As an archer, and a historical archery buff, I agree that some of the narration is highly questionable. But thatâs not the reason the video went viral. It went viral because his fast shooting and array of tricks is impressive. So I do not see this as a case of the internet showing its gullibility.
Also, âlack of consistent formâ is only an issue if you arenât hitting your target - form is just a tool to aid in consistent results, and any form that gets you the results you want without injury is de facto good form. Keep in mind that some people have really good proprioception, and can get away with form most people canât.
Archers who shoot aerial targets, for example, use a faster, less exacting looking form than Olympic target archers use, but they can hit moving targets that a skilled, slow shooting, medal winning Olympic archer just canât. Itâs a different skill set.
How gullible âthe internetâ is? Funny, I only recall seeing this video on one websiteâŚ
The criticism that the archer has no accuracy is also without evidence, since itâs based upon the supposition that he âobviouslyâ was not recorded missing his targets hundreds of other times. Itâs possible, but we could say that about anyone.
....and denigrates âwarrior archers only shooting at long distances,â (just one of many totally false claims) in order to paper over the fact that...
Iâd like to hear a different âfalse claimâ used to paper over that [opinion presented as fact]
That claim does not seem false to my hearing. I did catch the archer denigrating a strawperson who, being a long range straw-archer, underappreciates short range archery skills like his. I thought⌠who would actually denigrate such skills? And now I know.
But Iâd still like to hear about maybe the second or third of the âSeveralâ âfalse claimsâ that the archer purportedly makes.
Hey Xeni, the folks behind the video are friends. Let me know if youâd like to talk to them directly, as I donât think that post really represents whatâs going on here at all.
He shoots I guess⌠âZenâ. Doesnât look at the bow or the arrow.
Visualizes where the arrow must go.
Similar to âspeed shootersâ (in guns). They just look⌠and the bullet (hopefully) goes there.
Lots of practice⌠and practice⌠and practice.
As for traditional âlong-rangeâ archers, I think that is mostly a myth.
Bows were weak, arrows not straight, feather fletching, heads uneven, no sights.
Western archers (Romans etc) fired âen masseâ, sending clouds of arrows to the enemy.
Eastern (Japanese, Mongolian) archers had short bows⌠fired (usually) from horses close up to the target.
So, for comparison, here is Hoyt sponsored trick shot artist Frank Addington Jr. shooting at small targets, close up, with the bow behind his back. He is very accurate shooter close up, but heâs not using traditional archery form either.
Is someone going to chime here and say that Frank Addington Jr.'s trick shots are of no value because heâs not an Olympic shooter? I think not. Nor would anyone say enjoying watching the video is proof of the internetâs gullibility.
The OP reminds me a bit of that popular book by Harry G. Frankfurt called On Bullshit. And yet for all of its calling out bullshit, On Bullshit itself seemed to be largely bullshit (gussied up in philosophical pretense) rather than its antidote.
Iâd say it isnât a myth but rather misunderstood. Long distance volley archery isnât about aiming at and hit hitting individual targets from a distance, itâs about raining down large volumes of arrows into massed troops, as you note.
I agree, though, that the idea of accurately sniping individuals from 250 yards with a warbow is a myth.
War arrows were manufactured en mass and didnât have the consistency in weight needed to hit a man sized target that far away consistently, especially not with the variability of an all wood bow (wood loses elasticity the longer you hold the bow back, and in cold weather). Even the best Victorian era target archer, Horace A Ford, could not hit a 4 foot diameter target every time at 100 yards, and that was with lighter target bows and carefully selected arrows. However we shouldnât underestimate the general accuracy of long distance archery either. They might not get him on the first shot but they might will get them on a second. Thereâs more arrows where that first one came from.
This is the same guy whose videos were making the rounds a year or two ago, isnât it?
Lee Harvey Oswaldâs miss tape is hilarious. They keep driving that Lincoln Continental round and round Dealey Plaza while bullets ping off the tarmac like a summer squall.
Yeah, take that, âthe Internet!â
I think he coats his arrows with dimethylpolysiloxane, too.
Hereâs a bit of the past. Howard Hill. He did the archery for quite a few movies. My parents knew him and I took some classes from him when I was a kid. One story he told was doing the archery work with stunt men for westerns. He had to hit a little block of wood in the clothing of the stunt men. He said the only time he hurt someone was when he pined someoneâs hand to the wood with an arrow. It turned out that in order to get the horse to fall on command the stuntman had to turn the reigns in a such a way his hand was in front of the target block of wood. Next time you watch a western you can see the same movement used to get horses to fall.
Seriously, did anyone pass around the video saying, âcheck out this guyâs thesis on historical archery,â or did they say, âlook at these incredible archery trick shotsâ?
I, too, have the ability to miss the target hundreds of times!
Yup, itâs possible, and itâs something I consider when watching Dude Perfect videos. However Lars Andersonâs video shows him doing multiple shots in a single take. Itâs a lot harder to do that by chance.
âNo doubt there are literally hundreds of failed attempts that were cut
out of the carefully-edited video. His gimmick is speed, not accuracy,
and itâs obvious to anyone who actually knows anything about archery
that his complete lack of any kindâŚâ
Presumption of facts not in evidence + appeal to authority = pass.
I donât know what he said about history jives or not. Whether people shot bows from the right vs left side or not.
But his trick shooting seems sound. The motorcycle thing seems rather easy, as Iâve seen people do it on galloping horse back. And Iâve seen other people shoot quickly with bows.
As for him missing a lot - so what? To get proficient at trick shooting you miss A LOT. But if you keep at it you can be a god like Jerry Miculik.
Byron Ferguson was the trick shooter I was thinking in another thread who can pick coins out of the air with a bow.
Even for an appeal to authority, âanyone who actually knowsâ is pretty damn weak!
