1. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2013
    Messages:
    3,545
    Likes Received:
    2,083
    Location:
    Denver

    Everything you know about medieval archery is wrong!

    Discussion in 'Fantasy' started by Jack Asher, Jan 25, 2015.

    At least according to this guy, and considering he's the only one who has bothered to learn any of it I'd say he's probably right
     
  2. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,081
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    I've seen this guy before. It's cool what he can do. I put this multiple arrow hold in my story including having the character learn the technique from reading about it.
    [​IMG]

    Not the polished version but this is it. And the skill comes back in once near the end of the story.

    Mark climbed up on the large boulder that sat on the edge of the clearing. It provided him a perch a meter off the ground. He pulled three arrows at once from his quill and in one swift movement put them between different fingers. It looked awkward, a splay of arrows like a fan, but the arrows held. Continuing in one fluid movement, he jumped off the rock taking aim at the target by feel, not sight, the bow never reaching his eye level. The arrows loosed one at a time, thut thut thut, almost too fast to see. When his feet hit the ground, all three arrows hung firmly clustered in the bullseye. ​
     
    Komposten likes this.
  3. Chinspinner

    Chinspinner Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2011
    Messages:
    1,901
    Likes Received:
    1,023
    Location:
    London, now Auckland
    hahaha, this is one of the funniest things I've seen in ages. Interesting but fucking hilarious.
     
  4. EllBeEss

    EllBeEss Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2013
    Messages:
    299
    Likes Received:
    108
    Location:
    Perth
    Interesting :) Makes me wish I was still working on my fantasy so I could uses some of this.
     
  5. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,081
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Why?
     
    Jack Asher likes this.
  6. Chinspinner

    Chinspinner Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Oct 15, 2011
    Messages:
    1,901
    Likes Received:
    1,023
    Location:
    London, now Auckland
    Really? It is just me that finds a grown man jumping around like a maniac with a bow and arrow incredibly funny? Looks like it must be.
     
    matwoolf likes this.
  7. Gawler

    Gawler Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2014
    Messages:
    298
    Likes Received:
    155
    Location:
    Australia via Hawaii via Australia via England
    For some reason I have images of French knights at Agincourt riding back to their own archers and telling them. "I got some more arrows for you, just pull them out of my chest when you need them."
     
  8. Okon

    Okon Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 26, 2013
    Messages:
    690
    Likes Received:
    388
    Oh no, not just you! I can easily picture a warrior from 'back in the day' finding it incredibly funny, too—for about 0.2 seconds (0.4 seconds if his two buddies bite the dirt first).

    The most amazing part of this is that there were people far more skilled than Lars in that time. I can't even imagine what that was like.
     
    EllBeEss, Jack Asher and GingerCoffee like this.
  9. thirdwind

    thirdwind Member Contest Administrator Reviewer Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 17, 2008
    Messages:
    7,885
    Likes Received:
    3,395
    Location:
    Boston
    That is one of the most awesome things I've seen in a long time.
     
    MustWrite likes this.
  10. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,081
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    I don't think it's any funnier than grown men playing football or basketball.
    Andersen looks like someone incredibly skilled to me.

    You want funny? How about fastest gamer thumbs in the West? :p
     
  11. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2013
    Messages:
    3,545
    Likes Received:
    2,083
    Location:
    Denver
    I had heard a report somewhere, and damn me if I can find it, by a European who had seen gurkturks on horseback drilling and said they could fire off 20 arrows in 20 seconds. I assumed either that his numbers were inflated (as historical accounts universally are) or that the turks had some kind of secret method. Seeing this guy work I totally believe it.

    Of course the turks were on galloping horses on which they had ridden since they were toddlers. So I guess we have to wait while Lars astral projects back to his childhood, and learns to ride before he can walk, in order to see something like that.
     
    Okon likes this.
  12. Swiveltaffy

    Swiveltaffy Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Jul 4, 2014
    Messages:
    555
    Likes Received:
    201
    Location:
    Roanoke, TX
    Straight impressive.
     
  13. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,081
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Eleven arrows shot before the first one hits the ground:
     
  14. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2013
    Messages:
    3,545
    Likes Received:
    2,083
    Location:
    Denver
    I love the fact that he looks like he just rolled out of bed at noon on a Sunday to shoot this.
     
  15. Gawler

    Gawler Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2014
    Messages:
    298
    Likes Received:
    155
    Location:
    Australia via Hawaii via Australia via England
    Makes you wonder how fast someone with a repeating crossbow would be.
     
  16. Jack Asher

    Jack Asher Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2013
    Messages:
    3,545
    Likes Received:
    2,083
    Location:
    Denver
    Slower, about a bolt every 1.5 seconds. Lars has been clocked at an arrow every .6 seconds.

    Edited to add: And aim wasn't a priority in working a repeating crossbow as it had to be shot stationary and from the hip.
     
  17. Shattered Shields

    Shattered Shields Gratsa!

    Joined:
    Aug 25, 2015
    Messages:
    437
    Likes Received:
    300
    Location:
    Athagora
    Could you even do this with a longbow? It looks like Lars uses nothing but a recurve.
     
  18. KaTrian

    KaTrian A foolish little beast. Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 17, 2013
    Messages:
    6,764
    Likes Received:
    5,393
    Location:
    Funland
    Wow! I wonder how many hours his clocked in to become that good. I mean, it can look easy to us, but anyone who's really, really good at something knows you have to put a lot of effort into becoming that good. Well, usually anyway. I remember once seeing a documentary of some guy who could mimic pros just by looking at them do their thing.
     
  19. Shadowfax

    Shadowfax Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Aug 27, 2014
    Messages:
    3,420
    Likes Received:
    1,991
    What strikes me is that he makes drawing the bow seem effortless, so either he's got great strength or it's a very light draw weight.
     
  20. Michael Pless

    Michael Pless Senior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 16, 2014
    Messages:
    264
    Likes Received:
    78
    Location:
    Australia
    I've seen this guy's video and he's definitely using a very low-poundage bow. You need only look at how little penetration his arrows get (at very sort distances) I'd like to see him try to catch something coming at him at 210 fps (from a recurve bow) or 300fps+ from a compound. I've heard somewhere that he's been debunked, though I haven't bothered to look it up.

    Also, you might want to use the term "quiver" for a container of arrows. You might want to rework your first sentence to "Mark climbed onto the large boulder at the edge of the clearing." or similar, for a start. Nowadays, we refer to the act of "shooting" arrows, not "loosing."
     
  21. Aaron Smith

    Aaron Smith Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Jun 2, 2013
    Messages:
    1,508
    Likes Received:
    1,641
    To contrast:

     
  22. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 12, 2015
    Messages:
    2,605
    Likes Received:
    1,320
    Location:
    At my keyboard
    Not the only one after all?

    In fact his claims sound like they are FOS.

     
  23. The Mad Regent

    The Mad Regent Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 26, 2015
    Messages:
    1,011
    Likes Received:
    419
    Location:
    Wirral, England
    I have to agree that this is quite amusing despite being really cool.

    As for the actual technical aspects of archery demonstrated in this video, it really doesn't surprise me. Just like jesters and circus actors or even modern day performers, people excel at their trait, so to think that an archer who has been training for most part of his life would stand still in a battle lining up a shot is actually quite absurd. There was probably people back in the medieval days that would put this guy to shame in terms of technique and skill. In fact, Japanese archers were very similar to this, especially from ninja clans.
     
  24. matwoolf

    matwoolf Banned Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2012
    Messages:
    6,631
    Likes Received:
    10,136
    Location:
    Yorkshire
    Is it SFW?
     
  25. Aaron DC

    Aaron DC Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 12, 2015
    Messages:
    2,605
    Likes Received:
    1,320
    Location:
    At my keyboard
    Only if you miss when shooting arrows at fellow employees.
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice