I thought we had an archery thread
We have a Chinese archery and Mongolian archery thread and it comes up on over a hundred post now, but we don't have a general archery thread it seems, so perhaps this will be it. I'm moving it to ORA.
I dabbled in Kyudo and western archery, but it wasn't much more than some friends showing me the ropes...or rather, the string.
Support Native Craftsmanship
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lucas
Hi. I am going to take up archery, and I know someone mentioned that they either make or have a line on someone who crafts hand made native american bows. I can't remember if that was on this forum or someone I talked to in real life.
Is that you Goldenbrain? Hook me up brother.
Anyone got a connection? Not looking to purchase immediately but I will be looking at some point in the not to distant future.
Hi,
Cool idea! I just wanted to say that if you (or generally anyone) are looking for a Native American bow, and are going to pay money for this, make sure you actually support native crafts-people. I think there was a law passed not too long ago that non-native people do not have the right to sell "Native American crafts" and pass it off as authentic Amer. Indian. Another reason is that Amer. Indian people who do take up craftsmanship rely on this as an supplementary income, and there is much competition from non-native fake craftsmen.
One vendor/ craftspeople on the east coast where I live is the Wandering Bull (wanderingbull.com). They are a father/son run business and are Wampanoag out of Carver, MA. Not sure if they make bows though. If not a Google search should steer you in the right direction. And of course if you are a bit of a craftsman yourself you can always DIY it.
I only nibbled at it so I am by no means an authority.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lucas
Gene I'm also curious your experience between kyudo and western archery method.
Kyudo was really hard. There was a lot of formality, a lot of posture and mindset. For western archery, I took a class in high school that was very minimal, just basic structure and methods, and then point and shoot. Then I dabbled with some friends who shot, so that was super informal. The Kyudo was formal, even though it was just sitting in for a few sessions. Kyudo is a 'do' not a 'jitsu', so you would anticipate such formality. Plus, those Kyudo bows are really hard to draw and steady. The western stuff I shot with was either pretty light or those crazy compound bows that are super smooth to draw.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Lucas
was your kyudo more of an effeciency or meditative style?
When you grasp zen, there is no distinction.