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Asiatic traditional bow archery

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Archer37

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
So... I was snooping around for info on how to improve my Mongolian bow archery skills... So I was typing in "thumb release" in the search bar, and I got royally confused as I had no idea what anyone was talking about - the size of the release, top or bottom of the release, etc... After reading through a whole bunch of post, doubting my knowledge of thumb release as each second passed by... Thinking that I'm a complete idiot, not having a clue what I was doing... Then I finally come across a post with pictures... Which is when I realized that "thumb release" on this platform means compound bow release device, and not Asiatic traditional bow release technique... 🤣🤣

It seems to me Asiatic traditional bow archery is really an absolute minority here... LOL 😜
 
#3 ·
Go to the Search Box and type in "Horse bow" and "Horsebow". You'll get more info. I've practiced some with my Cinnabar Han Wind 3 horsebow from 3Rivers and it's fun and frustrating; not sure if I'll stick with it. Also, try finding a Korean traditional archery forum. That might help.
 
#6 ·
Archer37 said:
So... I was snooping around for info on how to improve my Mongolian bow archery skills... So I was typing in "thumb release" in the search bar, and I got royally confused as I had no idea what anyone was talking about - the size of the release, top or bottom of the release, etc... After reading through a whole bunch of post, doubting my knowledge of thumb release as each second passed by... Thinking that I'm a complete idiot, not having a clue what I was doing... Then I finally come across a post with pictures... Which is when I realized that "thumb release" on this platform means compound bow release device, and not Asiatic traditional bow release technique... 🤣🤣

It seems to me Asiatic traditional bow archery is really an absolute minority here... LOL 😜
Click to expand...
I am a little late finding this, but I am also into Asiatic archery as well. A recent addition to my archery tool box. Would love to chat about it. Learning to use the thumb ring and khatra timing is fun.
 
#7 ·
I am into asiatic archery as well and there are more, but I have never met one in person. When going to 3D shots, many archers know what it is, but never seen a bow or thumb ring. The bows are sweet shooters and just as fast and accurate as any recurve. It is just up to the archers skill. I have some years of experience shooting this way, but not by any means perfect. Check out Armin Hirmer on YouTube and you will find lots of good information. Also ask and I will share my experiences.
 
#8 ·
Martin B said:
I am into asiatic archery as well and there are more, but I have never met one in person. When going to 3D shots, many archers know what it is, but never seen a bow or thumb ring. The bows are sweet shooters and just as fast and accurate as any recurve. It is just up to the archers skill. I have some years of experience shooting this way, but not by any means perfect. Check out Armin Hirmer on YouTube and you will find lots of good information. Also ask and I will share my experiences.
Click to expand...
Glad to be on board. Asiatic for me is new. I just started this winter past. I have a friend who was into traditional long bow (he now has a takedown bow as well) and he was quite supportive and is considering getting into it. I admit I started inexpensive. I found a Tatar horse bow made by AF Archery via Amazon (LOL) and picked up some Sharrow arrows as well. Kind of expected that trying a new technique was going to end in the demise of several arrows. I was right, but am having fun and have learned a lot. The Sharrow arrows actually perform very well in this style of shooting and they are far more rugged than I expected. Started thumb draw using a glove and have since learned to use a thumb ring. Vermil Archery's Lotus 2 seems to be the one for me. Now if I can just figure out how to shift more smoothly between the styles. Any hints or suggestions? Oh, if you want to see something funny, go someplace that is heavy on the compounds and ask if they might have a thumb draw shooting glove for Asiatic archery. The look you get is priceless. (Armin Hirmer and Nu Sensei have been very helpful in my journey so far.). When you started with a thumb ring, did you have any misfires?
 
#9 · (Edited)
You cannot switch between styles until you get good with thumb release or it will mess you up. However, you can shoot a regular bow with thum release, but mat have to re-shape the handle. Yes, I had and still occasionally have miss fires. However, I use a shallow hook thumb ring and they are touchy. I shoot in the winter and bad weather in my house and ended up with several holes in the wall.
 
#10 · (Edited)
For arrow spine and thum release I found 400 to 500 spine works well with a 35 - 40# bow using thumb release with Khatra and or torque. I use a combination of both. Buy the cheapest carbon arrows you can find. Fiberglass arrows are fine too, but heavy and therefore slow. You will break and loose a lot. I buy shafts, inserts, fletchings and points from Asia and build my own arrows. I started with a Kaya SKB 50# that had bad hand shock and was slooow. I have the AF tatar bow in several grades and they perform well.
 
#11 ·
Nice to know my experiences are shared. Switching between the styles is kind of necessary for me. I sort of went "all in" on the Asiatic shooting, everyday shooting, but managed to cause of bit of consternation in my elbow joint. LOL. I am now using a different draw technique that really reduces the tension, but did have to scale back the amount of thumb draw I was doing. I have banged up several arrows, but am improving. I've shifted away from the single target approach and am shooting plastic jugs at unknown distances using blunt/bludgeon tips. It works great. Punch the jug and the next shot is a different distance. It is also quite a bit easier on the arrows. Sounds like you buy bulk shafts. From where or who do you buy them? I am interested in the Asiatic shafts. Typically, I size and fletch my own, but the prices I have found on the ready to shoots are hard to pass up and they have been working well. I haven't tried the shooting inside the house thing. Not sure if it would go over well.
 
#12 ·
Go to x_mazon and type in arrow shaft 400 spine and you will find AMEYXGS 24 shafts for around $50 shipping included. You will find similar results on x_bay or from x_liexpress as well. These shafts are a little on the light (weight) side but work well. I like using 150gr. field tips to bring the weight up. Some bows are listed for a 10gr/lb. so you may have to do some "tweaking" as you please. One good way to get better is to go on 3D shoots. There are a lot of them around where I live. Also, I do stump shooting with Judo points.
 
#13 ·
Thank you for the information. Will be looking at it later. Love judo points as well. The nice thing about the blunt tips is I don't have to clean out the grass after the shot--shooting a lot in a grass field environment. Do you make strings as well?
 
#14 ·
Martin B said:
Go to x_mazon and type in arrow shaft 400 spine and you will find AMEYXGS 24 shafts for around $50 shipping included. You will find similar results on x_bay or from x_liexpress as well. These shafts are a little on the light (weight) side but work well. I like using 150gr. field tips to bring the weight up. Some bows are listed for a 10gr/lb. so you may have to do some "tweaking" as you please. One good way to get better is to go on 3D shoots. There are a lot of them around where I live. Also, I do stump shooting with Judo points.
Click to expand...
I did pick up a dozen shafts finally and mated half with Easton inserts and nocks and fletched them for right spin. I am not disappointed. I will say that they do perform far better than the manufactured arrows, which are typically straight fletched.
 
#15 ·
idontknow544 said:
Is there a reason thumb release isn't used much for trad shooting?
Click to expand...
The answer is in the question. 😁 Traditonal archers are big on tradition and not huge fans of change. Not criticizing here, I’m one of them. Three finger releases are the tradition in the west. It’s really just that simple. Also, when you’ve put the amount of work in that it takes to get proficient at any style of traditional archery, starting from scratch is a daunting prospect. As an asiatic style thumb shooter, I’m definitely an advocate, and I’m sure that our community will continue to grow, but we have to remember that half the reason people take up traditional archery is for the tradition, we can’t expect the majority of westerners to adopt our style. And I don’t really think it matters. The most important thing is that we all share a common bond through a love of the challenges and rewards of being traditional archers. We all have way more in common with each other than we have differences. It’s a single string on a bent stick sending an arrow down range, and no matter how that’s accomplished, there’s a magic to it.
 
#16 ·
Martin B said:
I am into asiatic archery as well and there are more, but I have never met one in person. When going to 3D shots, many archers know what it is, but never seen a bow or thumb ring. The bows are sweet shooters and just as fast and accurate as any recurve. It is just up to the archers skill. I have some years of experience shooting this way, but not by any means perfect. Check out Armin Hirmer on YouTube and you will find lots of good information. Also ask and I will share my experiences.
Click to expand...
I would love to hear about your experiences. In particular what is working for you in your Khatra. Specifics of grip placement, where you are focusing your pressures, shot sequence, draw lengths, anchor point etc…. Anything that pops into your mind will be much appreciated.
 
#17 ·
spookyrat said:
Martin B said:
I am into asiatic archery as well and there are more, but I have never met one in person. When going to 3D shots, many archers know what it is, but never seen a bow or thumb ring. The bows are sweet shooters and just as fast and accurate as any recurve. It is just up to the archers skill. I have some years of experience shooting this way, but not by any means perfect. Check out Armin Hirmer on YouTube and you will find lots of good information. Also ask and I will share my experiences.
Click to expand...
Glad to be on board. Asiatic for me is new. I just started this winter past. I have a friend who was into traditional long bow (he now has a takedown bow as well) and he was quite supportive and is considering getting into it. I admit I started inexpensive. I found a Tatar horse bow made by AF Archery via Amazon (LOL) and picked up some Sharrow arrows as well. Kind of expected that trying a new technique was going to end in the demise of several arrows. I was right, but am having fun and have learned a lot. The Sharrow arrows actually perform very well in this style of shooting and they are far more rugged than I expected. Started thumb draw using a glove and have since learned to use a thumb ring. Vermil Archery's Lotus 2 seems to be the one for me. Now if I can just figure out how to shift more smoothly between the styles. Any hints or suggestions? Oh, if you want to see something funny, go someplace that is heavy on the compounds and ask if they might have a thumb draw shooting glove for Asiatic archery. The look you get is priceless. (Armin Hirmer and Nu Sensei have been very helpful in my journey so far.). When you started with a thumb ring, did you have any misfires?
Click to expand...
Personally, I would pick one style or the other. There a huge differences between the two styles and traditional archery is challenging enough as it is. Training a dynamic grip in asiatic archery and then trying to use a neutral grip in western style archery would just create confusion. Every time you practice you’ll be contradicting your training in the other style. If you’re capable of this you are far more talented than I am. But then again, I’m very much a one bow kind of guy. Switching back and forth has always ended with me chasing my tail.
 
#18 ·
spookyrat said:
Nice to know my experiences are shared. Switching between the styles is kind of necessary for me. I sort of went "all in" on the Asiatic shooting, everyday shooting, but managed to cause of bit of consternation in my elbow joint. LOL. I am now using a different draw technique that really reduces the tension, but did have to scale back the amount of thumb draw I was doing. I have banged up several arrows, but am improving. I've shifted away from the single target approach and am shooting plastic jugs at unknown distances using blunt/bludgeon tips. It works great. Punch the jug and the next shot is a different distance. It is also quite a bit easier on the arrows. Sounds like you buy bulk shafts. From where or who do you buy them? I am interested in the Asiatic shafts. Typically, I size and fletch my own, but the prices I have found on the ready to shoots are hard to pass up and they have been working well. I haven't tried the shooting inside the house thing. Not sure if it would go over well.
Click to expand...
If you’re having any problems with your elbows or shoulders from shooting you need to contact Chris at Archery Strong. He’s very affordable and and extremely good at rehabbing injuries. He’s done wonders for my torn rotator cuffs. His service is completely online and scaled to different income levels, though I have to say his premium package is very affordable and well worth the investment. You won’t regret working with him.
 
#19 ·
turkishbowsrock said:
If you’re having any problems with your elbows or shoulders from shooting you need to contact Chris at Archery Strong. He’s very affordable and and extremely good at rehabbing injuries. He’s done wonders for my torn rotator cuffs. His service is completely online and scaled to different income levels, though I have to say his premium package is very affordable and well worth the investment. You won’t regret working with him.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the heads up on that. I am currently rehabbing by using hand saws and reducing the amount of shooting I was doing. It is amazing how much good old fashion manual labor can do for one's health.
 
#20 ·
spookyrat said:
Thanks for the heads up on that. I am currently rehabbing by using hand saws and reducing the amount of shooting I was doing. It is amazing how much good old fashion manual labor can do for one's health.
Click to expand...
For sure, there’s no equivalent to working muscles, but be careful, my shoulder weren’t messed up by shooting a bow. Good old fashioned hard work did that. The problem is that when we are working we tend to be unbalanced, always favoring our dominant hand, and that’s what causes the problems. Shooting ambidextrously has been a huge help to allowing me to rehabilitate my shoulders, but a focused, balanced program from a professional of the standing of Chris is irreplaceable. I wish I’d found him ten years ago. And he’s not expensive. His basic program is only $9.99/month. I really, really recommend that you give him a call. You won’t regret it. And start shooting ambidextrously. You will be shocked at how quickly you pick it up. I’m talking a couple of weeks here. And it’s an amazing training tool. Your weak side will teach you things that you are overlooking on your strong side. Happens to me all the time.
 
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