1 (edited by KTJ 2012-04-02 20:24:31)

Topic: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Ahneonghaseyo! Greetings from the US!

As the topic says I am new and interested in Korean Archery, more for the practical side of it than the traditional side. The Korean bow seems to be the most efficient and compact.
My interest first came when I was back visiting Korea and my family and I went to an Archery Museum.

My first question is, where does one start to learn the How of Archery Korean and in general? I have played around with a standard recurve hunting bow that was in our basement but nothing formal.

Second, what bows (non-traditional materials) are available for purchase in the US? Doesn't have to be pretty, looking for durability in one that doesn't mind beating around the bush for day in warm or cold or wet weather.

Third, (related to the first) How do I know what size, what weight, etc? I am 5'11 or 180 cm, slender but firm build. The hunting bow I played with was 45#.

Any and all suggestions greatly appreciated!

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

hey there
the kaya bows should be aqvaible for you, and fit your needs pretty much

you start by shooting, its that simple im my eyes
i guess you want to shoot with thumbring or glove?
there are some videos on youtube that explain it, and if you are intrested, i qill make one yjust vor you.

size is normaly the 50" windfighter or 48" ktb
drawweight depends on your needs,
recreational or also hunting?

Phil

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Warbeast wrote:

hey there
the kaya bows should be aqvaible for you, and fit your needs pretty much

you start by shooting, its that simple im my eyes
i guess you want to shoot with thumbring or glove?
there are some videos on youtube that explain it, and if you are intrested, i qill make one yjust vor you.

size is normaly the 50" windfighter or 48" ktb
drawweight depends on your needs,
recreational or also hunting?

Phil

Thanks

Probably a thumbring, more convenient than a glove. Is it really necessary? For practicing I can see the benefits, but in the field it seems like it might get lost easily.
In actual use, more recreation than hunting, but I don't want to make any sacrifices in hunting if you know what I mean. Basically hunting specs all the way, but traditional korean profile.
Youtube video with basics would be great. I don't want to start with bad habits right away!

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

KTJ wrote:
Warbeast wrote:

hey there
the kaya bows should be aqvaible for you, and fit your needs pretty much

you start by shooting, its that simple im my eyes
i guess you want to shoot with thumbring or glove?
there are some videos on youtube that explain it, and if you are intrested, i qill make one yjust vor you.

size is normaly the 50" windfighter or 48" ktb
drawweight depends on your needs,
recreational or also hunting?

Phil

Thanks

Probably a thumbring, more convenient than a glove. Is it really necessary? For practicing I can see the benefits, but in the field it seems like it might get lost easily.
In actual use, more recreation than hunting, but I don't want to make any sacrifices in hunting if you know what I mean. Basically hunting specs all the way, but traditional korean profile.
Youtube video with basics would be great. I don't want to start with bad habits right away!

A thumb ring isn't required and they are often shot with fingers (and used by many trad hunters).  Also, Korean traditional bows are center-strung, so they can be shot off either side.

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

I knew that many people successfully adopt western shooting style with asiatic bows.
Korean bow is shorter than most modern recurve bows, you may found string angle become a problem with your 3 fingers style. Compared to longbow, no-shelf+highly reflex build of KTB also amplified small shooting mistakes to a large error. You may found these points are annoying during your early practice.

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

sissara wrote:

I knew that many people successfully adopt western shooting style with asiatic bows.
Korean bow is shorter than most modern recurve bows, you may found string angle become a problem with your 3 fingers style. Compared to longbow, no-shelf+highly reflex build of KTB also amplified small shooting mistakes to a large error. You may found these points are annoying during your early practice.

Well I am not completely unfamiliar with the Korean Thumb release. It is just that I would need to build up a bit more tolerance for it first. 3 joints are stronger than one, so it takes a little getting used to. But in order to take full advantage of the long draw length I would need to use the thumb release

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Here are some of the bows that I have seen coming up over and over again.
The Kaya,
The Hwarang
and the Windfighter.

What are all your preferences on these? Again it will be used as a hunting bow, often in less than ideal conditions and needs to hold up well to abuse

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

my windfihgters took avery abuse i gave them
even 36inch draws
so  in no moment i would worry about my workhorse
and a 500grain arrow gets propelled impressively

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

So does anyone have experience with multiple bows? For example why one over another, And where can I buy them in the US? Why is the hwarang so expensive?

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

KTJ wrote:

Why is the hwarang so expensive?

Actually, it's only expensive in a relative sense to certain bows; it's comparable in price to others in its class.  The bows I sell are of the highest quality, made with the best-quality materials, by a master Korean bowyer; plus shipping from Korea is included in the purchase price.  Remember the old adage--you get what you pay for.

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Warbeast wrote:

my windfihgters took avery abuse i gave them
even 36inch draws
so  in no moment i would worry about my workhorse
and a 500grain arrow gets propelled impressively

Warbeast, i watched some of your shootings in the youtube, and got impressed by its speed and performance,( i'm talking about the Windfighter), although this model is quite underrated in comparison to the other two Kaya models the KTA and the Kahn, i'd go for the Windfighter as my first choice, a horseback archer from Germany also recommended this one as a great shooter, where could i find it in the USA? I wrote to the greatree store, but so far no replay. What poundage would you recommend for shooting at 3D competitions in which targets are 52 meters away? What arrows do you use, and the size has any influence? Thanks in Advance,
Gabriel
Brazil

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Gabriel, do you do horseback archery or are you a foot archer?  If you shoot on horseback, get a Windfighter that has a draw weight 40% to 50% below your maximum draw effort: for example, you normally shoot 70# on foot and 35# should be your draw weight on horseback.  Just like the KTB, the Windfighter is available in a 60# version.

What is your draw length?  Do you draw to 33" or more?  The Windfighter is the bigger version of the KTB.

For arrows, you might want to try bamboo or Goldtip 34" carbon shafts.

Gabriel wrote:
Warbeast wrote:

my windfihgters took avery abuse i gave them
even 36inch draws
so  in no moment i would worry about my workhorse
and a 500grain arrow gets propelled impressively

Warbeast, i watched some of your shootings in the youtube, and got impressed by its speed and performance,( i'm talking about the Windfighter), although this model is quite underrated in comparison to the other two Kaya models the KTA and the Kahn, i'd go for the Windfighter as my first choice, a horseback archer from Germany also recommended this one as a great shooter, where could i find it in the USA? I wrote to the greatree store, but so far no replay. What poundage would you recommend for shooting at 3D competitions in which targets are 52 meters away? What arrows do you use, and the size has any influence? Thanks in Advance,
Gabriel
Brazil

Thumbs up

Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Warbow, i don´t know my draw length and even if it was, say 32" and the max length of a bow is 28" i´d have to respect that, i´m a foot archer but intend to try some horseback shootings in the future, i was thinking of getting a 45 to 50 # it can be used for either 3D or horseback archery, i read the draw is smoother in comparison to ordinary bows. Is this bow resistant? Thanks for commenting.

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Gabriel,

The KTB is capable of 33" of draw, while the Windfighter is around 36".

Gabriel wrote:

Warbow, i don´t know my draw length and even if it was, say 32" and the max length of a bow is 28" i´d have to respect that, i´m a foot archer but intend to try some horseback shootings in the future, i was thinking of getting a 45 to 50 # it can be used for either 3D or horseback archery, i read the draw is smoother in comparison to ordinary bows. Is this bow resistant? Thanks for commenting.

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15 (edited by KTJ 2012-04-11 23:35:32)

Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

So what is the difference between the KTB, and Windfighter. It seems like the only ones available here in the US are the Kaya and the Hwarang.

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16

Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

bluelake wrote:
KTJ wrote:

Why is the hwarang so expensive?

Actually, it's only expensive in a relative sense to certain bows; it's comparable in price to others in its class.  The bows I sell are of the highest quality, made with the best-quality materials, by a master Korean bowyer; plus shipping from Korea is included in the purchase price.  Remember the old adage--you get what you pay for.

What size would you recommend for someone as myself? Height and weight? I don't think that I would be able to afford 2 bows, one to learn and one to use for hunting. (College student life)

I know of a few people who go back and forth Korea, would it be cheaper to have someone bring one back with them?

Thumbs up

Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

KTJ wrote:
bluelake wrote:
KTJ wrote:

Why is the hwarang so expensive?

Actually, it's only expensive in a relative sense to certain bows; it's comparable in price to others in its class.  The bows I sell are of the highest quality, made with the best-quality materials, by a master Korean bowyer; plus shipping from Korea is included in the purchase price.  Remember the old adage--you get what you pay for.

What size would you recommend for someone as myself? Height and weight? I don't think that I would be able to afford 2 bows, one to learn and one to use for hunting. (College student life)

I know of a few people who go back and forth Korea, would it be cheaper to have someone bring one back with them?

The draw weight would, as Warbeast mentioned above, depend a lot upon its use, but also what you are capable of drawing.  If you are going to use it for hunting, you need a minimum of what the legal draw weight is.  The weight should be something you can draw back to anchor and hold for five seconds without difficulty.

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18 (edited by jbl 2012-04-12 04:15:55)

Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

One thing about draw weight and holding.  I believe it should be holding under the stress of the shot meaning when you are aiming at something.  I can hold a lot of weight when I am just concentrating on the weight but put me in front of a target and even though I have the strength to hold the bow forever when I am concentrating on the target I notice the weight more. 

I hope that makes sense what I am basically saying is be careful with the weight; physically being able to hold the weight and mentally be able to hold the weight and complete your shot process might be two different things.

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

jbl wrote:

One thing about draw weight and holding.  I believe it should be holding under the stress of the shot meaning when you are aiming at something.  I can hold a lot of weight when I am just concentrating on the weight but put me in front of a target and even though I have the strength to hold the bow forever when I am concentrating on the target I notice the weight more. 

I hope that makes sense what I am basically saying is be careful with the weight; physically being able to hold the weight and mentally be able to hold the weight and complete your shot process might be two different things.

True, but a minimum of being able to hold a bow without difficulty is important, whether or not one is aiming at something.  When drawing a bow, one does not always have a situation where a target can be aimed at (for instance, in a house).  If one's arm starts shaking within the few seconds of holding it at anchor, it might mean one needs to build up to that weight and start out with a lower weight.

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Re: Need Info! New to Korean Bows and Archery

Gabriel wrote:
Warbeast wrote:

my windfihgters took avery abuse i gave them
even 36inch draws
so  in no moment i would worry about my workhorse
and a 500grain arrow gets propelled impressively

Warbeast, i watched some of your shootings in the youtube, and got impressed by its speed and performance,( i'm talking about the Windfighter), although this model is quite underrated in comparison to the other two Kaya models the KTA and the Kahn, i'd go for the Windfighter as my first choice, a horseback archer from Germany also recommended this one as a great shooter, where could i find it in the USA? I wrote to the greatree store, but so far no replay. What poundage would you recommend for shooting at 3D competitions in which targets are 52 meters away? What arrows do you use, and the size has any influence? Thanks in Advance,
Gabriel
Brazil

took alittle
i use powerflight 340 from 30 up to 32 inches
i likie the powerflight couse there are cheap and tough enough for me

personaly i like the shorter 30 draw with 250 grain tip and 650grains overall the most
rock solid, silent and a bit forgiving

if you are intrested in a longer draw (33"+) i would go with a lower poundage
for example, 35 or 40 @30 inches
mine has 50 and climbs up to 70#+ on 34"inches
managable yes, but precise shooting, no

with 50 or 55# @34" would be my advice

and arrows depenting to your draw lenght, i'm gonna try the 34" timberstiks soon, more for my yumi, as 400er spine is to weak for my kaya

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