Archery | Why Don't Olympic Archers Use Thumb Draw?

A detailed discussion on the history of Olympic archery, why horse bows aren't used, and why the thumb draw gets the thumbs down.

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[IIVVBlues]

I would love to see an Olympic archery competition from horse back using traditional short bows. It's perhaps the one thing that could interest me enough to actually watch an Olympic event.

[McJaews]

What a load of BS! Historical drawings depict loads of olympic archers using thumb draw with their bows while jumping around! Lars Andersen said so himself! Humanity just stopped giving a collective crap about the ultimate way of shooting, and so he had to singlehandedly reinvent archery from the ground up. With his superior style, you can split a black bean in between two arrows while scratching your back and doing a 540 kickflip on your skateboard. The only reason modern olympic archers don't do this is because they're in the pocket of Big Archery, supplying them with bows that shoot themselves using gadgets, lasers, smoke, and mirrors. If the olympic games weren't so corrupt, we'd see traditional 200 lbs self bows dominate, even in rifle and pistol competitions. Speaking of which, those pansies should embrace muskets, since the power and precision of those historical weapons is far superior to modern BB-guns.

(Just thought I'd try to collect all the usual complaints into one comment. Enjoyed the video, Nu!)

[dumboy]

Long Paragraph Ahead :

As a university archer, I have had quite a bit of freedom experimenting with multiple ways of shooting. Quite a few anchor points, multiple draw methods, draw finger combinations and grips.

I am a very casual spirited archer, in that I don't focus on ranking and comparison, and more on discovering new techniques.
The point I am making isn't that Olympic archers should use thumb draw (because why should they) but that thumb draw has some hidden perks : no face or arm slapping, larger choice of anchor point, longer draw length, better line of aim. Bare in mint, I'm not arguing it is superior, rather that it is different. It does have drawbacks as well : the weight of the bow on the sole thumb can be too heavy for someone with weak joints, or small fingers, and it might be uncomfortable to some. Also, finding both ressources and coaches knoweldgeable about thumbring in't the easiest thing.

[Nameles]

I guess you will only see Thumb draw style if the international committee allows a standardized category for horse archery. :/

[Stormcloakvictory]

Thumb draw is more powerful (due to the inheritly longer draw at an equal anchor point)
And because of the ease of khatra (also makes the arrow much more silent due to not rubbing against the riser)

In personal experience, Mediterranean is more natural feeling and you achieve better accuracy (on a twin bow)

And thumb draw, has more oompf to the arrow impacting, khatra is also very fun to do.
So generally I'd say I enjoy thumb draw a little more.
(Feels nasty on your thumb joints at first tho)

Also, after only a few days your thumb draw groups start to look pretty good as well tbh.
Mediterranean might be more accurate for precision/competition shooting, but It doesn't mean thumb is inaccurate at all.

[ArcheryTVIceland]

FYI #shootlikeme: Gummi Gudjonsson - Iceland (S01E07). The thumb release has some accuracy and consistency issues for the level of accuracy in modern archery. It is not impossible to shoot with a thumb draw, it's just that there are no advantages for modern archery, he tried that as well :)

[Keeperofrighteousness]

Thumb release is much more consistent/ precise even with little training. Just need to shoot right side of bow if your righty and left if your a lefty. Also it is much better for combat and moving shots as you stated cause the arrow can be knocked and drawn without falling off the shelf of the bow( or hand on horse bow)!

[speaktree]

Why don't you try the thumb draw with a left-handed olympic style bow? That should solve the problem of the arrow falling off the rest.

[kentonward]

The modern Mongols just move the thumb draw down a little to avoid the finger pressure pushing the arrow off to the side. Now as to why they developed this technique I am not sure as to why because as they were horse archers the arrow on the right would have been the technique. I also think that it is a misconception that Mediterranean is inherently more accurate. The Korean officer tests were such that hitting a man sized target at 150 yds was expected and I would love to see that being accomplished with any degree of regularity with a modern recurve western style bow. What I do believe is that because of the inherited complications of the geometry to the target the thumb draw is a technique that requires far more discipline but I don’t believe it’s less accurate at all. Joel Turner shoots thumb draw off of a modern recurve flat bow that has been modified in the grip to make it a right handed bow with a left handed window for the arrow. I would dare say he is pretty dang accurate at the 50 yd shots I have seen him do. The thumb draw technique hasn’t been explored enough yet in modern times. The bows now using modern materials is changing that as the real downfall was the glue used that is so susceptible to moisture but with modern adhesives and materials Asian style bows are starting a come back.

[williamberne]

9:20 One advantage of thumb release I can think of: thumb is only 1 finger, Mediterranean release requires 3 fingers, which means 2 more fingers to mess up your release.

[eliudmartinez]

Nice video. If you want to use thumb release with an olympic bow you must use a lh bow if you are right handed, because tour own right hand is pushing your arrow to your left shoulder, if you do this you can be able to use thumb release in olympic archery and succed the archers paradox, I did it succefully. 😎

[aeliascent]

Thanks for answering my question from Reddit in greater detail! I do hope to see Olympic horse archery one day.

[adrianstachowski]

Well. I'm a traditional archer and I tried both right and left side of the bow with 3 finger draw, 2 finger draw and thumb draw. After few shots there isn't any difference in accuracy, but having the arrow on the right side of the bow actually makes it much easier to draw and I can use much heavier bows than shooting on right side of the bow :P And yes, after few attempts I can use mediterranean draw with the arrow on the right side. I think it's only a matter of training. Mongolian grip can be as accurate as mediterranean ;) In fact, most of middle age european drawings shows the archers shoot mediterranean draw on the right side, as an reenactor I've tried it and I've loved it ;)

[Sontrop]

Dude! Left-handed riser with a right-handed grip!

[lubossoltes]

This might be news for you, but if you use a left-handed bow, thumb draw will work quite nicely ... Hey there's even a video of an archer (Iceland or so ?) on the World Archery channel that shoots a recurve bow with a reverse draw ... Oh yeah, thumb ring is the same finger protection as a tab ...

[jamesbariso]

It is possible to thumb draw in Olympic archery by placing thumb an inch under the arrow thus the arrow will stay at arrow rest.
And the hand is at more natural position when drawing as against mediteranian draw.

[mohunter]

Personally I found that the split finger draw only compounded the problem of true instinct shooting for me using my recurve and longbows. Mainly because I love short recurves and the 3 finger style gave me a "Pinch" effect which also effected my arrow flight, so I adapted my style of shooting to using 2 fingers under the knock below the arrow, and I make my own finger tab cut out of leather. With 2 fingers under the arrow there is nothing obstructing my view of the arrow flight when I cant my bow to the right at 2 o'clock and draw to the corner of my mouth. I basically shoot like Fred Bear (with the exception that Fred was left handed) I reversed that method and shoot with both eyes open. I don't hesitate, or hold at full draw before letting loose my arrow, it's all one continuous motion. I draw on my target, see my target, and when I reach full draw I let the arrow in one motion. I think of it like pointing my left fist at what I want to hit and let my instincts take over. Hope that makes sense. It took me about 6 months of repetition before it finally felt right, but now it's just like riding a bicycle.

[ArnisKalnins]

Did you just show us how we can use a bow upside down? :D

[Jezzyftw]

Hi Nu!
I personally shoot a RH ILF style bow with thumb draw (overdraw 32.5" draw)
Because I shoot with the arrow on the left side, I've learned not to push the arrow and I'm quite good.

I wanted to try target archery but I feel I'll be disqualified anywhere I go
I use a thumb glove too.
Is there anything in the rules that state I need to have an anchor point on my face? Or more specifically, does my hand need to touch my face?
With my current form my hand is 2" behind my head lmao

Edit: nevermind it looks like they defined it a while back and I would in fact be immediately disqualified. Very disappointing

[davidclark]

Nice Video, I personally enjoy shooting with the thumb. But on modern bows I do have to use a left handed bow, Which works fine for me. thanks.