This video is a mash-up of some of Archery's best cinematic moments. There is something ancient in connecting with traditional methods which is pure and reflects the quality and the character of the archer, not the equipment.
This video features the non-hunting aspects of traditional methods as well as the women (at least the female characters) that are shaping Archery in the 21st century.
moments for this video include;
Hunger Games - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5XmzSjqIPHs
The Weather Man - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ3tgtzkz_U
First up in, Segment 2, of our epic endeavor to cover all things gorgeous with a bow and arrow, we begin with Daniel.
She's hanging onto a Custom Recurve from Stewart Hybrid Bows. A quick search on the interwebs turns up bupkis. All I could find was a few messages in a forum thread and a defunct web address. It's a shame really, we really liked this video. The music was great and the model holding the hardware actually attempts to do things properly.
You can see a few more videos from Jeff Stewart, the man who posted this video over 2 years ago, on his youtube channel here.
In the description of the video Stewart explains, "I made this bow for Daniel last fall. It is Tiger wood, 40 lb at 28 inch draw. 40 pounds is still a bit much for her, she is pulling around 30 lb and 20 inches maybe. But she is driving nails with it!"
In one of the comments under this video, Jeff adds, "Its still a little to heavy for her to pull all the way but we are working on that! She scored a 143 in her first 3D tournament though." Way to go, Daniel! We'd love to see more videos.
Speaking of doing things properly, OMG!, this plucky brit is many things, including a quick learner. If you can make it through all the inane chatter at the beginning about a youtube school project, she actually makes remarkable improvement from her first through to her last shot of the day.'
Her name is Lex, and she is a serious youtuber. You can visit her youtube channel and become a fan here... if you like.
I find Lex's apathy rather unsettling, especially because she obviously has some natural abilities. Lex rattles off in the very beginning of this video,"in this video I am going to learn a new skill. A skill I probably shouldn't have, but now I do, and I can't undo it."
If you start poking about her youtube channel you won't discover much about her. In the about section of her TRYANNOSAURUSLEXXX youtube channel, she describes the content within as, "Dumb internet videos every Tuesday and Friday by Lex."
Finally, the video is called, Arrow to the butt prank, which does not sound funny to me. It was posted by the youtube handle, Just For Gags and if you watch it, I'm sure you'd agree; pretty damn funny.
I wonder how long it took the unknowing participants to miss the target. Perhaps they were helped to miss by crappy instruction, though it looks as though most who tried had reasonable form.
If you're into Traditional archery and at all savvy with the old internets you've probably seen, Lars Andersen skipping about, making claims that he'd rediscovered lost and far superior techniques with the old stick and string. Turns out, he was full of sh... himself, and was completely wrong on most fronts.
Enter the drop-dead gorgeous, ass-kicking, fire flinging, monkey staff twirling, Level 2 Instructor and her boyfriend's video channel dedicated to debunking... the bunk.
The name of the channel is is, skepticallypwnd and it covers everything from, well, now Archery to Bigfoot getting kicked in the giblets. It was most certainly Anna Maltese's feelings on Lar's video that prompted this clever and comprehensive response.
Point by point Maltese breaks down this internet sensation, and continues to be on-point with further rebuttals for the avid and interested archer saying, "In the interests of time, I had to cut down the rebuttal for the video. I’d have liked to mention two other things: first, that the reason most archers use the opposite side of the riser from the draw hand (resulting in the Archer’s Paradox) is that this allows us to actually sight down the arrow in a more direct aim at the target. On the same side, the arrow is hidden from the archer’s vision by the riser, and forces the archer to aim further to the other side in order to compensate for the skewed trajectory. And second, to Lars’ claim of piercing armor: unless chain mail is riveted, it’s easily pierced with an arrow even from a lightweight bow, and we never see whether it’s riveted or how far away Lars is from the chain mail when it’s pierced."
Lar's video has proved popular with uninitiated, but more quickly than he might have expected it, the black-lash from those with significant credentials has been not only swift, like the arrows from Lar's bow, but unlike arrows from his bow, powerful and accurate as well.
If you're interested in seeing more of John Rael, the producer of this video, you can visit his youtube channel at SkepticallyPwnd
If you're interested in reading more about how silly Lars is, please do so at Snopes. or GeekDad,
I'm starting with perhaps the most startling Archery video that I have ever seen. My first impression of this video was, "holly smokes! I've been doin it wrong." Upon closer inspection however, I've come to realize that this was more gimmick than game-changer. The consensus now is that the featured archer in this video, a Mr. Lars Andersen, is fast, but not so effective.
Jim MacQuarrie of GeekDad.com writes, "No doubt there are literally hundreds of failed attempts that were cut out of the carefully-edited video. His gimmick is speed, not accuracy, and it’s obvious to anyone who actually knows anything about archery that his complete lack of any kind of consistent form is going to require camera tricks and a lot of luck, which is exactly what’s on display here. He may in fact be the fastest archer in the world; he just shouldn’t pretend to be accurate."
That is the problem with this sort of bravado; you never really can tell how honest and accurate they are being with all the swollen egos and head bobbing going on. What I am still confused about is why this Danish dude likes shooting at Human shaped targets. Is he preparing for war? If he is preparing for some epic battle, I'd like to recommend that he doesn't "fire" any of his arrows at real human beings as they would simply and most definitely cause considerable pain followed by anger, rage, and then a barrage of bullets... that will kill him.
Military historian and historical weapons expert , Mike Loades (pictured to the left on horseback) , lambasts this Danish machine gun, expressing serious doubt of claims in the video that his arrows would penetrate proper chain mail with only a 30 pound draw. "I do not think military archers used incredibly lightweight bows brought back to barely half-draw. I do not think they lollopped about or shot lifting their rear leg into the air with an effeminate skip or lifted up one leg and shot under it. Hanging upside down on a climbing frame to shoot is impressive but has little military application." Mike goes on to say about Anderson's physical prowess, "I fear that parcours experts or gymnasts would scoff at the rather clumsy inelegance of his awkward physicality." You can read all of Mikes Loades comments on his fan facebook page.
Next up in Archery Instinct's first Trick Shot blog post is from BushcraftOz.com. On their youtube channel it reads; "I love everything to do with Australia and its natural environment. Bushcraft give me an outlet to learn useful and practical skills about the Australian environment while maintaining a respect and care for its continues prosperity." No bravado here, just straight shootin.
We also loved the names of these tricky shots including the, Smelly Cat, bug Splatter, and Rat in a tree.
Again, the best thing about this guy is that he seems legit and completely uninterested in puffing up his own chest. In the description of the video he writes, "This is not intended to make me look like a better archer than I am. Its meant to be a bit of a joke and fun and to maybe inspire the odd person to try archery. Play around, have a laugh and enjoy the bush at the same time. Some of these took many takes to get especially the damn Double Long Shot at the end!" Keep them coming from, BushcraftOz.com !
Finally, lets talk Howard Hill. It was a different time... men wore tights in the movies and women's brassieres looked like torpedoes; locked and loaded. There was much puffery, and prancing about, but all has been forgiven. Time heals all wounds and perhaps they'll be watching Lars Anderson, sixty years from now, but I'm not holding my breath.
This is my camera. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My camera is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My camera, without me, is useless. Without my camera, I am useless. I must shoot my camera true. I must shoot straighter than those filming around me. I will... My camera and I know that what counts on set is not the number of frames we fire, the lights or our flashes. We know that it is the focus that counts. We will focus... My camera is human, even as I, because it is my life. Thus, I will learn it as a brother. I will learn its weaknesses, its strength, its parts, its accessories, its glass and lens. I will keep my camera clean and ready, even as I am clean and ready. We will become part of each other. We will...
I like shooting stuff. I've always liked shooting stuff, and I consider myself jolly lucky that some how I've managed to carve out an existence where I get to shoot stuff on a regular basis. I shoot places, I shoot people, sometimes I shoot puppies. Thankfully I shoot them all with my trusty camera.
Like I said, I've always enjoyed shooting stuff, and I'm not sure where it came from originally. My mother I suppose, was the one who first encouraged me. A stick and some string with dowel rod arrows was my first weapon. Mother said that I had ancient Archery roots. Our great, great, great, forefather in Ancient Briton was a Yomen and feathered the French at the Battle of Agincourt. Not sure how actuate that is, but I'll buy it because it fits, and it's romantic as hell.
Of course now, it's mainly 24 frames per second that I'm shooting, but recently I've begun to create a real Archery program with my Girlfriend who caught the Archery bug from me. Truth be told, she's a much better shot than me, which is frustrating because she's only been shooting for a fraction of the time.
Here is a video we recently produced for Bodnik Bows in Germany, highlighting their Bearpaw Navajo; a beautiful 40 pound recurve with blonde accents.
The video caught the attention of Henry Bodnik of Bearpaw Bows and he commented via Skype that Hannah had excellent form and "looks like she's been shooting for years." I'll take that too, as Hannah Gart is my first official student.
Hannah runs a wellness retreat and activities business here in Sonoma County, California. It turns out there was considerable interest in Archery from the Lululemon crowd, and that the practice of Archery is similar to practice of Yoga.The first line of the wiki Yoga page reads, "Yoga (/ˈjoʊɡə/; Sanskrit: योग) is a physical, mental, and spiritual practice or discipline, that aims to transform body and mind." That is Archery in a nutshell.
Hannah and I have done several classes and workshops, and are gearing up to do more. Here is a video we recently made describing what a Yoga/Archery, or Archeryoga workshop looks like.
We are focusing on the Traditional form of archery, or Instinctive Archery which means there are no sights and no mechanical aides. The only piece of equipment that needs tuning is the Archer.
.JPG "cannon 60d on a zacuto should brace")
