Together with our sister site http://huntingsociety.org , we are the largest hunting and archery information sites on the Internet. Also, ranking.com says we are the second most popular sites for visitors. Finally, we get more hits than any other hunting site because there is so much more to see.
Advertisements
Expanded Self Defense site
1,000s of self defense pages on stun guns, laser and tasers, house alarms and lighting; also a complete Martial Arts Directory for ju jitsu, Karate, Tae Kwon Do et alHuge Boating and Sailing Site
1,000s of pages and wonderful pictures of Sail and Power Boats plus 100 new pages on Sailing and Naval History from Salamis to WW II
Our new, affordable Thumbnail Link Marker to attract customers to your site
Archery Defensive Tactics
Bookmark this valuable site
Thank you for visiting Archery Defensive Tactics. We think you will enjoy this article. We try to provide you with the most complete information we can about archery and bowhunting. We update our sources constantly. Please scroll below for the article.
"Those who desire to give up Freedom in order to gain Security, will not have, nor do they deserve, either one."
Thomas Jefferson
Our Motto
"Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not."
Thomas Jefferson
Nascar Directory
Nascar is the most popular and exciting car racing sport in the world.
Nacar is the essence of stock Car Racing. Nascar tracks and races are all approved and conducted to the highest standards. It offers the rare opportunity to enjoy the exciting sport of stock car racing that is safe and regulated so there is minimal danger and maximum emphasis on skill. Click on the picture to learn more.
Bookmark this valuable site
Defensive Archery Techniques - Society of Centenary Archers
by Sir Jon Fitz-Rauf, R.C.A., R.C.Y.
As a combat archer usually your only defense against incoming arrows is a good eye and fast reflexes. However there are examples from the history of archery in warfare that you as a SCA combat archer can use.
The Assyrians along with having the advantage of iron weapons over their bronze using opponents, made highly effective use of archery in war. The bow was a primary weapon and of major importance in their battles. Unlike the armies of Medieval Europe they provided protection for their archers. This protection was in the form of teams of shieldmen that were responsible for stopping incoming arrows. Early on these shieldmen were one or two men with round shields (approximately 24 TO 30 inch), swords and spears. Or later one man with a tall matlet of reeds, which curved back at the top to provide further protection against descending arrows. This shield bearer was armed and there was often a spearman as well in the team. These were highly effective fighting units both in offense and defense.
This technique can be put to effective use in some of our SCA battles. The combination of one or two shield bearing heavies and an archer can provide protection for the archer from the missiles of enemy lights, allowing him to stay alive longer and take out more fighters, thus protecting his heavies. Heavies attacking this unit can be held by your heavies while you fall back shooting or flank them.
The combination of a lightly armored heavy, javeliner with a pavise and archer creates an effective unit for both offense or defense. The shield and armor of the heavy and the pavise of the javeliner provide protection from missiles for all. While allowing the archer to concentrate on shooting. By using a lightly armored heavy the unit still remains fast and mobile. If attacked by heavies your heavy fights on the defense while the javeliner and archer support him with their missiles. Or if outnumbered they have the speed to fall back rapidly to a protected position.
But the major advantage of this is keeping you alive and shooting for as long as possible, allowing you to reduce the opposing ranks.
Another system of protection used by the Byzantines and the Arabs was the use of a shield on the bow arm. This approximately eighteen inch diameter round shield was strapped to the bow arm leaving the hand free to handle the bow. It provides protection from arrows that you do not see coming, as well as giving an active defense against those that you do see. In lights only battles with boffer or shanai, if allowed, the shield rim can be padded with pipe insulation and used to block sword blows.
For mixed battles, do not wear a shield that could be easily mistaken for the shield of a heavy. You should limit it to the size of a buckler and it should also place the Light Combat symbol on it.
Leonardo da Vinci had an idea for an archer's shield in one of his notebooks. This round shield was about twenty four inches across and had an opening in the center to shoot through and was attached to the bow. A SCA version of this can be made from three eights inch plywood secured to a fiberglass bow with U-brackets. Do not make this too large or you may find the weight awkward.
As an archer you maintain a good defense by: 1) Being aware of what is happening around you. 2) Keeping your concentration on the enemy. 3) Making use of your mobility to maintain the distance you want between you and your target. 4) Using your speed to get to where you are needed or to fall back if overrun. 5) Not looking down at your bow when nocking an arrow. 6) Never dodging in the same predictable direction to avoid arrows (Do not dodge only to the right or left, vary your movement). 7) Making use of cover, both natural, artificial and fighters. 8) Avoiding coming back up in the same predictable place when shooting from behind cover, such as castle or shield walls. 9) Avoiding being shot at from several directions at the same time.
An Archer must be:
Keen of eye,
Sure of hand,
Fleet of foot,
Canny of mind.
