Innehållsförteckning för Issue 182 från Bow International

Welcome to Issue 182, our annual Gift Guide. Our staff have done their best to select the best for you and your bow - this year’s theme was luxury and best-of-the-best. However, it is not about overindulgence – on the contrary, we wanted to pick top quality items that will last, items that will serve you well and elevate your performance a notch or two. Within its 16 pages you will find items for recurve and compound, while barebow archers will be offered a choice of four barebow risers with four different philosophies behind them. GAS Bowstrings present their compound string and cable range and give away a very special Jesse Broadwater Freakshow set. R-Core share some exciting updates, and we recommend their DIY grip kit. Our experts share invaluable…

It is my pleasure to bring you our annual selection of gift suggestions. Our staff (myself included), have selected our favourite top-of-the-line items for recurve, compound and barebow. This year’s theme is luxury and best-of-the-best; we wanted to bring together what we felt was the best quality equipment and accessories that can give you that little extra and take your performance to the next level. For recurve we looked for inspiration to the Olympic and international circuit; for compound we looked far and wide, and focussed on gear that has the potential to elevate your performance; and inspired by our Barebow Special (Issue 177), we decided to go with the “unusual suspects”, focussing on four unique barebow risers – all with a unique philosophy behind them. We brought in two…

Archery isn't just about precision and steady hands, it demands robust joint health and strength for consistent and powerful shots. Whether you're an experienced archer or just starting out, prioritising joint health is crucial for performance and injury prevention. Archery activity places high demands on your joints. The repetitive motion of drawing and releasing a bow can strain both muscles and joints, leading to repetitive strain injuries (RSIs) in the shoulders, elbows, wrists, and fingers. Additionally, maintaining proper posture and stability throughout shooting requires strength and stability in the core, hips, and lower back. So here are my recommendations for every archer to help avoid those injuries. Need additional guidance? Feel free to message me about my strength in archery workout program. A PROPER WARM-UP Begin each training session with…

The Global Martial Arts Forum took place from the 7th to the 9th of October, at the headquarters of the International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development and Engagement (ICMAYDE), in Chungju, South Korea. The theme of the 2024 forum was Martial Arts as Living Heritage: Its Past, Present and Future. The main aim of the three-day event was to ascertain the current state of traditional martial arts practices from across the globe, as well as the “good and evil” of traditional martial arts safeguarding efforts. One of the key questions posed at the forum was, in what ways does a traditional martial art need to comply with the current enlistment criteria of the UNESCO Lists of Intangible Cultural Heritage to be categorised as one of the intangible cultural…

The Way of Archery was first published on February 28, 2015, by two Chinese history enthusiasts-researchers, Jie Tian and Justin Ma. These two American-based authors shared a common goal – to promote Chinese culture to a wider audience in the English language, using archery as a tool. Many have translated and annotated the scrupulously detailed 17th century treatise written by Gao Ying, the Ming Dynasty author who wrote his Chinese military training manual in 1637, and it is a source commonly used by archers today. Active practitioners of archery Tian and Ma not only make this text accessible and remarkably practical, but they also present their interpretation of the philosophical and spiritual aspects of the Manual, helping us better understand and connect with the ancient Chinese warrior; there is always a…

Kim Woojin has been doing Korea proud for many years, but this year he has written himself into the history books forever by becoming the most decorated male recurve archery in history. His ninth World Cup Final gold in Tlaxhala, Mexico, was added to his haul of 29 World Cup Stage golds, as well as 10 World Championship golds - I won’t go into all the others. This Tlaxhala gold was won on the back of stepping off the podium in Paris as the triple gold Olympic Champion just some two months earlier. Kim Woojin started shooting in 2001, made his international debut in 2009, and represented Korea at three consecutive Games. At just 32, he shows no signs of easing off. I quote: “I think it will be even…

The 2024 World Field Championships were hosted by Lakeland Archery Club in Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada from September 16 to September 22 - a beautiful setting of vast woodlands, fields, and we even got a glimpse of the Northern Lights - but unfortunately no moose or bears. RESULTS In the men’s recurve division, Olympic silver medallist Brady Ellison emerged victorious after a stunning final with Ryan Tyack, displaying incredible precision and focus throughout the competition. In the women’s recurve event the 2023 European U21 field champion, Roberta Di Francesco took the gold against Gaby Schloesser. The compound categories were equally competitive, with Mike Schloesser and Paige Pearce taking the top spots in the men’s and women’s divisions respectively. Their finals were spectacular, and both richly deserved their wins. In…

At Bow we strive to select the best for you and your bow. We think GAS Bowstrings is one of those companies, so we caught up with the company’s president, Eric Griggs, and the GAS Bowstrings manager, Braden Gellenthien, known to you all as one of the biggest compound legends of all time. We asked Eric what sets his company apart from other string builders. Here is what he had to say: “Our process, and the great team of string builders that work for GAS. Our process is driven by over 100 years of bowstring building experience amongst our core leadership team. I’ve been building strings for 30 years myself. If there’s a way to build, tension, stretch, break or test a bowstring, we’ve seen it and done it! Our…

ARCHER’S MAT This large (30”x 14”) rubber-backed no-slip countertop mat appeared in Issue 179; it is the ultimate crib tool or a cheat-sheet for all the compound bow tuners out there. The Archer’s Mat has all the essential nuggets of information and instruction, in a compact and comprehensible format. Amongst other things, it tells you how to calculate the FOC, tie a D-Loop, serve a string or tie a string knot. The mat also provides some additional tips on paper tuning and arrow wrap installation. It is made of mouse-pad material for easy arrow wrap install and it protects the counter or table surface from scratching, stopping the bolts and screws from rolling around while you work on your gear. At this price and quality, the Archer’s Mat is a…

Q Is there a particular type of personality or temperament which is best suited to being a successful archer? A The definitive answer is – no. Archers, like all other sports people, come with a wide crosssection of temperaments, and it comes down to how one personally creates a mental atmosphere which works best for them. In my earliest experience in the sixties, my nation, Australia, had a trio of world class recurve archers, Hans Wright, Graeme Telford, and Bernie Adams; all men functioned quietly, calmly, with an absolute minimum of exuberance. This led me to believe that as a more extraverted, animated, social, talkative individual, I had completely the wrong personality to succeed. This of course proved to be a fallacy when I shot in the USA in the seventies, and…

Q What is the most important thing that I need to do to make sure I have a balanced expansion? My coaches explain it in a complicated way, but I would like a simpler answer. A There are two important aspects of using a clicker well: using large muscles and having a consistent draw length. I very much like the way Kim Woo Jin draws his bow. The bow arm shoulder is close to its position at full draw right from the start of the draw. This means that, first, he is not moving the shoulder joint much under heavy load, which helps protect him from injury, and second, by drawing with his forearm at about eye height and with the drawing arm elbow on the line of force he does…