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Did English archers shoot over the knuckle or over the thumb?

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mikekeswick:
Try using a thumb ring and shooting off your knuckle.
Try using the Mediterranean release shooting off your thumb.
Question answered! Unless you are some sort of freak..... ;)

toomanyknots:

--- Quote from: mikekeswick on November 14, 2013, 04:35:02 am ---Try using a thumb ring and shooting off your knuckle.
Try using the Mediterranean release shooting off your thumb.
Question answered! Unless you are some sort of freak..... ;)

--- End quote ---

Oh I'm a freak alright. You guys have no idea,  :). Completely un-bow related, but I also learned to hold a pencil before I was taught in school, as I liked to draw. And I "taught myself" that too... the wrong way of course. I do something I think a caveman would do and hold the pencil on the back of my thumb, don't know why. And no, I never learned the right way!! I have a permanent callus on the back of my thumb from it. I do everything back-asswards. lol Thank god I had people to help me learn to make bows, because I'm sure everyone can picture how that would of turned out if I taught myself!

PatM:
Many of the Mongolian archers shoot thumb ring off the left side.

Stefan:
I am not a warbow specialist but I think it would be counterinuitive to shoot over the thumb. If you dont want the string to hit your arm/bracer you twist your bow arm clockwise. The bow will move clockwise a bit too, when your shooting over you thumb your arrow will fall off.

I guess if your shooting a heavy weight longbow it is important that your form is good, twisting your bowarm clockwise makes sence to me.

Stefan

meanewood:
I think this discusion raises the issue of variation

It's a natural thing and over the course of Medieval and Renaissance archery (hundreds of years) the one thing we should know for sure is, there was variation by the bucket load!

The one thing unfortunate about the "Mary Rose" finds is that we tend to use them to base most of our opinions on the subject.

Conformity was the one thing missing over this period, that is evident from the "Mary Rose" finds themselves such as different bow lengths, strength's and profiles. Different arrow lengths, woods and profiles even in the same sheaves!

I tried shooting off the thumb myself and found it strange but possible.

I suppose the main reason for arguments on this forum has been our dogged insistence on how we think things were done.

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