The Archer's Paradox: A Brief Understanding of Traditional Recurve Bow Shooting

I read a few articles about archery today , most of which ridiculed the arrow -pinching shooting method. In fact, the arrow -pinching shooting method has its own heritage in traditional Chinese archery. The Yi style of shooting is the arrow- pinching style, but this shooting method is only suitable for bows with relatively small poundage , such as the stick bow . Bows with larger poundage cannot be pinched, just like the pain in the fingers after shooting for a long time with the Mediterranean shooting method, which is caused by too much tension. Speaking of shooting methods, I have read some articles recently and have gained some new insights about the archer 's paradox. I used to think that the arrow moves forward in a curve when it is shot out because the fingers rub the bowstring , and when the bow and arrow and the arrow with appropriate deflection are in a better state, the node connection line points directly to the target. In order to promote archery , I will explain a little bit and let more people like archery and fall in love with archery . First, I will explain the archer 's paradox, which is that when shooting arrows , it is obvious that


The arrow points to the target but misses. When the arrow points to the target slightly off, it hits the target. This situation is called the archer 's paradox. Let me explain the deflection. Deflection is also called rigidity, but it does not mean that the material of the arrow is rigid, but whether the arrow as a whole is easy to twist during the forward movement. In addition, the dynamic deflection depends onthe length of the arrow shaft the weight of the arrowhead arrow is generally calculated as FOC (%) = 100% × (AL/2) / L. Arrows for different purposes have different center of gravity ratios. The node I mentioned above is the point where the arrow does not move during the bending and forward movement. A bow with a small tension requires an arrow with a small deflection. A small tension can cooperate with an arrow with a small deflectionto have a stable node. A bow with a large tension requires an arrow with a large deflection. A small tension cannot form a node. The bending effect produced when the arrow is accelerated by a large tension will be more significant and the node will appear. Some brothers have more ideas, such as using an arrow without deflectionso that there will be no nodes or troughs. If you point directly at the target, you will hit it. At present, all arrows

Arrows all have deflection. How about making one separately? It’s so expensive and you may not be able to make it. Arrows are consumables. You can’t afford it!

Let me talk about my previous understanding. If you use your thumb to pull the string, it is Mongolian shooting. Because of the friction with the left side of the bowstring , the arrow should be placed on the right. Use three hooks to shoot the Mediterranean style. Because of the friction with the right side of the bowstring the better the arrow is, it should be placed on the left. I haven’t thought about it carefully, I just feel that way.
Later, I read articles and comments and learned that the opinion of professional archery teachers is that there is an angle between the direction of the bowstring the direction of the arrow sliding out. The direction of the string thrust is inconsistent with the initial sliding direction of the arrow . This unbalanced force causes the arrow to move sideways, and the inertia of the arrow itself hinders the lateral movement, so that the arrow slides out of the bow window and swings back and forth. Forming peaks and troughs. Archers need to find corresponding reference objects to make slight adjustments to increase shooting accuracy. This is why recurve bows are more suitable for competitive shooting than traditional bows . Because of the existence of the bow window, the arrow is closer to the center .The recurve bow has a greater tolerance for deflection.

My current understanding is thatthe direction of the bowstring arrow sliding direction interact to form the archer 's paradox. Specifically,there is an angle between the direction of the string movement and the direction of the arrow . When the arrow the arrow will aim at the target and correct it in the opposite direction.