MEMANAH / ARCHERYMEMANAH / ARCHERY

INTRODUCTION

• Archery is a sport defined by the use of bows to shoot arrows at a target.

• Energy is stored in the bow by drawing it back, which is then released by transferring the energy to the arrow.

• The person who uses the bow to shoot the arrow is called an archer, and someone who is an expert or keen at archery is sometimes referred to as a toxophilite.

HISTORY

• Historically its origins lie in combat, survival and hunting, although today it has developed into a sport that is practised in competition.

• Virtually every culture in the world has a form of archery in its history.

EQUIPMENT – TYPE OF BOW

• Also referred as straight bow, the tallest and typically the same height or taller than the person using it.

• Originated in Europe and traditionally used for hunting and warfare.

• Today, longbows are used by archers who want a traditional, wooden feel from their bow.

1. The Longbow

EQUIPMENT – TYPE OF BOW

2. The Shortbow• Technically it is simply a smaller version of the

longbow. • It is lighter and therefore more manoeuvrable than

the longbow, but this also means that it cannot store as much energy and subsequently cannot shoot the arrows at such a long range.

• Historically, West Coast American tribes used shortbows for hunting.

EQUIPMENT – TYPE OF BOW

3. The Compound Bow

• Relatively modern style of bow, which was designed to decrease the force the archer must provide yet increase the energy stored by the bow.

• This means that the bow stores the energy and then “lets off” the pulling weight at the end of draw length.

EQUIPMENT – TYPE OF BOW

4. Recurve Bow • Recurve bow curve in two directions - backwards near the centre rise, and forwards at the tips. This makes a smoother draw and release than with other straight bows.

• Made of laminated wood or synthetics, and have a very small handle which means that the limbs can be shorter making the bow easier to handle.

• Recurve bows have the greatest engineering and manufacturing quality of all bows today.

EQUIPMENT – TYPE OF BOW

5. Crossbow • The crossbow is a variation on the typical design for a bow, although the basic concept of firing is the same.

• However, crossbows cannot fire arrows. Instead, shortened versions are used called 'quarrels' or 'bolts‘.

• The limbs are not held vertically as with other bows but are mounted horizontally, and they are either compound or a recurve in design.

EQUIPMENT – TERMS

EQUIPMENT – OTHERSSight—The sight can come in many forms, but the most usual ones would be a circle with a cross-hairs or pin at its center.

Chest Guard—Protects the chest and keeps loose clothing from getting caught by the string.

Sling—The sling allows the bow to rest in the archer’s hand without having to actually hold the bow.

Arm Guard—This piece fits over the bow arm, keeping the string from coming in contact with your arm when the string is released.

Finger Tab—These are used to protect the fingers while drawing the bow.

Stringer—Recurve archers use this device to string their bows. Compound bows are permanently strung and many longbows have built in stringers.

EQUIPMENT – TYPE OF ARROWS• Arrow has a body, referred as the shaft, with a point or arrowhead fixed at the front.• The arrowhead is what distinguishes arrows, dictating its purpose, and this is either glued

onto the outside of the shaft or inserted into the shaft itself.• At the other end of the shaft is the nock and fletching, which consists of three vanes

(sometimes more are used) made from feathers or thin, soft plastic. • These are equally spaced and glued onto the shaft, with one placed perpendicular to the bow

when it is nocked on the sting, and then capped with the notched nock, which is where the bowstring contacts the arrow.

• Sometimes all the fletchings will be attached at a slight angle, which aims to introduce a stabilising spin to the arrow. The shaft can be made from a variety of materials (see below).

• Arrows vary in length, weight and flexibility, and the type of arrow you use will depend on the type of bow you are using and the archery you are practicing.

• If using a recurve bow, slender, lightweight arrows which have small vanes are favoured, due to their great range and reduced wind resistance.

• Hunters tend to use thicker arrows with have larger vanes. You should try and use arrows that are as similar as possible on each day of archery, as this means you will be able to shoot consistent groups and develop an accurate shot.

EQUIPMENT – TERMS

ARROW

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Archery Safety

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

How to stringing a recurve?

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Body Post

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

BowHand

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Elbow

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Elbow

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Shoulder

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Anchor

Eye

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

String Alignment

DEMONSTRATION VIDEOS

Release and Finish