Posted on 03/10/2021 1:06:26 PM PST by ransomnote
The little video clip at the link is higher quality than the two gifs below. The post asks the viewer to imagine what it was like to face a mounted Mongolian archer 800 years ago. I believe the sound track to this clip is traditional Mongolian music. The combination was quite effective in my opinion.
Comanche were late to the horse riding game, but they were fierce. Hell on hoof.
“Comanche were late to the horse riding game, but they were fierce. Hell on hoof.”
Another meaningless what if post but if the Plains Indians (Comanche, Sioux maybe Kiowa) had 50 more years of development what would the world look like. The horse culture that developed on the plains in very short centuries was amazing. Shows what humans can do with radical change.
LOL. I knew someone would get that reference.
Very cool.
They could deliver 30 arrows per minute, while at a gallop, and all would hit their mark.
It was almost like mounted soldiers with AR-15s.
I didn’t really focus on the difference until I went to Korea once and was invited by Korean friends to go to an ancient fortress where one of the things you could do was shoot a traditional bow at an archery range.
I thought, no problem, I grew up shooting a bow for target and small game. I was pretty good at archery once upon a time.
Then I get the bow and see that the arrow notch is on the wrong side (right side not left side). Needless to say, I couldn’t hit anything, it was really embarrassing.
Subsequently I did research on why there was a difference. In western archery, if you are right handed the arrow goes to the lefthand side of the bow and is held in place primarily by gravity (you hold the bow at a slight angle). You use a 2 or 3 finger grip with your fingers around the arrow.
In eastern archery the arrow is held on the right side, perhaps held in place partially by your bowhand index finger. But mainly the arrow is held against the bow by using a thumbhold where you maintain pressure to hold the arrow steady against the bow.
Part of the right vs. left orientation has to do with the type of hold you are using on the arrow. The western finger release doesn’t work properly if the arrow is on the right, and the thumb draw doesn’t work properly if the arrow is on the left. Gets into the physics of the whole thing which I don’t understand.
So, I understand the advantage is that assuming you know how to hold the arrow in the Eastern style, you can then easily maneuver the bow in any direction quickly (say from horseback), and at any angle. You do not have the risk of the arrow falling off the bow.
In the western method, it largely presumes you are going to be shooting from a steady resting position. But if you move the bow the arrow could fall off. So that works well when you have the situation say of English longbowmen firing volleys at the enemy. But not so well if you are running around and have to fire quickly from different positions, or are on a horse where you are constantly moving, it doesn’t really work.
Yes, they came from East Asia, but there were no Mongols back then. In any event, the Mongol people are from Central Asia, not Siberia.
I know too much about Physics to buy that.
Cool story - - thanks for taking the time to explain the advantages of each bow. And a crossbow? That would be configured consistent with each culture?
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