Olympic Archery Fans: June 2011

Tuesday 7 June 2011

Archery - Field Archery

Field Archery is a form which involves shooting at targets generally set at various distances (often unmarked) in a in woodland and rough terrain. Field Archery is particularly popular in Europe and America. One goal of field archery is to improve the techniques and abilities required for bow hunting in a more realistic outdoor and wooded setting. Field Archery is usually shot according to either IFAA (International Field Archery Association) rules or to FITA (Federation International de Tir a L'Arc or International Archery Federation) rules.

FITA rounds consist of 24 targets, which may have marked or unmarked distances depending on the specific type of round. FITA Field Archery is very popular in Western Europe whereas 3D is shot mostly in the Americas and Oceania. National Field Archery Association (NFAA) is the US affiliate of the International Field Archery Association. Three common types of NFAA round are the field, hunter, and animal. A round consists of 28 targets in two units of 14. The information in the following sections is taken from the NFAA Styles and Rules.

Some national organisations (such as the NFAS in the UK) have their own rules. n the United Kingdom the NFAS (National Field Archery Society) sets the rules for many shoots including Big Game and 3D shoots. Most of these consist of 36 or 40 targets or 2x20 targets. The NFAS is not affiliated to any international organisation.

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Archery - Target Archery

Target Archery is all about shooting arrows at a target for accuracy from a set distance or distances. Target Archery is governed by the International Archery Federation, abbreviated FITA (Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc). All types of bow; longbow, barebow, recurve and compound can be used in Target Archery. In United Kingdom, Imperial rounds, measured in yards, are still used for a lot of tournaments and these have slightly different rules to FITA (metric) rounds, which are used internationally. Archers are divided into seniors and juniors, with juniors being those under the age of 18.

Archery competitions may be held indoors or outdoors. Indoor rounds are normally shot at one distance, whereas outdoor competitions normally consist of several distances. Since archery involves the use of potentially lethal equipment, much attention is paid to order and safety. All competitors must wait for the command to start shooting and are not allowed to collect arrows while other people are shooting.

For FITA rounds, standard indoor distances are 18m and 25m. Outdoor distances range from 30m to 90m for senior archers, with juniors being able to shoot closer distances. In the Olympic Games, 70m is used. Competition is divided into ends. An archer shoots either 3 or 6 arrows per end, depending on the type of round. After each end, the competitors walk to the target to score and retrieve their arrows. There are 20 ends of 3 arrows in a standard round of indoor competition (i.e. the FITA 18 or the FITA 25). Archers have a set time limit in which to shoot their arrows. For indoor competition, under FITA rules this is 2 minutes for 3 arrows.

For Imperial rounds, the standard indoor distance is 20 yd (18 m), with 5 dozen arrows being shot in a round known as a Portsmouth round. Outdoor distances range from 40 yd (37 m) to 100 yd (91 m), for seniors, and 10 yd (9.1 m) to 80 yd (73 m) for juniors. Competition is divided into ends. An archer shoots either 3 arrows per end (indoors) or 6 arrows per end (outdoors). After each end, the competitors walk to the target to score and retrieve their arrows.

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Saturday 4 June 2011

Archery - International Games

International Competitions for Archery can be classified in the categories of Target Archery and Field Archery.

Target Archery

- Olympic Games
- Paralympic Games
- Asian Games
- Commonwealth Games
- FITA Archery World Cup
- Target World Championship

Field Archery

- Scottish Championships (UK; Easter weekend)
- 3D Championships (UK; Bank Holiday weekend; End of May)
- National Championships (UK; 3rd weekend in September)
- World Outdoor Archery Festival (USA)

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Archery - Modern Competitive Archery

Modern Competitive Archery involves shooting arrows at a target for accuracy from a set distance or distances. This is the most popular form of competitive archery worldwide and is called target archery. A form particularly popular in Europe and America is field archery, shot at targets generally set at various distances in a wooded setting. Competitive Archery is governed by the International Archery Federation (FITA), and FITA rules are often considered normative. But large non-FITA-affiliated archery organizations do exist with different rules. There are also several other lesser-known and historical forms, as well as archery novelty games.

Target archery is the most popular form of archery, in which members shoot at stationary circular targets at varying distances. Target archery is governed by the International Archery Federation, abbreviated FITA (Fédération Internationale de Tir à l'Arc). All types of bows can be used: longbow, barebow, recurve and compound. In Great Britain, Imperial rounds, measured in yards, are still used for a lot of tournaments and these have slightly different rules to FITA (metric) rounds, which are used internationally. Archers are divided into seniors and juniors, with juniors being those under the age of 18.

Field archery involves shooting at targets of varying (and often unmarked) distance, often in woodland and rough terrain. One goal of field archery is to improve the techniques and abilities required for bow hunting in a more realistic outdoor setting. As with golf, fatigue can be an issue as the athlete walks the distance between targets across sometimes rough terrain. Field Archery is usually shot according to either IFAA (International Field Archery Association) rules or to FITA (Federation International de Tir a L'Arc) rules. Some national organisations (such as the NFAS in the UK) have their own rules. FITA rounds consist of 24 targets, which may have marked or unmarked distances depending on the specific type of round. FITA Field Archery is very popular in Western Europe whereas 3D is shot mostly in the Americas and Oceania.

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Archery - Aiming Methods

Aiming Methods for archery are of two main forms: using a mechanical or fixed sight or barebow. Barebow aiming methods include Gap, Split Vision, Point of Aim, String Walking, Face Walking and Instinctive Aiming.

Mechanical sights can be affixed to the bow to aid in aiming. They can be as simple as a pin or optical with magnification. They usually also have a peep sight (rear sight) built into the string which aids in a consistent anchor point. Modern compound bows automatically limit the draw length which gives a consistent arrow velocity while traditional bows allow great variation in draw length. Mechanical methods to make a traditional bow's draw length consistent are sometimes used. Instinctive archers use a sight picture which includes the target, the bow, the hand, the arrow shaft and the arrow tip, as seen at the same time by the archer. With a fixed "anchor point" (where the string is brought to, or close to, the face), and a fully extended bow arm, successive shots taken with the sight picture in the same position will fall on the same point.

This allows the archer to adjust aim with successive shots in order to achieve accuracy. A fixed anchor point cannot be used with short bows, which by definition do not allow a full draw. Modern archery equipment usually includes sights. Instinctive aiming is used by many archers who use traditional bows. The two most common forms of a non-mechanical release are split-finger and three-under. Split-finger aiming requires the archer to place the index finger above the nocked arrow, while the middle and ring fingers are both placed below. Three-under aiming places the index, middle, and ring fingers under the nocked arrow. This technique allows the archer to better look down the arrow since the back of the arrow is closer to the dominant eye, and is commonly called "gun barreling" (referring to common aiming techniques used with firearms).

When using short bows, or shooting from horseback, it is difficult to use the sight picture. The archer may look at the target but without including the weapon in the field of accurate view. Aiming involves a similar sort of hand/eye coordination which includes proprioceptive and motor/muscle memory between the mind/body connection that is used when throwing a baseball or shooting a basketball. With sufficient practice, such archers can normally achieve good practical accuracy for hunting or for war. Aiming without a sight picture may allow more rapid shooting.

Currently, Instinctive Shooting is a term used to describe a style of shooting that includes the barebow aiming method that relies heavily upon the subconscious mind, proprioceptive and motor/muscle memory to make aiming adjustments while years ago the term was used to generalize and/or categorize those archers who did not use a mechanical or fixed sight.

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Archery - Shooting Technique

Bow is held in the hand opposite to the archer's dominant eye, though holding the bow in the dominant hand side is advocated by some. This hand is referred to as the bow hand and its arm the bow arm. The opposite hand is called the drawing hand or string hand. Terms such as bow shoulder or string elbow follow the same convention. Right-eye-dominant archers hold the bow with their left hand, have their left side facing the target, sight towards the target with their right eye and handle the arrow and string with their right hand.

To shoot an arrow, an archer first assumes the correct stance. The body should be perpendicular to the target and the shooting line, with the feet placed shoulder-width apart. As an archer progresses from beginner to a more advanced level an "open stance" is used/developed. Each archer will have a particular preference but mostly this term indicates that the leg furthest from the shooting line will be a half to a whole foot-length in front of the other, on the ground.

To load, the bow is pointed toward the ground and the shaft of the arrow is placed on an arrow rest which is attached in the bow window. The back of the arrow is attached to the bowstring with the nock (a small plastic component which is typified by a "v" groove for this purpose). This is called "nocking the arrow". As said above, typical arrows with three vanes should be oriented such that a single vane, the "cock feather" is pointing away from the bow.

The bowstring and arrow are held with three fingers. When using a sight, the index finger is placed above the arrow and the next two fingers below. Instinctive shooting is a technique eschewing sights and is often preferred by traditional archers (shooters of longbows and recurves). In either case the string is usually placed in either the first or second joint of the fingers.

The bow is then raised and drawn. This is often one fluid motion which tends to vary from archer to archer. The string hand is drawn towards the face, where it should rest lightly at an anchor point. This point is consistent from shot to shot and is usually at the corner of the mouth or on the chin. The bow arm is held outwards toward the target. The elbow of this arm should be rotated so that the inner elbow is perpendicular to the ground, though archers with hyper extendable elbows tend to angle the inner elbow toward the ground.

In proper form, the archer stands erect, forming a 'T'. The archer's lower trapezius muscles are used to pull the arrow to the anchor point. Some bows will be equipped with a mechanical device, called a clicker, which produces a clicking sound when the archer reaches the correct draw length. The arrow is typically released by relaxing the fingers of the drawing hand. Usually this type of release aims to keep the drawing arm rigid and move it back using the back muscles, as opposed to using arm motion. An archer should also pay attention to the recoil or follow through of his or her body, as it may indicate problems with form (technique).

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Archery - Bow String

Bow String joins the two ends of the bow stave and launches the arrow. Desirable properties include light weight, strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to water. Mass has most effect at the center of the string; one gram of extra mass in the middle of the string slows the arrow about as much as 3.5 grams at the ends. Most bow strings may be described as either simple, reverse-twisted, or looped.

Simple strings may be made of any fiber, twisted into a single cord. Such strings have been used in many parts of the world and are still effective and fairly quick to make. However, they tend to be weaker for their weight, and they may also come apart if not kept constantly under tension. They are normally secured to the bow by a knot at each end.

Reverse-twisted strings are traditional in Europe and North America for most natural materials. Linen and hemp fiber have been widely used. The form is also used for modern materials. A reverse-twisted string is made of separate bundles, each bundle individually twisted in one direction; the entire group of bundles is then twisted in the other direction. The result tends to be stronger for its weight than a simple or looped string, and holds together better than a simple string. A further advantage is that the full thickness of the string passes around the nocks on the ends of the bow, where wear is usually greatest. Additional threads may also be laid in at the nocking points for the bow stave and for the arrow, which are sites of likely wear. The string may be secured to the bow by a knot at each end, usually a timber hitch, also known as the bower's knot.

Looped strings are made of one or more continuous loops of material. Modern strings are often made as a single continuous loop: this is then served to give the final form. Disadvantages include the lesser amount of fiber at the ends, where wear is most likely; this may be overcome by serving the string. In many parts of Asia, traditional strings have a single loop in the center, with the ends made of separate lengths tied on using a special knot. This design allows extra fiber to be used at the ends, where weight is less important and wear more likely.

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Friday 3 June 2011

Archery - Types of Fletching

Fletching is traditionally made from bird feathers, usually Turkey. Also solid plastic vanes and thin sheetlike spin vanes are used. They are attached near the nock (rear) end of the arrow with thin double sided tape, glue, or, traditionally, sinew. Three fletches is the most common configuration in all cultures, though as many as six have been used. Two will result in unstable arrow flight.

When three-fletched the fletches are equally spaced around the shaft with one placed such that it is perpendicular to the bow when nocked on the string (though with modern equipment, variations are seen especially when using the modern spin vanes). This fletch is called the "index fletch" or "cock feather" (also known as "the odd vane out" or "the nocking vane") and the others are sometimes called the "hen feathers". Commonly, the cock feather is of a different color. Traditionally, the hens are solid and the cock is barred. However, if archers are using fletching made of feather or similar material, they may use same color vanes, as different dyes can give varying stiffness to vanes, resulting in less precision. When four-fletched, often two opposing fletches are cock feathers and occasionally the fletches are not evenly spaced.

The fletching may be either parabolic (short feathers in a smooth parabolic curve) or shield (generally shaped like half of a narrow shield) cut and is often attached at an angle, known as helical fletching, to introduce a stabilizing spin to the arrow while in flight. Whether helicial or straight fletched, when natural fletching (bird feathers) are used it is critical that all feathers come from the same side of the bird.

Oversized fletchings can be used to accentuate drag and thus limit the range of the arrow significantly; these arrows are called flu-flus. Misplacement of fletchings can often change the arrow's flight path dramatically.

Archery - Types of Arrows

The most common form of arrow consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end and with fletchings and a nock attached to the other end. Shafts are typically composed of solid wood, fiberglass, aluminium alloy, carbon fiber, or composite materials. Wooden arrows are prone to warping. Fiberglass arrows are brittle, but can be produced to uniform specifications easily.

Aluminium shafts were a very popular high-performance choice in the latter half of the 20th century due to their straightness, lighter weight, and subsequently higher speed and flatter trajectories. Carbon fiber arrows became popular in the 1990s and are very light, flying even faster and flatter than aluminium arrows. Today, arrows made up of composite materials are the most popular tournament arrows at Olympic Events, especially the Easton X10 and A/C/E.

The arrowhead is the primary functional component of the arrow. Some arrows may simply use a sharpened tip of the solid shaft, but it is far more common for separate arrowheads to be made, usually from metal, stone, or other hard materials. The most commonly used forms are target points, field points, and broad-heads, although there are also other types, such as bodkin, judo, and blunt heads.

Archery - Types of Bows

While there is great variety in the construction details of bows (both historic and modern) all bows consist of a string attached to elastic limbs that store mechanical energy imparted by the user drawing the string. Bows may be broadly split into two categories: those drawn by pulling the string directly and those that use a mechanism to pull the string.

Directly drawn bows may be further divided based upon differences in the method of limb construction, notable examples being self bows, laminated bows and composite bows. Bows can also be classified by the bow shape of the limbs when unstrung; in contrast to simple straight bows, a recurve bow has tips that curve away from the archer when the bow is unstrung. The cross-section of the limb also varies; the classic longbow is a tall bow with narrow limbs that are D-shaped in cross section, and the flatbow has flat wide limbs that are approximately rectangular in cross-section.

The classic D-shape comes from the use of the wood of the yew tree. The sap-wood is best suited to the tension on the back of the bow, and the heart-wood to the compression on the belly. Hence, a limb sector of yew wood shows the narrow, light-coloured sap-wood on the 'straight' part of the D, and the red/orange heartwood forms the curved part of the D, to balance the mechanical tension/compression stress. Cable-backed bows use cords as the back of the bow; the draw weight of the bow can be adjusted by changing the tension of the cable. They were widespread among Inuit who lacked easy access to good bow wood. One variety of cable-backed bow is the Penobscot bow or Wabenaki bow, invented by Frank Loring (Chief Big Thunder) about 1900. It consists of a small bow attached by cables on the back of a larger main bow.

A compound bow is a bow designed to reduce the force required to hold the string at full draw, hence allowing the archer more time to aim with less muscular stress. Most compound designs use cams or elliptical wheels on the ends of the limbs to achieve this. A typical let-off is anywhere from 65%–80%. For example, a 60-pound bow with 80% let-off will only require 12 pounds of force to hold at full draw. Up to 99% let-off is possible.

The compound bow has become the most widely used type of bow for all forms of hunting in North America. The compound bow has become a highly popular form of archery, so much so that it is the most commonly used bow form in archery today. The compound bow was first developed in 1966 by Holless Wilbur Allen in Missouri, and a US patent was granted in 1969.

Mechanically drawn bows typically have a stock or other mounting, such as the crossbow. They are not limited by the strength of a single archer and larger varieties have been used as siege engines.

Modern Primitive Archery

Modern Primitive Archery transitioned after eighteenth century revival of Archery. In the United States, competition archery and bow-hunting for many years used English-style longbows. The revival of modern primitive archery may be traced to Ishi, who came out of hiding in California in 1911. Ishi was the last of the Yahi Indian tribe. His doctor, Saxton Pope, learned many of Ishi's archery skills, and passed them on.

The Pope and Young Club, founded in 1961 and named in honor of Pope and his friend, Arthur Young, is one of North America's leading bow-hunting and conservation organizations. Founded as a nonprofit scientific organization, the Club is patterned after the prestigious Boone and Crockett Club. The Club advocates and encourages responsible bow-hunting by promoting quality, fair chase hunting, and sound conservation practices.

From the 1920s, professional engineers took an interest in archery, previously the exclusive field of traditional craft experts. They led the commercial development of new forms of bow including the modern recurve and compound bow. These modern forms are now dominant in modern Western archery; traditional bows are in a minority.

In the 1980s, the skills of traditional archery were revived by American enthusiasts, and combined with the new scientific understanding. Much of this expertise is available in the Traditional Bowyer's Bibles. Modern game archery owes much of its success to Fred Bear, an American bow hunter and bow manufacturer.

Archery - History

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow. Archery is present in human race from ancient times. Earliest arrows date back 64,000 years from Sibudu Cave, South Africa. Projectile points are known from early in prehistory. The earlier examples were used on spears or on atlatl darts. Bows eventually replaced the atlatl as the predominant means for launching sharp projectiles on all continents except Australia.

Archery figured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures. Classical civilizations fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Archery was an important military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. Arrows were especially destructive against unarmoured masses and the use of archers often proved decisive. Mounted archers combined range with speed and mobility in warfare.

Bow and Arrows

The bow seems to have been invented in the late Paleolithic or early Mesolithic periods. The oldest indication for its use in Europe comes from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and date from the late Paleolithic, about 10,000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft and a 15–20 centimetre (6–8 inches) long fore shaft with a flint point. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark.

Bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its pre-dynastic origins. Classical civilizations, notably the Assyrians, Persians, Parthians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, and Japanese and Turks fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Archery was highly developed in Asia and in the Islamic world. In East Asia, ancient Korean civilizations, such as the Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo were well known for their regiments of exceptionally skilled archers. Central Asian tribesmen (after the domestication of the horse) and American Plains Indians (after gaining access to horses) were extremely adept at archery on horseback.

Archery - Mythology

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow. Archery being present from ancient times has lot to do with Mythology. Deities and heroes in several mythologies are described as archers. It includes Robin Hood, to name the most famous one. References to archery are also frequently made in Greek mythology, in which the story told of Ulysses in the twenty-first book of the Odyssey is a well-known example.

Ulysses is indeed mentioned as being eminently skilled in the art of archery. Penelope, thinking that her husband will never come back after twenty year of absence, forms a resolution to determine which of her suitors shall receive her hand by shooting with Ulysses’s bow. Ulysses, back from the Trojan War and disguised as a shepherd, is the only one able to draw his own bow and shoot an arrow through twelve rings. This way he can prove his wife who he is and defeat all of those who had taken advantage of his long absence.

It also includes the Greek Artemis and Apollo, the Roman Diana and Cupid, the Germanic Agilaz. The list continues in legends like those of William Tell, Palnetoke, or Robin Hood. Armenian Hayk and Babylonian Marduk, Indian Karna, Arjuna, Rama, Abhimanyu, and Shiva, and Persian Arash were all archers.

Earlier Greek representations of Heracles normally depict him as an archer. The Nymphai Hyperboreioi (Νύμφαι Ὑπερβόρειοι) were worshipped on the Greek island of Delos as attendants of Artemis, presiding over aspects of archery; Hekaerge (Ἑκαέργη), represented distancing, Loxo (Λοξώ), trajectory, and Oupis (Οὖπις), aim. In East Asia, Yi the archer features in several early Chinese myths, and the historical character of Zhou Tong features in many fictional forms.

Jumong, the first Taewang of the Goguryeo kingdom of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, is claimed by legend to have been a near-godlike archer. In West African Yoruba belief, Osoosi is one of several deities of the hunt who are identified with bow and arrow iconography and other insignia associated with archery.

English literature also honours the longbow for famous victories in the battles of Crecy, Agincourt and Poitiers. The first known organised competition in archery was held at Finsbury, England in 1583 and included 3000 participants. By the time of the 30 Years War (1618-1648) it was clear that, due to the introduction of the gunfire, the bow as weapon belonged to the past. Since then archery has been developing as a recreational and competitive sport.

Archery - Overview

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow. The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system (a bow with arrows) that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures. Archery is derived from Latin word 'arcus'. Archery has been used for hunting and combat historically. However in modern times, Archery's main use is that of a recreational activity. One who practices archery is known as an 'archer' or 'bowman'. The one who is fond of or an expert at archery can be referred to as a 'toxophilite'.

Archery was an important military and hunting skill before the use of gunpowder. Classical civilizations fielded large numbers of archers in their armies. Archery figured prominently in the mythologies of many cultures. Arrows were especially destructive against unarmoured masses and the use of archers often proved decisive. Mounted archers combined range with speed and mobility in combats.Archery is used as a recreational activity nowadays.

Archery had its debut at the 1900 Summer Olympics and has been contested in 13 Olympiads. Archery is governed by the International Archery Federation (FITA). Recurve archery is the only discipline of archery featured at the Olympic Games.