II.
THE MEDIEVAL WEAPONS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

       

 

           At the Period of « Spring-Autumn - 春 秋 時 代» (722-481 BC), the celebrious archer from kingdom of SỞ (Chu 楚) called Dưỡng Do Cơ (Yang Youji 養由基) (606 BC ~ 559 BC) and lived under Dynasty of Sở Trang Vương Chu Zhuang Wang 楚 莊 王 (death in the year of 591 BC). The reputation of Dưỡng Do Cơ had been linked to the anecdote of the archery tournament between him and another archer named Phan Hổ (Pan Hu 潘 虎). When Yang’s turn came to shoot, he complained that the target was both too large and too near. He agreed to take his turn after substituting the target for a willow leaf and lengthening the distance to 100 paces. He naturally won the competition hands down.
           Phan Hổ didn't accept to submitting, considering that this was due to the lucky. Phan Hổ painted three willow leaves with ink of various colours. Dưỡng Do Cơ hit again with his arrows all three willow leaves.
           Although Phan Hổ accepted to giving in, he still wanted demonstrate his talents ; he took 7 armours that he stacked up them, then he passed right through all of his arrow. Dưỡng Do Cơ asked him for letting him try again to shoot at his turn, and his arrow hit the nock from Phan Hổ's arrow, pushing away this one into other side, while his arrow replaced this let empty space.
           At this moment, Phan Hổ accepted to submitting to Dưỡng Do Cơ, that soldiers of SỞ hailed this last one under the name of « Dưỡng with an Unique Arrow - Dưỡng Nhất Tiễn ».

           The two expressions « Bách Bộ  Xuyên Dương »  (Bai Bu Chuan Yang 百 步 穿 楊) (Shoot an Arrow through a Willow Leaf at a Hundred Feet) and « Bách Phát Bách Trúng » (Bai Fa Bai Zhong 百 發 百 中) (a hundred shots, a hundred bull’s eyes) that originate from this story of archery competiton between Phan-Hổ and Dưỡng Do Cơ at the the Period of « Spring-Autumn - 春 秋 時 代» (722-481 BC), make shooting at willow (Xạ Liễu - sheliu) synonymous with striving constantly to improve skills.

 

I - Various Ways for Bending a Bow :

       There's in the world five ways for bending a Bow and releasing Arrows.

       Professor Edward S. Morse had classified them as follow :

              1 - Primary Release ;

              2 - Secondary Release ;

              3 - Tertiary Release ;

              4 - Mediterranean Release ;

              5 - Mongolian Release (i.e. : Release by means of Thumb's Ring - Chỉ-Cơ Thỉ-Cách - 指 機 弛 格).

 

Five ways for releasing Arrows according to Professor Edward S. Morse (1885)

       In Việt-Nam, there's four among five ways mentioned previously for bending a Bow and releasing Arrows, with the exception of the one Mediterranean, which is currently used in Olympic Games, preconized by Europeans.

 

 

II - Archer's Rings (Chỉ-Cơ - 指 機) :

       As regards the War Bow of Việt people, like about the one of all Near-East and Far-East peoples, the Release with an Archer's Ring is generally used, i.e.: Release by means of Thumb's Ring (Chỉ-Cơ Thỉ-Cách - 指 機 弛 格).

 

  
Archer's Rings (Chỉ-Cơ 指 機) from India

(Credit Photo : George Cameron Stone)

 

  
Archer's Rings (Chỉ-Cơ 指 機) from China

(Credit Photo : George Cameron Stone)

 

Archer's Rings (Chỉ-Cơ 指 機) from Đại-Việt

(Credit Photo : George Cameron Stone)

       This Release by using Thumb's Ring consists in bending the String with the thumb wearing the Archer's Ring, locked by one's index finger, sometimes helped by one's middle finger and one's annular. This way to hold the String permit to bend Bows shorter and much more powerful than with Mediterranean Release.

Release by means of Thumb's Ring
(Chỉ-Cơ Thỉ-Cách - 指 機 弛 格)

 

 

Bibliography :

- “A Glossary of The Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times” by George Cameron Stone - Jack Brussel, Publisher (New York).

 

 

II - The Codified Sequences of Đại-Việt Archery (大 越 弓 術 草 法) :

       Nowadays, it exists three Codified Sequences in Đại-Việt Archery still preserved by our Võ-Trận Đại-Việt Academy : there are « Bow with Metal Frame - Thiết-Thai Cung» ( 鐵 胎 弓 ), « Bow which QUakes the Sky - Chấn-Thiên Cung» ( 震 天 弓 ) and « Bow which Fires Piercing Arows - Xuyên Tiễn Cung» ( 穿 弓 箭) Codified Sequences.

 

 

 

Committee of Martial Arts Masters VÕ-TRẬN-ĐẠI-VIỆT Bình-Định Sa-Long-Cương FRANCE TRỊNH Quang Thắng.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures from Section of MEDIEVAL ARCHERY	Return to Page MEDIEVAL ARCHERY