differences are common with archery in the 'far east'

What was the name of the Movie? - sounds like something I would like to see.

[Sir Michael]

The name of the movie is "War of the Arrows".
He appears to use it to shoot arrows too short to reach from the drawn string and the bow.
He holds the channel piece just as he would an arrow.
There is a string loop attached to the channel piece which he wraps around the fingers of the hand pulling the string so that when the string is released the arrow knocked on the string slides along channel face while it remains in the drawn position.

Like I said I don't know nuttin' about nuttin' in regards to this subject.  Just curious.

There was also a pure Hollywood or what ever feature that was a cornerstone of the action in addition to the channel device.  The protagonist also used a technique of rotating the arrow and string 90 deg. putting a spin on the arrow and making it curve around obstacles to hit hidden targets.  But I assume that that part is pure fantasy like whipping a pistol to make the bullet curve in flight.

[Spotted Bull]

But I assume that that part is pure fantasy like whipping a pistol to make the bullet curve in flight.

You mean Anjolina Jolie can't really do that?


I'm gonna have to find that movie...sounds interesting.

[Cannonball]

It was probably a representation of an early "overdraw". We know that there have been several civilizations over the past centuries that have utilized a "table" over the forearm of the Bow hand. This allows a much shorter arrow to be shot off the bow which provides an extended cast. I have seen research on the Turkish tribes and some of the "Near East" tribes during the last 1000 years that have used the same thing. The Turks and Scythians were reknowned for casting arrows from their bows over 900 yards. Imagine being an army just over the horizon and wake up to arrows raining down on you and you can't see the enemy.

[Uncle Russ]

Cannonball is dead right.  

When I first read this, I thought "Over Draw".

I don't want to hi-jack your thread, but I do have a story you "might" be interested in

Back in the early days when I was shooting bows with training wheels, I had such a set up on my bow.
I could actually shoot a 19"..... dart.
"Supposedly" the thought was you could shoot a much shorter,and much lighter in weight arrow, at an increased velocity, and somewhat flatten the trajectory, and extend your accuracy range....at least that is what I thought conventional wisdom was saying at the time.

This may work, and it may work just fine, but I think it deals mostly with theory and very little with practical applications...especially with us guys with a short 28" draw.

I don't mean to be saying anything bad about the principal, as I still see overdraws on modern hunting bows, and those using them praise them highly.
But then again, they live in a world that is a wee bit different than mine.
I just can't imagine what my Muzzleloading friends would have to say if I showed up with that old outfit that I was once so proud of back then....ever heard of Tar & Feathers?

Uncle Russ...

[Sir Michael]

[Fletcher]

I had my sons pull up the movie on NETFLIX but it was all in Korean or whatever with
subtitles and they said 'NO WAY'  So we went on to a medieval knight movie called Ironclad.  
May try to get through it some other time without them just to see the archers stuff.  

[Spotted Bull]

Ironclad is a pretty good movie!

[Sir Michael]

Did you at least scroll through to the parts where the "over draw" was used?

[bluelake]

I was happily surprised to see this thread.  I know the movie well; although it was called in English, "War of the Arrows", the actual Korean title is "Bow: The Ultimate Weapon".  

The device you are talking about is called a "tong-ah" in Korean; it is a bamboo overdraw.  The half-size arrows are called "pyeonjeon" (or sometimes "aegisal" or "baby arrow").  I have shot one for many years and they are quite amazing.  With a 50# bow, it shot about 283fps.  Once, I shot an arrow about 1,700 ft. (over a ski hill).  At close distances, the arrow will blow through bag targets.

Attached are two photos; one is of a Korean dressed in Joseon dynasty military uniform shooting the tong-ah and the other is me shooting one (about a decade ago).

Thomas
http://www.koreanarchery.org

[Sir Michael]

I was hoping you would find this discussion.  Thanks.   :lol:

[bluelake]

I was hoping you would find this discussion.  Thanks.   :lol:

Twisting the string (rotating the wrist in towards the bow) is a necessary action to "lock" the arrow; it pushes the shaft into the body of the bow, so that it will not move.  As for curving around an obstruction...

[Sir Michael]

Imagine that.