Archery Then and Now A History

Looking back on the bow and the history of archery one can see the changes over the many decades.  Since the days of traditional archery, there have been many different styles to surface in history. In the beginning, the Greeks and Macedonians, Indians, and Persians found a variety of uses for archery. Within the construction of their armies, the rank of an archer was considered an important role. When led by effective leadership, a wealth of soldiers was usually taken down with precise accuracy when the archers worked together in perfect unison. In those days, the best armies sent their archers on horseback, which allowed speedy results in the thick of battle.

During Medieval European times, archers were significant in war, although their skill was not as revered as one may think. Actually, archers were paid the lowest of all participants in the army and were often looked down upon. This came about because it was rather easy to fashion a bow and a couple of arrows, which only intensified the negative backlash towards their position in the army. This is why archery was seen as a way out for cowards to still take part in a war, as they believed it avoided face-to-face fighting. Usually, archery was associated with the lower classes of people.

The military forces of the Middle East and Asia saw archers in their armies. It was quite popular, as archery eventually became the national sport for the kingdom of Bhutan. Currently, tournaments for competitive archery are everywhere, while the past use of the sport for combat has long since been replaced by the invention of the gun. Lovers of archery enjoy hunting with a bow and arrow, which has led to various open seasons for hunting that specifically use just a bow and arrow (and no guns) within the United States. Overall, long gone are the days when archery was used as a weapon to kill people.

In regards to competitive archery, participants shoot arrows at targets, as they stand various distances from the target in order to accumulate points. Today, this sport is quite popular in Europe and North America. All over the world, there are people who enjoy competitive archery, where both indoor and outdoor competitions take place with variations in the rules that they follow. For example, depending on where you play, you may face varying time limitations. With indoor competition, you are permitted only two minutes to release three arrows.

Throughout modern times, the colors of the archery target pertaining to competitions have been white, blue, red, black, and gold. Each color is assigned two rings that come with corresponding point values. Final match scores are deduced by totaling the sum of points of each individual arrow of the archer. In the event that an arrow lands on line between two different colored rings, the higher point amount is always calculated. To settle disputes, there are always judges who oversee the competition, which is usually typical of any competitive activity.

Once more, archery does not hold a current position in the ranks of military, yet Army Rangers of the United States have been known to possess skill in the art of a bow. The archers of today are thought of as skilled individuals who hold an elevated mental skill level, excellent hand eye coordination, and decent physical fitness, as they spend less time in front of the television and more time having a good time getting the heart pumping. As a rule of thumb, bow hunters are generally quite competitive, but also bring home useable meat for their family and buddies to consume. All of this – for just knowing how to release an arrow at just the right time.