"Putting aside the strength training required to be able to shoot a medieval longbow it is still a far more involved hobby than many realise."
Your first bow
It used to be that you would be better off making your first bow as so few bow makers would take orders for heavy longbows. Now there are bowyers making close replicas but it is still not a good idea to immediately order a 150lb self Yew bow and struggle to work into it. Most strong, non-sedentary people will be best ordering a bow between 80-100lb. The bow should be just beyond your strength and it should force you to develop a good technique. If you can pull the bow too easily you will never develop the tendon strength or muscle memory needed to pull real weights. Expect to stay on a particular weight for a year and budget for one new bow a year if possible. Jumps of 20lb are possible but it is best to order the next bow at 10lb heavier when you get to higher weights.
This is my bow weight progression. I have included the Victorian style longbow as at the higher weights they are still useful for training.
56lb Victorian bow - bought
80lb laminate for 4 months - self made
90lb laminate for 6 months - self made
110lb laminate (which I struggled with initially) for 5 months self made
110lb horsebow, this was an excellent training bow and was key in gaining strength - bought
130lb self Yew bow, a massive struggle for 5/6 months then my 'everydaybow' - bought
150lb laminate, I made a couple of difference laminate bows of this weight. broken collar bone happens at this point I have never tried to go over this weight.
My steps were often too large but this was between ages 16-20 and so my budget was limited and I tried to save money.
Technique
Having been around lots of very different people shooting warbow it is clear there are unique styles in drawing these bows. This is most often decided by arm to shoulder ratio. In short, short arms and wide shoulders are useful and allow you to leaver your right arm and engage more of your back. Those with longer arms and narrower shoulders often have to draw higher and develop a 'pull-up', I describe it as tearing a phone book in half or a sideways pull up. You engage your back as much as possible to move your elbows away from each other. If you are starting out, find someone who shoots a heavy bow and is similar to your body shape and copy them.
The basics to remember are keep your left arms slightly bent or as bent as you are physically strong enough to manage, never straighten your left (bow) arm totally. (the image above shows me pulling a 130lb Yew bow, although I am happy with the weight the left arm is slightly too straight, my right arm is in a good position and I am drawing 30", which is the customers draw length, I would look better with a 29" draw. Keep both shoulders down, try not to shrug as you shoot as this is a hard habit to break. Your right hand (drawing hand) should come level with your eyes as you draw the bow back and should end with most of the weight on your index finger, (but not all) your thumb on that hand should be very close to your shoulder joint at full draw. Many people successfully draw less than this but there is a natural position where at full draw your right elbow is below your right hand and, like a ratchet strap, you will find this position very strong. Ideally you should draw level to the ground initially and if shooting for distance once at full draw move your hips to the right elevation. If you cannot move your hips at full draw you need to work on your core mobility.
When loosing your fingers can lose you all the power of the bow, your index finger especially if it releases slowing can effectively reduce your draw length but hindering the speed of the string, as you loose try to move your right hand back in time with your body motion going forwards slightly. Your left arms should push forwards on the shot. Many people fling their bow down (I did this to) when they loose as this would indicate that your left arm is too locked-out and not actively pushing the bow away.
The bow should be just slightly off perpendicular, a slight cant is needed because our hand naturally wants to sit slightly turned in (around 10 degrees).
The heavier the bow you shoot the more your body will compress. If you have a 30" draw length with a 80lb bow at full draw you are likely to have a 28" draw with a 140lb. It takes time to develop the strength and conditioning to be able to shoot these bows are often when you can 'pull' the bow fully you are still not 'shooting' the bow properly. There is a big difference between pulling and shooting and you should avoid going for heavy weights before you are happy with your technique. Ideally the only bow you should struggle with both strength and technique is your first bow, after that you should only be developing your strength. An example: the current world record holding archer using the exact same bow and arrows as a beginner or intermediate archer will get 80-100yds further when shooting for distance. Often new archers blame the bow or arrows for poor distances but it is mostly down to good technique. A good 130lb bow shooting correctly matches arrows will be able to achieve distances well over 260 yds. The record stands well over 300yds.
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