Magnum,

"The Biblical "bow of bronze" was probably a reference to a composite scythian-tatar-type recurve bow of a similar design"

What is the reference to this statement?

I've done some research on this and the Hebrew word means "serpentine or snake like". Like the shape of a double convex bow or scythian type.

Thanks,
Johnny

Dear Johnny,

Thank you for that!  I'm not certain offhand where I read the references that have lead me to this conclusion, but I do believe that I am correct in this regard, due to several factors of time period, geography, descriptions of military equipment, tactics, and encounters, etc. attributed to the Hebrews and their Philistine, Persian, Median, Babylonian, Egyptian and other neighbors, etc.

I'll see what I can dig out of my library, computer files, head, etc. that may be of interest to you!  I do a lot of reading and research in many areas, and this is one of them.  Thank you again for the supporting information!

May I ask you what you know about the Benjaminnites?  Is there anything particularly interesting, or special that comes to mind?

I know that there is a connection between the Biblical word for serpent (Nekhash?) and the word for copper/bronze/etc. (Nekosheth), and that these two terms appear to be closely interrelated, and that Moses used a "bronze serpent" to heal the people's wounds at the mouths of "fiery serpents, etc., and that some Hermetic Kabalists claim an identification among these terms, and "Meshiach" or "anointed deliverer", if I am not mistaken, so the use of "serpentine" and "bronze" alternately by various translators to describe the bow would make sense.  As a "traveling man" with special interests in various religious and philosophical traditions, I spend some time every week trying to read up on similar matters.

Heh, heh! Totally agree with you on those points regarding archery, qigong, etc. Curious!

Yeah, I guess I sometimes assume that others are filling in the blanks on obscure points when I go into fast-forward information and minutiae upload mode!  I can probably blame it at least in part from my old M.I. officer days in the army when I had to give all sorts of intelligence briefings to commanders and their staff members, threat briefings and weather reports, etc.  to the whole battalion, and...?...(oh, yes, and the "gun" report: "Boom, sir!" )

Your mention of your martial arts philosophy and background, and strength training, etc. are impressive, by the way!  It sounds like you have a well-rounded, and extensive background.

You've inspired me to try to actually obtain one of these unusual high-powered bows, and maybe even two, to see what they look and feel like.  I have asked the bowyer if he can get me a Crimean Tatar version in the 120-pound range, and /or the Hungarian Bow in the 160 pound range.  He doesn't keep these in stock, as it turns out, and he will have to build them, so it will unfortunately take at least three months, he told me today , but that didn't discourage me.  I asked him to give me the final details, and if all looks satisfactory, I plan to order one, or both, depending on the expense involved, etc.  I'll let everyone here know as soon as I know more.

The site for the Korean archery picture of the man with the 106-pound version of the Korean horn bow is at: http://koreanarchery.org/106lb.jpg

As it turns out, it looks like I could have been underestimating the range we were shooting at a bit, or else this guy backed of an additional 5m, because the source says that the arrow was destroyed, after hitting a target 145m away, as opposed to 140m (I think he must've backed off from the firing line 5m, but I can double check that)  Anyway, here's the address of the picture I promised of the tip of the arrow that was thus destroyed:
http://koreanarchery.org/point.jpg

I hope that you find these pictures interesting, Curious Aardvaark!  Have a good one!

Johnny,

That's a great observation!  What happens with Koreans who are just drawing bows casually is that they generally default to the three-or-four-finger draw, usually with a glove, without bothering to find the thumb ring, stuff, and screw it onto their thumb, adjust it to the correct angle, tighten the leather shem strap, etc. when they are not actually intending to fire an arrow with it.  This man also didn't lock his forearm fully when push-pulling the bow, which ALSO makes the draw more difficult for him to hold, but he's obviously strong enough to get away with it.

The thumb ring, if fitted well, doesn't really make the draw harder, unless it bites into your thumb  (In which case, it is no fun to draw even a LIGHTER weight bow!).  You just have to maintain a reasonably good grip on it.  When actually firing arrows, Koreans and other hornbow archers always use the thumb ring, because it makes the release much cleaner, and improves accuracy and protects the fingers somewhat with heavier draw weights, by precluding contact with the pressure end of the string.

Have to admit my archery experience is limited to a short course I took quite a few years ago. But we pretty much just used a 2 finger draw. That three finger draw looks pretty awkward as far as a smooth release goes. Guess like everything it's practice. :-)

Getting that kind of power out of such a light and short looking bow (I'm assuming that guy isn't 8 feet tall lol) is pretty damn impressive (mind you he's a tough looking bugger - serious callouses on his hand).

Martial arts wise I did some judo as a kid and have been studying tai-chi, wu-chi & qi-gong for about 6 years now. Strength training is actually a sort of necessity lol. I'm damned if I'm going on a diet as food is pretty much my only vice. So I have to do silly amounts of exercise to avoid getting extremely fat. And I build muscle faster than I burn fat, so I concentrate on the strength side of things rather than massive amounts of cardio (sort of a polynesian metabolism) :-)
I like the philosophy behind most martial arts and once you start feeling the chi moving around you pretty much get hooked :-)

So what's a thumb ring - is that what the chap holding the arrow head is wearing. I assume you hook that onto the string rather than fingers, But how do you release it and wouldn't it damage the string ?

Dear Funslinger,

There is a special way to hold the bow so that if you do it, and then release the thumb ring correctly, the bow will never come near your forearm, or wristwatch.  You also cant/tilt the bow slightly to the arrow side 15 degrees, so that the arrow looks like it is magically suspended in mid-air under the bow (actually it is being pinched/held in place by torque from the inner index finger-side of your string-pulling hand and upper-(proximal knuckle end of your) index finger).  The bow is devoid of handshock, so it should naturally just snap into the proper slanted position, at nearly 90 degrees from/perpendicular to your forearm, and palm.

Yes, style-wise, there's an interesting interweaving of flash and real substance in Korea.  You can't tell a person's skill or ability level until you get to know them, whether he or she  is flashy, or plain Jane in appearance here.

Dear Johnny,

They use a file and sandpaper to round the edges to fit the particular person's thumb, and often further cushion it with a small, custom-cut piece of leather glued with Locktite or similar bond.  I just hit the target with my first two shots today, then made a few more hits throughout the day.  Also, my near misses are getting closer together, and to the target than before.  My main teacher likes the sling, but a lot of the others there didn't really understand its charm...They wanted me to hit a 145m target on the first shot with a sling, and when that didn't happen, seemed to quickly lose interest.  But, considering that they USUALLY hit it with their bows with no problem, it's sort of hard to blame them!

By the way, on my second day of shooting, I hit the target on my fourth shot, and on the third day, I hit it on the sixth and tenth shots, so now they are letting me shoot on the regular line with the REAL archers, although I do so with mixed results, to say the least!  They sometimes miss the target, and I sometimes HIT it!

Still, I'm improving a LITTLE, while learning a LOT!  I'ts so instinctive, and trains you to shoot by feel as much as by sight!  That's really cool!  I hope it will help me with my slinging and other hand-eye throwing and striking activities.