Archery

Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows at a target. The word comes from the Latin word arcus, which means bow. Long ago, people used archery for hunting and for fighting. Today, it is mainly a sport and a fun activity that people enjoy in their free time.

A person who practices archery is usually called an archer, a bowman, or a toxophilite.

History

Main article: History of archery

Archers have used bows and arrows for a very long time. The oldest known arrows come from South African sites such as Sibudu Cave, about 72,000 to 60,000 years ago. The earliest complete bows and arrows were found in Northern Europe, including in Germany. Many civilizations, including the Romans, Chinese, and Japanese, had many archers in their armies. The Scythians may have invented the first composite bows, and they became very skilled at archery on horseback. The crossbow came to Europe around the tenth century. When firearms were developed, they replaced the bow and arrow in war, although archery stayed popular for sport and hunting.

In the late 1700s, archery became a fashionable hobby among wealthy people. Sir Ashton Lever formed the Toxophilite Society in London in 1781. In the 1840s, people tried again to make archery a modern sport, and the first Grand National Archery Society meeting was held in York in 1844. Horace A. Ford helped improve archery standards. Archery was included at the 1900 Paris Olympics and returned to the Olympics in 1972. Fred Bear helped make modern hunting archery popular. Many myths and legends also feature archers, such as Artemis, Apollo, Robin Hood, and Wilhelm Tell.

Equipment

Main article: Bow and arrow

Main article: Arrow

Main article: Bowstring

Main articles: Bracer, Finger tab, and Thumb ring

Main article: Release aid

Main article: Stabiliser (archery)

Every bow has a string attached to bendy arms called limbs. The limbs store energy when the archer pulls the string back. Bows fall into two groups. One group is pulled back directly by the string, such as self bows, laminated bows, and composite bows. The other group uses a mechanism. Some bows, like the recurve bow, have tips that curve away from the archer when they are not strung. The longbow and flatbow have different limb shapes. Cable-backed bows were common among the Inuit. The Wabenaki bow was invented by Frank Loring (Chief Big Thunder) around 1900. In Arab archery, Turkish archery, and Japanese archery, arrows are released from the right side. The compound bow was invented by Holless Wilbur Allen in the 1960s. It uses cams or wheels to make the string easier to hold when fully pulled back. Bows drawn by a mechanism, like the crossbow, have a stock. Some of these can be as large as siege engines.

An arrow usually has a shaft, an arrowhead at the front, and fletchings and a nock at the back. Archers often carry arrows in a quiver. Shafts can be made from wood, bamboo, fiberglass, aluminium alloy, carbon fiber, or composite materials. Fletchings were traditionally made from bird feathers, but plastic vanes are also used. Most arrows have three. Some arrows with large fletchings, called flu-flus, are meant to slow down. The Dacron string used on most modern bows is strong for its weight. Traditional bows still use materials like linen. In Njál's saga, a wife refuses to cut her hair to make a bowstring for her husband, Gunnar Hámundarson.

Most modern archers wear a bracer, or arm-guard, to protect the arm from the string. The word comes from the armoury term "brassard". The Navajo people have made very decorated bracers that are used only as ornaments. Many female archers wear chest protection. Archers also protect their drawing fingers with a leather tab, a glove, or a thumb ring. A release aid is a device that helps the archer let go of the string smoothly. Stabilizers help balance the bow and reduce vibration.

Archers usually hold the bow based on which eye is dominant. For example, an archer who is right-eye dominant holds the bow in the left hand and draws the string with the right hand. The one exception is modern kyūdō, where all archers are trained to hold the bow in the left hand. Some people think the hand with the most skill should draw the string instead, because a smooth release gives the most repeatable shots. Either eye can be used for aiming. An eye patch can be worn over the dominant eye to help train the weaker eye.

The hand holding the bow is the bow hand. The other hand is the drawing hand or string hand. In modern target archery, the archer usually stands with the body nearly sideways to the target, with feet about shoulder-width apart. To load, the archer points the bow toward the ground, places the arrow on the rest, and attaches the back of the arrow to the string with the nock. Most archers hold the string with three fingers. Many traditional archers prefer Instinctive shooting, which does not use sights. The archer draws the string toward the face until it rests at an anchor point, such as the corner of the mouth, chin, cheek, or ear. The bow arm is held out toward the target. The Korean archer Jang Yong-Ho is an example of an archer who angles the elbow downward. Archers use their back muscles, including the trapezius muscles, to pull the arrow back. The arrow is released by relaxing the fingers (see bow draw). Archers pay attention to the follow through, which can show problems with form. Most modern archers use an eleven-step process called the NTS (National Training System).

Aiming methods

There are two main ways to aim in archery. One uses a mechanical or fixed sight. The other uses a barebow. Mechanical sights are attached to the bow. They can be as simple as a pin, or they can use magnifying lenses. Modern compound bows often have a peep sight built into the string. This helps the archer hold the same anchor point each time. World Archery does not allow peep sights on other bow types. Compound bows also limit the draw length so the arrow speed stays steady. Traditional bows allow much more variation. Barebow archers often use a sight picture. This is what they see together: the target, bow, hand, arrow, and arrow tip. If the archer keeps the same anchor point and a fully straight bow arm, shots with the same sight picture land on the same point. This lets the archer adjust their aim over several shots.

Modern archery equipment usually includes sights. Many archers who use traditional bows practice instinctive aiming, also called instinctive shooting. This method relies on the subconscious mind, proprioception, and muscle memory. It means shooting "by feel." The two most common release methods without a mechanical tool are split-finger and three-under. In split-finger, the index finger sits above the arrow, and the middle and ring fingers sit below it. In three-under, all three fingers sit below the arrow. This helps the archer look down the arrow. People often call this "gun barreling," after how people aim a firearm. When using short bows or shooting from horseback, archers rely on hand-eye coordination instead of a sight picture. With enough practice, they can become quite accurate. Gap shooting is used by instinctive shooters. It means focusing on the arrow tip while keeping the target in view, and judging the gap between them.

Physics

When a person throws an object by hand, its speed depends on the kinetic energy that the thrower's muscles give it by doing work. That energy can only be added over a short distance, set by arm length, and over a short time. So the real limit is power, which is how much energy can be added in that time. Muscles follow the force–velocity relationship, so a hand-thrown object cannot go as fast as it could if the muscles had more time.

A bow lets muscles work more slowly, which allows more force and more work. This work is stored in the bow as elastic potential energy. When the string is released, the energy goes into the arrow much faster than muscles could deliver it, so the arrow flies faster and farther. Some energy is lost through elastic hysteresis, and some is absorbed by the bow and string. Modern arrows are made with a matched stiffness, called spine, so they bend in a controlled way around the bow. This is known as the archer's paradox, and it helps arrows stay accurate. Shooting a bow without an arrow, called dry firing, leaves almost all the energy in the bow. This can damage the bow, so it should never be done.

Hunting

Main article: Bow hunting

Using archery to catch wild animals for food is called "bow hunting." It is very different from hunting with guns. Because the hunter must be much closer to the animal, bow hunters often get very close to their prey. They may move quietly, follow it, or wait in a hidden spot called a blind or in a tree stand. In many countries, including much of the United States, bow hunting is allowed for large and small animals. Bow hunters usually get longer hunting seasons than hunters who use other weapons. Compound bows are often used for hunting large animals because they are easier to learn than the longbow or recurve bow. These bows may have fiber optic sights and other tools that help people aim more accurately at longer distances. Using a bow and arrow to catch fish is called "bow fishing."

Archery in schools

Many schools in the United States teach archery through NASP (National Archery in the Schools Program). NASP teaches students the basics of shooting and different ways to hold and aim. It also teaches how to care for a bow and runs contests, including State and Nationals.

Modern competitive archery

Main article: Modern competitive archery

Competitive archery is about shooting arrows at a target to test accuracy from a set distance or distances. The most popular form around the world is target archery. In Europe and America, a form called field archery or 3D Archery is especially popular. Its targets are usually set at different distances in a wooded area. In the United States, competitive archery is run by USA Archery and the National Field Archery Association (NFAA), which also certifies instructors.

Para archery is archery adapted for athletes with a disability. It is governed by World Archery (WA) and is one of the sports in the Summer Paralympic Games. There are also several other less well-known and historical forms of archery. Some are archery novelty games, and others are flight archery, where the aim is to shoot the greatest distance.