Johnny Snyman writes about traditional bows and the unique, inspired people who shoot them.

Not too long ago my wife asked me one of those “out of the blue” questions: “Are you in love with bows?” Without hesitation I answered: “Yes! Of course I am!” ...and the air around me at that moment was charged with static and sheer magic!

The beauty, power, romanticism and magic of the bow has captured the hearts and minds of mankind for countless ages. Think about it. How many other weapons in history have bestowed the same amount of awe, passion, inspiration and mysticism upon the hearts, souls and minds of kings, writers, poets, soldiers and primitive tribes? Ah. The bow is a magical instrument of perpetual beauty!

So why traditional archery? I think before one can answer that question, one must first look at the nature and character of the kind of person who decides to venture onto such a divergent path. It doesn’t matter what the person’s gender, age or culture is, traditional archery begins in one unexplainable moment. Its magic filters through the eye of the beholder, finding the tiniest cracks and fissures in his or her composition. It then saturates the heart and before you know, it pours right into the wild frontiers of the soul; it shakes the very arcane foundations of our atavistic instincts.

So in essence, traditional archery begins within the soul – the nerve centre of man’s emotions, desires and freedom of choice. The rest? Well, the only way I can get close enough to describe it, is to compare it with a longstanding, deeply committed relationship between a man and a woman! In a relationship there is acceptance of shortcomings, and one finds a way to work around those hurdles. The same parameters exist in traditional archery. Most traditional bows are slow in comparison to the modern compound device. So if you want to become a successful hunter with the traditional bow, you first need to hone your bushcraft knowledge and practical skills, become as good as you possibly can, and then try a little harder at becoming better. A committed relationship is 95 per cent acceptance, working and building a life with the person you chose; the remaining 5 per cent is long enjoyable walks on moonlit beaches and all of that.

Similarly, hunting with a real bow means 95 per cent commitment to bushcraft skills and the constant gaining of know­ledge, and knowing the limitations of your weapon of choice. The remaining 5 per cent is the reward of a successful hunt. And what’s best, even if you had to pass up the shot after sneaking up really close to a wild animal, almost outwitting it on its own turf, that 5 per cent still counts as a tremendous success which will resonate forever in your campfire memories!
A committed relationship requires hard work, and persistence. So does shooting the traditional bow. I have in my many years of shooting the bow met quite a few folks whom I heard saying: “I always wanted to shoot a bow like that!” Most of them never really tried, and the rest are probably still dreaming about shooting the traditional bow.

It’s hard work mastering the longbow or recurve. Maurice Thompson once said: “To fail is never to start”. To learn to shoot the traditional bow requires a decisive step into the unknown. But if your soul is readily fired up by the notion of adventure, you’ll stand on the peak of many a proverbial mountain and say to yourself: “I did this out of my own free choice and thus far have enjoyed every moment of it”.

A traditional bow has beauty, rhythm, order, balance and flow. It teaches us patience while we indulge in the many facets of the activity it bestows. There is a special kind of permanence around traditional bows. I recently held in my hands a 50-year-old English-style longbow crafted from lemonwood, a tropical tree originating from Brazil. Its scientific name is Calycophyllum multiflorum, and it is also called “degame”. The restored bow was in an immaculate condition. My mind wandered. Who crafted this marvelous bow? If it could speak, I would listen.
No matter how I try to look at it, I just can’t say the same about the “bow” of today. I have yet to come across a poem with profound meaning written about a compound, and if ever such a poem should see the light, the chances are rather good that it would be mostly about space-age killing and slaying. Don’t get me wrong, there are dedicated folks out there who are keen shots and hunt the hard way with the compound, but they are the exception to the rule. You need a toolbox with a compound. Yes a properly tuned compound is a highly accurate weapon in the right hands, but that’s where the story ends. When you shoot a compound you are a mere extension of it. You are dependent on it; you have to place your trust in a device that becomes more outdated by the month. A compound has a limited lifetime – a shelf life, as it were. The traditional bow, along with its legacy, simply lives on forever.

Do yourself a favour. Compare the beauty of a recurved bow with the beauty of a woman. Add the two together and just watch them in action. By Zeus, you have perfection! (See our front page – ed.)
Traditional archery has its subdivisions. The majority of archers today, the real “traditional archers”, shoot laminated bows. The principles of construction of these bows are based on early horn-composite bow designs; the difference today is that we use modern materials which enable us to construct a laminated bow in a day or a week – a very short time in comparison with for instance a Turkish horn-composite bow, which commonly takes twelve months to craft.

Another side of traditional archery is commonly known as “primitive archery”, where bows are constructed of only natural materials – be it an all-wood, one-piece-constructed bow, an all-wood laminated bow, a bow backed with another wood, or a sinew-backed bow. All these creations are classified as “primitive bows”. Now one might ask: “Who is the more primitive man, the Bushman that could locate subterranean water in the desert and made his fire with sticks, or the modern man who finds the latter totally inconceivable?” Makes you think, doesn’t it?

As good friend and fellow bowmaker Francois Squirra once put it to me: “The all-wood bow should be renamed the Classical Bow”. I agree with Francois, for no bow other than the all-wooden bow portrays craft, functionality and sheer beauty of timber more accurately. An all-wooden bow will show you its grain and it year-rings carefully “feathering” down across the bow’s limbs. Or perhaps its maker had to follow the twists in the grain faithfully so as to avoid violating the inner fibres of the wood. All these attributes make the wooden bow the All-Time Champion. After all, wooden bows have for thousands of years fed families and waged wars, and it caused the spark of traditional archery – which today is burning, shining brightly as the morning star!

Wall hangings or workhorses?
So you have decided to take the step into the unknown. You have located a dealer or a bowyer and you’re on the road to becoming a traditional archer. Weather you plan to hunt or compete in field archery, here’s a sound word of advice: at all costs, never over-bow yourself. Avoid the “Darwin Hall of Archery Fame”.

I’ll explain this briefly. If your ego ever tells you to choose a heavy as possible a bow, it could mean one of two things. You are of prime youth and your bravery is still within range of your physical strength. If that is the case, enjoy it while it is there, but rest assured, it doesn’t last forever! If you’re a grown man, the other reason for choosing a heavy bow basically means that the days of your youth have passed and you won’t accept it with grace.

It means your youthfulness has surpassed your logical reason, which in turn means the bow you spent your hard-earned cash on will in the end become a mere wall hanging. Be it on your own wall, or that of another. Either way, you qualify with honours to have your name written on the walls of the Darwin Hall of Archery Fame.

Seriously, as a bowmaker I have seen this happen once or twice. Despite my pleading, reasoning and rationalising, of knowing many hours of hard handiwork will eventually be put to little use, in the end the customer has the final say. It truly is a sad thing to see a bow made by a bowyer for someone’s hand become a dusty wall hanging, because the archer was over-bowed.

Choose a bow you can comfortably shoot with consistent accuracy without tiring. Drawing a heavy bow is not much of an art, but constant and controlled shot placement with a heavy bow is another kettle of fish. Choose a workhorse – a bow that will become an extension of your body. The rest of the journey is filled with timeless moments of fun, enjoyment and character building.

When starting out, seek the help of others well established in the sport and ask questions. Be patient with yourself, don’t expect brilliant results the first time you shoot a traditional bow. I know of many folks who throw the technical book at their traditional bows and shooting style. They only end up frustrated, swimming around in circles like a one-legged duck. Find a shooting style that you’re comfortable with and stick to it.

Hungarian horse archer Layos Kassai, in his book “Horseback Archery”, embraces the key element of shooting the traditional bow in once very descriptive sentence. The release of the arrow, he says, is the most important facet of shooting. He describes the loosing of the arrow to be like snow gently piling up on a pine branch. As the weight of the snow becomes heavier on the branch, the branch will gracefully bend and the snow will gently slide to the ground. The branch is free of the load it was bearing. Such is the way an arrow is set free.

So why traditional archery? The late Jay Massey, a renowned woodsman and maker of bows, once said: “Things which are truly worthwhile seldom come easily, and to strive towards them is to gain strength of character”.

May your bow bend well!