176 Reply by bluelake

(7 replies, posted in Technique)

Hi Anna,

Welcome.  I'm glad you are finding my book useful!

Regarding your question about short distance shooting, the Korean bows can be used quite effectively with either a long or short draw--whatever someone feels comfortable with.  First, though, there is no longer short distance shooting in truly traditional archery in Korea; however, some people/clubs sometimes set up short distance for special occasions and such. 

Having shot both long and short distances with Korean bows, I can speak a little bit about what I found works for me.  I think the biggest obstacle will have to do with archer's paradox (or deflection, depending upon the spine of the arrow), due to the short distance.  For that reason, it is important that the arrow clear the bow directly upon release; in that way, the paradox (or deflection) will not be as exaggerated as it is when the arrow tries to bend around the bow.  So, be sure to grip the bow correctly (diagonally across the palm, as in the book), give power to the lower part of the handle (pushing slightly upward) and, when you release, let the bow pivot in your hand slightly, with the string rotating away from your bow arm.

See how that works for you and please let us know.


Thomas

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177 Reply by bluelake

(5 replies, posted in Thumb Rings)

geoarcher wrote:

I can't tell for sure if a regular horn thumb ring is in use here or if he is using something else:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8oUuAZNKgQ

I have to say, I like how clean his release is plus the stability of his form.  He is rock steady.

He's using a sugakji with a leather guard.

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178 Reply by bluelake

(8 replies, posted in Accessories)

This method works for an average man's hand.  If shooting thumb ring style, find the nocking point on a Korean bow by balancing the string at the bottom of the center serving with a knife-hand, and then flatten your hand to where your pinky finger rests on the serving; that is your nocking point.  Otherwise, it's almost 3" up from the bottom of the serving--a little above even with the top of the grip.

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179 Reply by bluelake

(5 replies, posted in Bows)

lcooper wrote:

Question, Thomas.
I thought that hornbows start manifesting their inherent efficiency at 70# and up?

Or is that the case for other hornbow styles, or a myth?

I never heard that about Korean horn bows, in any case...

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180 Reply by bluelake

(5 replies, posted in Bows)

Although I once had an 80#-plus horn bow crafted many years ago for someone (by my bowyer friend who is now paralyzed), it's not something you will easily get, as it's not a draw weight bowyers here in Korea would ever get a request for locally.

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181 Reply by bluelake

(5 replies, posted in Bows)

It's hard to say what draw weights Koreans used historically, but common weights today are 50-70# for horn bows.

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182 Reply by bluelake

(1 replies, posted in New Member Introductions)

Welcome, Dusan!

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183 Reply by bluelake

(6 replies, posted in Bows)

Mule wrote:

Is this why there's quite often a silk/fabric wrap on this area of the limbs?

Wrapping is usually to shore up core wear in a horn bow; it's a way to stretch out the service life of the bow.

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184 Reply by bluelake

(6 replies, posted in Bows)

It's very common and all bows (even horn bows) eventually have it.  Try shoe wax (recommended to me by a horn bowyer years ago) or similar.

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185 Reply by bluelake

(10 replies, posted in Buy/Sell/Trade)

Henryshoots--check your e-mail.

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186 Reply by bluelake

(2 replies, posted in Bows)

I checked the SMGs I have here and the string lengths are nearly the same as those for YMG.  When strung with a YMG string, the SMG still had a good brace height.

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187 Reply by bluelake

(8 replies, posted in Technique)

WillScarlet wrote:
bluelake wrote:
Kublaicarl wrote:

I have seen a few clips on Youtube where Mongolians are shooting with the arrow on the left hand side of the bow, whilst using a Thumb ring right handed.

Yup, they are the exception.

   
   
   So it IS possible to use a thumb ring that way?    neutral

It's possible, but just not the easiest way for most.

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188 Reply by bluelake

(8 replies, posted in Technique)

Kublaicarl wrote:

I have seen a few clips on Youtube where Mongolians are shooting with the arrow on the left hand side of the bow, whilst using a Thumb ring right handed.

Yup, they are the exception.

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189 Reply by bluelake

(8 replies, posted in Technique)

In most styles of thumb ring archery (Mongolians tend to do it oppositely), the arrow will be on the side of your draw hand (right hand/right side, left hand/left side).

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190 Reply by bluelake

(3 replies, posted in Arrows)

lcooper wrote:

It annoyed me that no one responded to you. I hate it when people do that.

Here's a pic I got from Atarn.net:

Sadly, December 27, 2012 was the day my mom died, so I was kind of out of it for a while (and I didn't see many things that were posted around that time).

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191 Reply by bluelake

(4 replies, posted in North America)

I have, once in a while, heard from people in Florida, but not recently.  If so, I'll be sure to let you know.

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192 Topic by bluelake

(0 replies, posted in General Interest)

Here's an invitation from Col. Kim Ki-hoon (Ret.) for university professor-archers (both Korean and non-Korean) who are in the Seoul area. There will be a meet-up/shoot at Seokhojeong at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 21.

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193 Reply by bluelake

(4 replies, posted in New Member Introductions)

Kublaicarl wrote:

I was continuing to say as well as English longbows I have a few "field" bows (recurve) and my favourite a Grozer Avar, that I've been shooting for the last 18 or so years.  I have ordered a Hwarang Bow from Mr Thomas. D. and have just recently started to shoot with a thumbring.  I look forward to some good discussions, and hope to learn something new.
regards to all
Carl.

Welcome, Carl!

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194 Reply by bluelake

(7 replies, posted in Technique)

Dingo wrote:
bluelake wrote:
Dingo wrote:

Your arguments for tilting the bow are sound and i'd like my technique be as orthodox as it can, i'm just a bit unsure what exactly i need to do to get a clean shot. When Bluelake says dip in the bow and string twist. From what i've seen i think they have a bit of what i'd call a counter twerk going on, that is keeping the bow in line and pulling the string a bit out to the right from the bow? i know bluelake has said that alot of bows in korea are strung so they are right of the center of the bow. Maybe we are talking about the same thing.  I'm not sure if that is right.

Not really so much "string twist" as rotation (the bow--and string--will rotate slightly).

I stil have no idea what you mean, maybe you could make a quick drawing or some form of visual representation. Would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately, as an artist, I'd make a good butcher... (not much talent).  Sometime, I'll try to maybe take some photos to illustrate my point, but I've got a lot on my plate right now.  In the meantime, WillScarlett's suggestion is a good one.

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195 Reply by bluelake

(7 replies, posted in Technique)

Dingo wrote:
storm wrote:

Look at how the modern olympic and compund archers hold their wrist. Because of the grip design of olympic and compound bows, they can have the wrist at a 45 degree angle to the ground and still keep the bow vertical. They do this because that is the natural and strongest position of the wrist in relation to the forearm. With a korean bow, if you keep the wrist in the same position, the bow will be tilted. The amout of tilt depends on how much you can comfortably rotate your elbow, without loosing strength. You should try to find the most comfortable postion of your elbow, forearm and wrist.
I can personally draw stronger bows by using this tilt technique.

Your arguments for tilting the bow are sound and i'd like my technique be as orthodox as it can, i'm just a bit unsure what exactly i need to do to get a clean shot. When Bluelake says dip in the bow and string twist. From what i've seen i think they have a bit of what i'd call a counter twerk going on, that is keeping the bow in line and pulling the string a bit out to the right from the bow? i know bluelake has said that alot of bows in korea are strung so they are right of the center of the bow. Maybe we are talking about the same thing.  I'm not sure if that is right.

Not really so much "string twist" as rotation (the bow--and string--will rotate slightly).

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196 Reply by bluelake

(13 replies, posted in Bows)

Mule wrote:

But that's the thing, you might both be correct (within those two climates).

Average Hungarian summers are 21 degrees Celsius and 60% relative humidty which makes for 11g/m3 absolute humidity.

Average Korean summers on the other hand are 25.5deg/80% in July and 26.5deg/75% in August which makes for 19g/m3 absolute humidity, almost twice as humid as Hungary.

Quick google search told me Koreans set their hotboxes to 27~33 degrees depending on the season, assuming it's set to 33 degrees in the summer months, 19g/m3 at 33 deg lowers the relative humidty to 53%. Which is slightly lower than Hungarian weather but not by much.

This is why I think it might be OK not to store your hornbow in a heatbox if you don't live somewhere as humid as Korea..

It isn't just the humidity.  Koreans also keep their horn bows in heat boxes so the glue and sinew stay soft.

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197 Reply by bluelake

(7 replies, posted in Technique)

Yes, many Koreans will cant the bow towards the arrow side; I do it a little, too.  It is done in combination with a slight dip in the bow and string rotation out upon release.  If done correctly, the arrow leaves the bow cleanly with no deflection (jumping to one side).  Many other factors have to be worked on, too, such as grip, stance, space between string and arm, etc. (form).  With all that said, my personal opinion is if something works for someone, they should continue doing it.

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198 Topic by bluelake

(0 replies, posted in Bows)

Sadly, the traditional archery world has just lost an important family member: Mr. Kwon Young-u (권영우), who was one of only a few Korean horn bow bowyers remaining.

His son's (권홍) FB is https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001441302635

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199 Reply by bluelake

(13 replies, posted in Bows)

Mule wrote:

How necessary is it really to heat box a true hornbow? The reason I ask is I've never heard of Turkish or Mongolian heatboxes for their bows despite sharing the same horn/sinew construction as Korean bows. Lukas Novotny (of Saluki) also says hornbows aren't very vulnerable to moisture, the only problem would be if moisture and heat was combined.

Which makes me wonder, Korean summers are some of the hottest/most humid summers I've ever encountered outside of tropical areas. Could it be the Korean (or other areas with humid summers) climate simply isn't suitable for sinewed bows and that's what makes heat box storage necessary? Turkish summers for instance are very dry, it's blisteringly hot under the sun but very cool if you find some shade.

I'm toying with the idea of getting a hornbow and basically I'm wondering if all this trouble is really necessary in western Europe with relatively low humidity and mild summers.

Lukas and I argued that point back twenty years ago; he was quite angry with me when I said otherwise.  Horn bows--Korean horn bows, for sure--are susceptible to moisture.  Korean fletchers will obtain broken bows from Korean bowyers in order to soak the bows to recover the sinew for wrapping bamboo arrow nocks.  Korean archers using horn bows will still shoot on wet days, but will take care to keep them dry.  Korean climates can vary from very cold and dry to wet and hot.

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200 Reply by bluelake

(4 replies, posted in General Interest)

silentwind wrote:

I noticed there were only a few. Well, I doubt anyone I know has enough clout; Jeju is the island of exiles and outcasts after all. I guess I'm a 25th Dan then.

Thanks.

Well, you will certainly be one-of-a-kind anywhere in the world with a 25th dan...  smile

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