Tint wrote on Aug 21^st, 2007 at 10:02pm:


Good equipment ... well tuned !  Good eyesight !! And perfect practice (coaching) makes perfect !

Evidently the Koreans are mad for archery.  They have a long tradition, using fairly Typical Asiatic composite bows, and they seem to have gotten into modern target archery in a big way.

This particular video gets linked to the "Mythbusters" bulletin board about once a week.    The Mythbusters did an episode on whether it was possible for Robin Hood (should he have actually existed) to split an arrow as shown in the movies.
They pretty well proved it was impossible, even finding out that the filming of the original Errol Flynn shot was done by having Howard Hill shoot a pre-split arrow that was held together with strings.

However, someone found this thing on Utube and it's been linked dozens of times.   If you look carefully, the "arrow" that the guy hits is not an arrow at all; it's a tube dressed up to look like an arrow.

I still wasn't satisfied with that myths busting. The arrow follows the grain - why is it impossible for the grain to follow the entire length of the shaft?!

There are a lot of problems with the "arrow split" thing that are not apparent at first blush.

Even if absolutely straight-grained wood is chosen for the arrows, a typical broadhead arrow will follow the line of least resistance and simply exit out one side or another.
Also, as not commonly shown in the movies, the arrow is spinning in flight.  The chance that a broadhead will hit exactly parallel to the grain is remote.
Period English arrows intended for warfare often used nocks made of horn, very tough.  "Self" nocks, just cut into the wood at right angles to the grain, are only safe for bows under 70 pounds or so.

Finally, recall that our buddy Robin was shooting at a tournament.  Very common in Merrie Olde England, where archery was mandated.  Robin would have been using target arrows, not broadheads.  Else the rangemaster would have been very upset with him for tearing up his targets.
Early on in the Mythbusters' testing, they found that target-type points were absolutely useless for arrow-splitting; they just slid off to one side.

One more objection (that's never brought up...) At best, Robin scored a tie.   His opponent hit the center of the "gold", and Robin duplicated the shot.   They needed a shoot-off.

Of course if you use modern hollow arrows it is much easier.  The point goes in and then splits the first arrow without bouncing out.  After destroying 4 or 5 arrows I now aim a different parts of the target with each shot.  I realize that it is not as sporting as using wooden arrow.

another piece of twisted metal that people call a bow

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejiv2E6f1sA&NR=1

heres some real shooting, with a long bow

Bikewer wrote on Aug 28^th, 2007 at 12:03pm:


Groan ... ... ...