What sort of Bow is that?
There are lots of different types of bow each with their own history and different techniques. The English longbow is the classic ‘Robin Hood’ form but there are many others. Here at Tynedale a lot of archers primarily shoot Barebow but you’ll see lots of different styles here and at other clubs.
As part of a beginners course you’ll get to try Barebow and Olympic Recurve and you can see club members shooting different bows at club sessions. It is strongly recommended not to buy a bow until after you’ve completed an introduction course and had a chance to see bows in use (correct sizing is also critical!). Getting your own bow is an important moment and club members can assist you in trying equipment and making your choices.
Longbow
Classic ‘stick and string’ with a ‘D’ shaped limb profile; made from wood and often taller than the archer! This highly effective medieval weapon of war has no sights, no shelf – the arrow rests on the archers hand – and the arrow is loosed with a ‘split finger’ release.
Barebow
Modern risers and limbs as used in Olympics (typically) but no sights or stabilisers allowed. The limbs curve back on themselves (re-curve) and store more energy than the longbow meaning the arrows fly faster. Aiming, whether gap shooting or string walking, is both an art and a science!
Olympic Recurve
Archery at the Olympics is classed as ‘freestyle’; which includes sights & stabilisers. Archers will shoot metal or carbon risers, recurve limbs and when well tuned and controlled achieve amazingly accurate shots at maximum distance.
Traditional
‘Traditional’ encompasses many different types of bow ranging from short ”horse bows’ to American flatbows and the enormous Japanese Kyūdō. Each bow has its own technique and style to be mastered!
Compound
Making use of pulleys to maximise power compound bows are the most technical bow style. Archers use a mechanical release attached to the string, magnifying sights and super stiff arrows all of which add up to extreme accuracy.
Note that we can’t currently support compound archers at Tynedale (but we know people who can!)
