Yes, we have to agree. Very informative video. We also had to deal with a lot of people, who claimed that the kind of archery, which we portraied in our game Kingdom Come: Deliverance was wrong, and we should take a look at the videos of Lars Anderson, but this is a very different kind of archery. :)

Great video, but I'm mostly hung up on how fun archery tag would be!

My father trained my brothers and myself in the art of Choctaw archery. Which was basically described as "Gorilla" style archery. Which is highly effective in both hunting and if necessary self defense. Which is why I nearly never hunt with my bow from a tree stand. I stalk my prey.

When I taking notes a usually hold 3 pens at the same hand. Should I call it combat writing?

Combat is two armed forces fighting.

All the information on historical military archery is in abundance in museums and comprehensive lliterary works. As with most things in modern times, the average person is much more interested in casual sensationalism and romanticism than seeking the true knowledge.

Im not a great archer, far from it. But I am an ex British soldier and when I see demos of this "combat archery" its just rings hollow. I just cant believe that a battle could be won with it. A bunch of English archers volley firing from distance? Yeah that just feels right to me. Fast hit and run calvary archers in Asia? Yep, I can easily get my head around that being a legitimate tactic. But, this so called "combat archery" seams to me contrived, staged and well, I cant image a bad-assed combat soldier putting much faith in it. As far as I know (please someone correct me if wrong) all historic fighting archers carried a sword or some other weapon. Just as a contemporary soldier carries a sidearm. Because im guessing (im not a historian) when the enemy got close it was time to go to the blade not dance around doing half draw snap shooting. The infantryman in me just cant see it. I just get the feeling that 3 or 4 of my old army buddies with swords or clubs in a house to house fight would ruin Lars Andersons day. Nicely laid out video David. Top job mate.

It's sad that this video most likely won't be viewed as much as Lars Anderson's stuff. Lars has impressive skill as an archer, but he's not so good with history.

They should stop calling it combat archery and just call it by what it is: trick archery or performative archery

Nice discussion point.

I have been heavily involved in "combat"-style shooting. I lived in a huge old house with a full basement. It had all kinds of hiding places, a huge old coal furnace and stoker, a coal bin, a big blower to circulate heat, heavy racks of shelving with canned goods, stairwells, small rooms, soapstone sinks, heavy clay pots for pickle and sauerkraut making, and cobwebs galore. It was a heaven for "combat" games where people could shoot at each other with rubber-tipped projectiles from spring-powered .45 acp plastic pistols. It was a local legend, and people would come from all over to participate. I spent many hours every day involved in this, and then I turned 11.... ;-)

What differentiates "combat archery" from "regular archery" is primarily what you are shooting at and the tactics used to employ bows on the battlefield.

One thing that turned me onto the right side of the bow thumb style was that when I was a kid, making my own bows and arrows, I naturally started on the right side. Only when I watched movies did I switch to the Mediterranean draw because that seemed like the "right way". I've come around to the thumb style again because it just feels more natural

True 'combat archery ' was very variable from English longbow/warbow shooting to mounted Asian styles. What it wasn't though, is someone poncing about with a low poundage bow, shooting at spinning targets. Impressive though Lars is at his style, and others at theirs, combat archery is just archery used with the aim of killing or immobilising an enemy in warfare.

Imagine a fast shooting archer with their 15# bows trying to kill a guy with gambeson or chainmail. That would be so bad. People just don't understand that people like Lars Anderson are trick shooters. He's damn good at it but it's not for battle.

It's Lars again? Bow and arrows.. that's archery. Shoot them with whatever style you want and enjoy it with pleasure or to break a sweat. Just don't care whether it's stereotyped as combat archery or not...just happy shooting.

Just came across this. I would LOVE to see him visit an SCA archery event! It'd be interesting to see because so many SCA people have dedicated decades to researching historical combat archery.

I don't mind having the label of "combat archery" if it refers to a collection of archery styles which is inclusive of all historical military archery from all around the world.

I loved the mediaeval Japaense archery school of warfare stuff Antony Cummins presented. It almost reminds of modern military training- how to fire from different positions (standing, prone, crouching, on the move, etc), how to reload in those positions, finding cover (and firing from cover), etc.

The SCA, a worldwide organization dedicated to living history and fun, has had events with combat archery since 1967 with society-wide combat archery rules since 1978- long before the rise of Lars. Our combat archers and target archers have mutual respect for each other... no major conflict; and many do both. Archery is and should remain a big tent with many variations. We should be able to appreciate and respect each other- and celebrate what we have in common.