Author Archives: 2020

Team 2020 Archery at The European Archery Festival 2014

This piece is by 2020 Archery Club Member Kim Li – huge thanks to Kim for writing this account of his experience at the European Archery Festival.

Friday 24 January 2014 – Day One

7.30am – It’s an early start today as I have to pick up Roger and Sarah from the station for a three hour drive to Telford. Sarah’s just texted to say they are running late as Roger has forgotten his ID so the day is already off to a good start…! Half way into the journey I have a sudden panic attack. Did I pack all my documents? I know I have my GNAS card and photo ID on me but what about my entry ticket? Do I turn around? Not likely. Professor Sarah wisely points out that we can check at a service station. 20 mins later my worries are gone. I packed it after all. I’m already a nervous wreck and I haven’t even arrived at the venue yet!

12.30pm – Wahay! Mr SATNAV has not let us down. We arrive at our hotels and the International Centre in one piece. We’ve plumped for the hotels which are right next door to the venue. Sarah and Roger are in the International which is about a 4 minute walk from the venue. I’m another minute down the road in the Holiday Inn. The rooms are pricier but it’s so much more convenient. And the hotels are very well kitted out. There’s a bar, restaurant, gym and pool. I can see I’m gonna like it here. However, check-in isn’t until 2pm. So, what do three young archers do at their first competition? They go shopping at the trade fair! Bring on the new kit!

OMG! We’ve just seen the targets and the shooting line. The targets look so small and miles away. What have we got ourselves into? Maybe entering the competition wasn’t a smart move.

12.45pm – New finger tab acquired. Hello Fivics!

12.50pm – Bump into Claire Conner and Richard Poole. They are busy getting some arrows downrange in the practice area. They are scheduled to be first in our group of intrepid archers to shoot in the competition. Claire looks relaxed. Richard … well I don’t think relaxed is the word I’d use. Only two nights ago we found out that Richard had been assigned the target face between Brady Ellison and Jake Kaminski. No pressure there then!

Hey look it’s Fadil, another 2020 member. He’s not here to shoot but has made the journey to support us. Good man! We do our best to persuade him to buy some gear. I think he’s got his eye on the KG Archery stand …

13.00pm – Brady Ellison! The man himself has arrived … we’re all staring at him! Ladies and Gents, we’re in the presence of an Olympian and World Champion! We also spot Aida Roman of Mexico. Sarah is due to shoot right next to her! No pressure Professor!

As Claire and Richard go off to the main hall others from 2020 start to arrive. Trent, Karine, Akos and others all arrive with various levels of nervousness and trepidation. Well, maybe not Karine. She’s done this thing before. My first and only foray into the food offerings of the International Centre leaves me … hungry. Next time I’m bringing a stove and a wok!

2.00pm – Claire and Richard shoot their first arrows whilst we check into our rooms. I must admit, I like the Holiday Inn. The rooms are very well fitted out and the facilities in the hotel are top notch. There’s even a spa and pool!

2.05pm – Danielle Brown! I swear I’ve just spotted Danielle Brown in the reception area getting a beverage from Costa.

2.08pm – Rick van der Ven! On the way to the hotel we bump into Rick van der Ven in the car park. He seems to be in a hurry to get to the practice range. Both me and Roger are showing unheard of levels of excitement at the Dutch archer’s presence. Such a moment necessitated a fist bump!

I return back to the main hall to catch Claire and Richard finish their sighting rounds and start scoring.

That’s Richard sandwiched between 2 archery legends!

Rather than sit up in the stands I decide to hover behind the coaching line and provide moral or logistical support wherever I can. Both shooters seem OK. Richard is doing an exceptional job despite his position.

5.50pm – The next session starts. Sarah, Roger, Trent, Akos and Bryn are all up for their moment of glory. Again I hover on the coaching line to add my support. Bryn is first to flag me down, about half way through the session. He needs chocolate. Unfortunately I am not in my usual archery setup so I have none to hand. A quick visit to the food hall results in water and kitkats for those who need it. Then Akos throws a polite come hither at me. He needs a pen to mark his arrows. Again, my casual spectator setup doesn’t include a pen. In an unusual moment of clarity I decide to visit the expo stands. Surely one of them has a pot of pens to give away as a freebie … nope. Not a single one. We have wristbands and t-shirts but no pens. Luckily Bow International save the day and kindly donate a biro.

Wow, Brady Ellison has come down to watch and support some archers. I find myself standing next to him … AWESOME! I even get to exchange a few words with him.

I sneak in a cheeky photo op with the big man himself!

9.00pm – The final arrow of the night is shot. I’m not there to see it as I am at the station waiting for my beloved Ceri to arrive. The weather has moved on from slight drizzle to heavy rain. Just another day in Telford then.

That’s more than 3 hours for 60 arrows. I’m beginning to feel concerned as it usually takes me 2 hours at most to shoot my 60. And I know my own endurance levels will only last for two hours. Thank God I’m not shooting today and I have until tomorrow afternoon to gather my energy. I think I’m gonna need it.

9.30pm – Dinner at the Beefeater is not what we hope for. With beef in their name you kinda hope that they know what they are doing. Turns out we were wrong. A handful of rib-eyes turn up looking … microwaved. There’s no hint of heat on them and they look greyer than the sky earlier today. Sarah and Karine are vocal about their discontent and we manage to get both meals refunded. The beers are flowing thank god. We won’t be back here tomorrow night.

Saturday 25 January 2014 – Day Two

8.00am – It’s early and Richard Parker, James and Jeff should be on the line getting in their four sighter rounds. I am still asleep so I miss most of their arrows. I only get a chance to see Richard during the second half of the shoot. Seems fatigue and timing has hit the silver fox (his own words). It’s not going well.

10.00am – After a nice hot bath and a filling breakfast I am ready for my turn on the line. Ceri is curious about how I will do (it’s her first time seeing me shoot arrows and she is intrigued by the kit).

10.30am – I manage to shoot 18 arrows on the practice range and my kit is inspected by the judges. All is good. Time to control my nerves for the qualification round. A few 2020 members pop over to wish me luck. I’m now a nervous wreck.

12.00am – Here goes nothing. I’ve got my bib and my number is attached to my quiver, I’m ready to shoot some arrows.

Boy I’ve got my anchor sorted!

I’m shooting next to Josh from Scotland and someone who is waaaay too young to be left alone with a pointy stick (little did I know… ). Josh takes up the paper scoring duties and I get to play with the electronic scoring device. My first shot feels strangely natural and hits the target. Maybe it’s all gonna be alright on the night…. ?

28 arrows in and I’m feeling pretty good. I haven’t missed yet. I’m on target to beating my PB and maybe beat Roger! I’ve got plenty of water and chocs in my belt and nerves don’t seem to be an issue. I’ve got Ceri and Sarah cheering me on. What else could a man need? Refocus, arrow 29 is ready to fly. I adopt the freedom stance (my own name for my rather wide stance). Arrow 29 is nocked and lined up. I draw back and take aim ….

MISS!!

I don’t believe it. My first miss! Calm down and reset for arrow 30.

I adopt the freedom stance again … Arrow 30 is nocked and lined up… I draw back and take aim ….

HIT!

Phew. I can live with one miss. So I end my first 30 arrows with 245. That’s higher than I have ever shot. With a bit of luck I might be able to nudged 500!

5.30pm – 30 arrows later and it’s all over. I don’t bother looking at my final score. I know I missed 6 times. I haven’t performed as well as I had hoped but that’s the reason I’m here. Where else will I get the opportunity to learn what it’s really like on the world archery stage? Today has shown me that endurance also plays a key part in your performance. I need to be able to last more than 2 hours and where necessary adapt my shooting when things go wrong. Lessons identified. Lessons learnt.

So it’s back to my room for a shower to relax and then drinks at the bar in the Holiday Inn. The silver fox – with James and Jeff in tow – turns up for a few drinks too. Eventually the whole gang is in the bar chatting about the day’s events and archery in general. Somewhere in the conversation we learn that Brady Elllison has been knocked out of the competition and ranks 5^th in the final scores. That’s a bit scary given he’s just set a new world record with 593 in the qualification round. But that’s not important now, we’re all a bit dejected and down after realizing that not a single 2020 member shot within their abilities.

9.00pm – A quick trip back to the International Centre through the cold night leaves us in shock. The men’s recurve second chance shoot is tomorrow morning at 7.30am! OMG! That’s the final smack in the face. Someone has a rather dark sense of humour in Archery GB and Telford.

10.30pm – Well that’s an early night I guess. See you all at 6am!

Saturday 26 January 2014 – Day Three

6.00am – There’s no way in hell anyone should be up at 6am and contemplating shooting arrows. Even if it is only 15 arrows. But that is exactly what I’m doing. Having not made the top 32 cut-off for the qualifications round I have automatically been entered into the Second Chance competition. If I can score well with my next 15 arrows I might be in with a chance of getting some of the goodies in the prize fund.

6.30am – I’ve trudged my way to the main hall thinking of nothing but wanting to go home. It’s early, dark and cold. My beloved Ceri is still snuggled up in bed. We didn’t really see the need for her to be there as this’ll all be over in about 30mins.

OMG!

Entering the main hall I see just about every archer who didn’t make the top 32. I thought this would be a nice quiet affair. Boy was I wrong. I might as well make the most of this experience. We’ve all travelled many miles to get here so why waste it? I guess I better man up and string up!

9.30am – I’ve shot my last arrow for the competition. And I must admit, I had more fun shooting in the Second Chance competition that in the qualification round. Most of the archers were there to have fun. The targets were unfamiliar (a triangular Vegas three spot with all three targets overlapping) and most shooters didn’t really stand a chance (I saw some county champions there). So the arrows were flying and so were the jokes. Good times.

Here’s me shooting my last arrows. The guy on my left ended up with no arrows with a full set of vanes. Hell he was shooting a bareshaft!

9.45am – Last chance to support the team. Karine is still setting up whilst Claire is ready to shoot her first round of sighters. Karine waves me over and needs a bow stringer. She’s left her kit bag in the bag area and has only just realized her string is on upside down. Fortunately, I’ve just completed my shoot and have everything on me. One red bow stringer to the rescue!

10.30am – Myself, Ceri, Claire and Richard Poole settle down to our last breakfast in Telford. We chat about our experiences and what is happening in the archery world next week. Of course I don’t miss one final chance to rib Richard about his position on the line between two Olympians.

12.00pm – Checked out and homeward bound. I didn’t feel like queuing up and watching the finals, ArcheryTV will be showing that later on and they have better seats than me.

It was a pleasure to come and shoot at Telford. Archery GB came up trumps when they managed to steal the competition and host it in the UK. Where else will shooters of all ages and abilities get to shoot against the world’s greatest? I may not have shot my best but I’m not complaining. Next time (whenever that will be) I’ll be back…

How to fill in an archery scoresheet

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So, this is a kind of “Ask the experts” as we got a great question from a relatively new club member asking about scoresheets. It’s something that causes a lot of confusion for new members so we thought it’d be helpful to write a bit of a Master Class on what it’s all about. We’ll put up some info about handicaps in our next post.

So, at 2020 Archery Roger is responsible for collecting in our scoresheets, collating them into ‘leader boards’ (here : https://www.2020archery.co.uk/club/archery-competition-info) and working out handicaps. Just ask one of the instructors or an experienced club member (Tim said I’m not allowed to call them Old Timers any more as it makes him feel old) where to find scoresheets, pens and clipboards if you’re not sure. They’ll also know where you should file the completed ones when you’re done.

To fill in the sheet you have two choices – you can do it yourself (in which case you won’t have a Target Captain) or you can ‘cross-score’ which is better and more like competitive archery. If you cross score you sign each other’s score sheet (or if you’re scoring as 4 people on a target one of you could sign them all as target captain) this means someone is verifying that it was done correctly with no cheating. When cross-scoring you should call the numbers from high to low i.e. 9,9,6. Never say “two nines” as invariably your scorer will write “2, 9” and then have to cross out the 2! This should be read out as “nine, nine, six”. Incidentally you must never touch your arrows when scoring in a competition. I know it’d be super difficult to manhandle it into a different zone but.. still.. it isn’t allowed. Try not to do it. We will accept scoresheets that have been filled in by the archer but its good to indicate this by not filling in the target captain. It also means there’s more chance of Roger double checking the scores (your target captain should do this if you’ve cross scored).

The scoresheet gets filled in horizontally with each dozen recorded and the E/T (end total) being the total for the first 6 arrows of the dozen and then the total for the second 6 arrows of the dozen. This is mainly because we shoot in ends of 6 arrows outdoors (further to walk to collect them). Now for the most frequent question that we get asked : what does the H G IG Sc and RT mean? Well, once you know its pretty simple with only one curveball. H = Hits (how many scoring arrows you achieved in the dozen), G = Gold (how many 10s and Xs you achieved). Yep, that’s right – 10s and Xs. A 9 doesn’t count as a gold on an archery scoresheet. No, I don’t know why. It’s just what I was told when I was a novice and I believed them. Any updates / suggestions about this please post in comments! IG = inner gold (very obvious – how many X’s), SC = score (total for the dozen) and RT = running total (all those dozen scores added together as you go).

So, this is an edit a week after the original post.. I asked for comments and boy did I get them! Sadly none of them would write their names in the comments box below *sigh*… the upshot seems to be that the X is not allowable for GNAS scoring but the situation on FITA rounds is a bit less clear.. this is slightly another topic (rounds and competitions) but basically the usual round we shoot at 2020 is a Portsmouth and this is a GNAS (Grand National Archery Society i.e. traditional British shooting) round. An example of a FITA round would be a FITA 18 which is very similar to the Portsmouth but shot at 18m on a smaller target face. So, apparently we shouldn’t be recording X’s on Portsmouths even though the target faces we use allow you to see how many you’ve got. The FITA target faces don’t have an X ring which means its impossible to record them.. apparently FITA rounds no longer count X’s for tie-breaks either, they look at number of 10s and then number of 9s. However, it can be a nice way to track your increasing accuracy so our scoring master (Roger – new title, great no?) is happy to accept scoresheets for Portsmouths where you have recorded the Xs.

I’ve filled in a fakey scoresheet with some of the salient bits highlighted. Please indicate if you’re shooting barebow, compound (lightweight obviously at our club), flatbow, longbow or any other permutation. We will assume your score is regular freestyle (sighted) recurve unless otherwise indicated. PLEASE write your name legibly. Roger’s eyesight isn’t getting any better despite all the archery practice and he needs all the help he can get. If you are on the leader board as e.g. Heidi Nickell instead of Nicholl drop us an email and we’ll yell at Roger. Or possibly scan and upload your dreadful writing for the rest of the club to laugh at (we won’t I promise – I win all the worst writing in the club competitions by a giant margin). Dates and club should be filled in for the sake of completeness. Theoretically you’re welcome to submit scores from elsewhere if you’ve pulled a blinder while visiting another club.

Do keep handing in scores – it keeps Roger out of trouble. Your handicap (and leaderboard position) will only change when a higher score is submitted but its good practice to keep scoring and measuring your progress (although its also good not to get obsessed and occasionally have a ‘fun’ unpressured practice shoot). Do feel free to ask questions in the comments section and do keep sending in “Ask the Experts” as they occur to you.

How to fill in an archery scoresheet

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5 Tips for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse

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It’s October 31^st… lets face it, if the undead are ever going to rise it’s going to be today. If it isn’t today it might be next year.. or the one after that. Which means you have time to prepare. And preparation, in the event of zombie attack, is key. If the zombies do rise up today then there’s not so much preparation time and you’d better read this fast.

In essence… you’re going to need a source of food and water, you’re going to need a place to hide, you’re going to need weapons and you’re going to need some kind of kooky ‘how-did-I-end-up-with-this-bunch-of-weirdos’ bunch of weirdos to surround yourself with. These are called ‘survivors’ and you want to be one of them.

So, how can I be a survivor?

First of all you need to accept the situation : Stages of Grief as Applied to a Zombie Outbreak.

(http://www.cracked.com/funny-1077-zombie-survival/)

5 ways to survive the Zombie Apocalypse

1. Secure food and water

2. Choose your weapon wisely

3. Find transportation

4. Hole up

5. Repopulate the earth

1. Food and Water

You’re going to need to find a decent stash of food somewhere – basements and outhouses tend to be popular for your Apocalypse hoard but you do need to consider getting trapped. If you’re going to get trapped anywhere it may as well be with the food but ideally you need to find other survivors so you can repopulate the Earth – see point 5. This part may or may not be fun depending on the other survivors.

If you haven’t pre-prepared your stash of survival food you’ll probably want to head for the outskirts of cities (see point 3). The main supply depots for supermarkets are going to be a better bet in terms of minimising encounters with the marauding undead than heading for Waitrose in Greenwich or Tescos at Bank. Attempting Waitrose in Greenwich on a regular Saturday afternoon is probably good preparation for fighting zombies though.

2. Weapons

In order not to get trapped while stocking up on supplies (it doesn’t count as looting once its survival) you’re going to need a weapon or two. You can probably guess which way we swing with this one. Silent, deadly, reusable ammunition… we have a whole “Archery and the Zombie Apolcalypse” series pencilled in for 2014. Get your archery lessons started now kids. You won’t regret it when the undead rabble are snapping at your wing-mirrors.

3. Transport

Depending on what type of undead horde you’re working with it’s usually a good plan to get out of town. If it’s the “Hell is full – now they walk the Earth” kind of zombie you’ll definitely want to avoid old civil war battlesites / Indian burial grounds (not so many of these in the Home Counties but you know what we mean – probably stay away from Hadrian’s wall). There are probably still going to be less bodies out in the sticks. If its your standard…

“Oh, no! The damn monkey’s escaped from the lab…”

“What’s that you just said cannon-fodder lab technician? You don’t mean…? NOT…. NOT…. THE INFECTED monkeys??”

…type of outbreak that’s going to infect the living you definitely want to be out of the city.

So, once you’ve shot your way out of London (you’ll need a nice clean headshot for each zombie – seriously, get some practice in) you’re going to need to grab the wheel of a truck in order to get outta town. If you should find yourself in California you’re going to want to get yourselves one of the fabulous truck campers rented by our sister company Silver Ash Campers. If you’re stuck in England any kind of campervan will do. You want tanks to hold water and enough space to seat your group of quirky cannon-fodder (sorry survivors). Allow some space for bows and arrows – a couple of take down recurves, maybe a compound or two and a horsebow if you want to go trad. (If you arent sure on the differences check our last blog post). If you really can’t find an archery shop to loot you’ll need to read our later blog post on ‘How to make a longbow in the event of a zombie apocalypse’. In essence this blog post will advise you to make it quickly – somewhere out of sight. We recommend starting archery now so you already have a bow that you’re familiar with. Remember : Preparation Prevents Poor Practice.

4. Hiding Out

Find someplace safe to hide out and practice your archery. The more practice you can get the better your chances with the undead – this is also true for archery competitions. The more you practice the better you’ll get. Honestly. (See ‘How to improve your archery’ – earlier blog post). The more zombies that approach the more focused you’re going to be but you don’t want to be overwhelmed. Implement classic battle tactics – look for high ground with a good view. If there is an undead sortie make sure you aim for the head. Nice clean headshots should stop them in their tracks. It will obviously be helpful if the zombie head can be picked out against a backdrop of red, blue, black and white concentric circles to help you focus. Moving targets are tricky – aim slightly lower than your natural inclination, stay calm and try and judge the pace at which they’re moving. Try and judge it fairly quickly though. Make sure you have a good release – think smooth draw, time to aim and get that back tension going. A few lessons pre-apocalypse can do wonders here. Once you have a pile of undead don’t forget to collect your arrows. You might want to clean them at this point.

5. Repopulating the planet

Hopefully the worst hasn’t happened and you’ve managed to siphon enough gas along the way to find yourself a fabulous mountain hide-out. You’re managing to refill your fresh water supplies, you’ve got some seeds planted and a bit of fresh meat / fish available for bow-hunting. You’re keeping your head down in the hills (and keeping up your target practice). All this is looking pretty good and you’re going to eventually, hopefully start seeing less zombies. Now is the time to start repopulating planet earth. Choose your quirky band of cannon-fodder wisely. That’s all we’re saying on this one.

Start practicing with a Have a Go in London Bridge this weekend…. only £20 to secure the basics and get a ‘head-start’ on the zombies!

Lets hope you don’t see him down at London Bridge.

5 Tips for Surviving a Zombie Apocalypse

3 Replies

So, how can I be a survivor?

First of all you need to accept the situation : Stages of Grief as Applied to a Zombie Outbreak.

(http://www.cracked.com/funny-1077-zombie-survival/)

5 ways to survive the Zombie Apocalypse

1. Secure food and water

2. Choose your weapon wisely

3. Find transportation

4. Hole up

5. Repopulate the earth

1. Food and Water

2. Weapons

3. Transport

“Oh, no! The damn monkey’s escaped from the lab…”

“What’s that you just said cannon-fodder lab technician? You don’t mean…? NOT…. NOT…. THE INFECTED monkeys??”

…type of outbreak that’s going to infect the living you definitely want to be out of the city.

4. Hiding Out

5. Repopulating the planet

Start practicing with a Have a Go in London Bridge this weekend…. only £20 to secure the basics and get a ‘head-start’ on the zombies!

Lets hope you don’t see him down at London Bridge.

Ask the Experts : What’s the Difference Between a ‘Recurve’ Bow and a ‘Traditional’ Bow?

15 Replies

So, we’ve decided to move our occasional “Ask the Expert” series away from facebook and onto our blog. Mainly because our experts (our instructors) are chronically unable to write a short answer when asked anything about archery. Be warned if you’re at the club and you start a query with, “Quick question…” it might be a quick question but it’s usually a lengthy answer!

So, this “Ask the Experts” is from Roger (well done Roger!) and gives an account of the differences between Recurve Bows (as used in the modern Olympics), Longbows (think Agincourt, Robin Hood etc), Horsebows (the short ones with leather webbing around them that you sometimes see in the club) and finally a little bit on crossbows. Please do add any other “Ask the Experts” questions in the comments below – we love talking bows and arrows!

Over to Roger :

“The difference between a modern recurve bow, a long bow and a horse bow is fundamentally one of curves and materials.

When unstrung an English (or Welsh or Scottish) long bow was – and is – a straight stave (wooden pole) with a D shaped cross section where the flat part faces away from the archer. They are typically 3” longer than the archer is tall. When strung, the bow takes a regular uniform curve towards the archer. They were traditionally made either from using several layers of different woods laminated together, or from a single stave of wood (self-bows). Laminated bows are made using woods that favour compression on the belly of the bow (the side that faces the archer), and woods that stretch well on the back of the bow (the side that faces the target). Self-bows tend to be slower and weaker although self bows made of yew or osage orange can be stronger as it is possible to find differing qualities of compression and tensional strength in a single stave, providing the same benefits as a laminated bow. The advantage of the long bow design is that it can be made very strong and can be tensioned to very high draw weights. In some cases these bows can reach over 180lb in draw weight (usually known as war-bows) – this allowed bowyers to manufacture bows that were capable of shooting an arrow through medieval plate armour at ranges as far as fifty yards or more.

The modern recurve bow is so called because the limb-tips of the bow ‘re-curve’ back away from the archer after the usual longbow curve. They usually have a static (unbending) riser and curved limbs. They also have a window cut into the bow to allow the arrow to take a straighter path through the bow. The window helps with accuracy as it allows the use of a stiffer arrow that can fly straighter than those released from a traditional bow where the arrow must bend itself back around the bow as its released in order to reach the target. The rationale behind the limbs “re-curving” away from the archer at the tips is so that the very ends of the limbs can be accelerated faster than the rest of the limb – this results in energy being transferred more efficiently. Ultimately this results in faster arrow speeds and improved accuracy on the target. Modern recurve bows are now typically fitted with various accessories such as artificial sights, stabilisers and vibration dampers to provide a more consistent shot.

The horse bow or reflex bow is the original recurve bow. They were common in Eastern European countries, the Middle East and throughout Asia and parts of Africa in pre-gunpowder days. They are characterised by their short length and exceptionally recurved limbs. When unstrung a traditional horse bow will curve away from the archer forming a complete C shape, but in some instances are so flexible that the limb tips almost touch forming an O shape. Their short profile made them highly successful as hunting bows (as they’re more manouverable than longer bows). They were originally made of wood laminated with horn and animal sinew although today they may be made with synthetic materials which make the bow cheaper to make and easier to use.

Finally, while we’re thinking about traditional bows, a crossbow can be loosely described as a short bow that is allowed to lie horizontally on a stock from which position it can have an arrow loaded and released using a trigger mechanism in a similar configuration to a rifle. The main advantage of a crossbow as a weapon is that once the string is drawn back it can be locked into place until the trigger is pulled. This allows the weapon to be loaded without being pointed at the target and without requiring any extra energy to be held at full draw for extended periods of time. Crossbows typically have much higher draw weights as the hold is done mechanically. Drawing or ‘cocking’ the bow can also be achieved with mechanical assistance by using a cocking aid. This means that bows over 100lb may be loaded with the aid of a winch by a single person. Cross bow limb design covers most types of bow shape and materials ranging from un-recurved basic wood through reflexed horn and sinew, to space-age material and radical modern design.”

As well as Target Archery there are many other disciplines that use both / all types of bows. You can get involved in everything from clout shooting, Archery Tag, field archery, bowfishing and the curiously named ‘Popinjay’ shoots… but what they all are will be for another post…!

As always, comments and questions are welcomed and suggestions for other “Ask the Experts” are especially useful!

Ask the Experts : What’s the Difference Between a ‘Recurve’ Bow and a ‘Traditional’ Bow?

15 Replies

Over to Roger :

“The difference between a modern recurve bow, a long bow and a horse bow is fundamentally one of curves and materials.

As always, comments and questions are welcomed and suggestions for other “Ask the Experts” are especially useful!

Books – not just good for target practice, you can read them too!

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There have been some great books and online resourses written recently on learning archery. These can be a great tool to remind and reinforce the lessons you’ve already been taught during our beginners couse and you’ll learn a whole host new skills to help you become a great archer.

The following books are recommended for someone who has just started in archery hopefully after doing a progressive beginners course (see our courses page for current availability of our great weekend, 3 week ‘Fast Track’ or regular 5 week beginers courses in London Bridge). The best books at this level help you to develop a solid, consistent form without going into deeply technical variations on the standard elements of the shot sequence. All three of the following books provide a clear guide to building a good shot sequence and will help a novice archer achieve good consistent form.

Archery (Steps to Success): Kathleen Haywood (Author), Catherine Lewis (Author)

This is a very good book for people looking for a structured way to become a solid archer.

Thorough – it’s a very thorough book and doesn’t miss out anything that a novice archer needs to know.
Easy to follow – provides an easy to follow program of exercises and provides space to record how well you have done on each exercise. A fun and interesting way to learn.
Clear illustrations – good clear photos and drawings of each step to help you to conceptualise your body position.
Bow tuning – a great section on basic bow tuning so you can get your bow up to speed at the same time as you improve your form.

Other good beginner books to try are:

Archery Fundamentals: A Better Way to Learn the Basics by Douglas Engh (Author)

Less rigidly structured than Steps to success, so is good if you prefer to structure your own training/learning your way.

The Archery For Beginners Guidebook by Archery GB (only available through archery stores, e.g. Clickers, Aim 4 Sport, Merlin etc)

Has a very good guide on archery etiquette and protocols in competitions and in clubs.

The Following online sources can also be helpful:

KSL International Archery

http://www.kslinternationalarchery.com/Technique/KSLShotCycle/KSLShotCycle-USA.html

This has a very good shot sequence. It’s brief in its description but is free to look at so worth a read. It does get pretty technical though.

Archery Interchange http://www.archeryinterchange.com/forum.php

A very popular UK archery forum, this can be a useful recourse for answering specific questions. Although do bear in mind that as it’s a forum there is often lots of arguing that can be distracting and confusing. The loudest voice is also not necessarily the most accurate!

These are the ones that I particularly favour but there are many more useful resources out there. Do let us know if you have any other recommendations that you’ve found useful on your archery journey!

Roger – 2020 Archery Instructor