Alright, props -- that's the first time somebody integrated an ad well enough into the video that I didn't feel the desire to skip it. I'm not even mad; if I could still run, I'd be downloading that app right now.
Plus the app is actually really nice ! I hadn't heard of it in years, but it's fun to use, lets you set your own goals, and doesn't require you to pay for much iirc. I don't mind seeing it here !
What's interesting about the berimbau being alin to a bow and arrow is that it is intrinsically associated with capoeira. One does not exist without the other. And Capoeira was intended to be a martial art disguised as a dance. To allow slaves to train fighting without being found out and punished. Fitting that the berimbau is a weapon disguised as an instrument.
@@alexandredesouza3692 I mean, "more instances of it happening" which I guess *could* end in "try to overthrow the government" but that seems like that would end poorly.
You don't need to be Brazilian to enjoy the berimbau. (Greetings from Spain. My Capoeria apelido is Matrix). (And I'm in utter terror of, were Blumineck to do Capoeira, what his apelido might be...)
@@notfeedynotlazyyou do capoeria, thats awesome i myself am a kick boxer, i have been noticing that people practicing martial arts is seemingly on the rise i keep seeing dojos pop up everywhere which really fills me with joy.
Another option where shooting two arrows might be advantageous: you have a very heavy bow (say a 200 pound draw weight) but your only option is to shoot arrows that are designed for half that draw weight (you ran out of arrows, haven't ditched your bow for your sidearm, and you happen to come across somebody else's quiver of lighter arrows designed for a 100 pound bow). Since these are lighter and weaker, they might actually break with the force your heavy bow is trying to put into them. Shooting two arrows would allow you to still shoot, in this very unlikely scenario.
It might help! It's a niche scenario but it could come up. But also once you get above a certain bow weight, the arrows tend to be relatively interchangeable- in the 100 years' war for example, everyone used the same arrows regardless of their bow - you just shot what you could get!
@@blumineck Maybe I am talking out my ass here, but wouldn't that be because their bows are proportionally closer to each other so an "average" arrow has more or less the same performance? Say, the difference between 200 pound bow and a 160 one is 40 pounds, but that is just 20% weaker, where the difference between an 80 pound and a 40 pound bow is still 40 pounds, but that is half as weak.
@@louisvictor3473 I would think that this is more a logistic supply problem. You need plenty of arrows, and you need them now, especially as an invasive army on campaign. So you would probably shoot heavier arrows. Not because they didn't have the knowledge about the perfect arrow, but because they might not have spruce or pine and replace it with heavier wood like walnut tree or chestnut
@Blumineck The hazuyari actually isn't the only weapon where it was done. The elites of the Sioux indians also had 2 versions of what they call a ghost lance bow. The first version looks a lot like a western version of a hazuyari, but second had a spike attached at a different angle functioning more like warpick.
Ayep. It only has two notes, high and low, but that's exactly as many notes as a drum has, and we all know how much a good drummer can sound and how much energy it can transmit. The berimbau is the same. The energy a good berimbau gives to a _roda_ (the circle) is simply amazing.
@@notfeedynotlazy the berimbau can actually make up to 5 notes. Some of those are made by combining two different notes at the same time. Just like some kinds of drums, as you pointed.
I think that the "DEX is the archery stat" being common is probably at least as much for the fine motor control of aiming accurately as it is for the acrobatics of shield surfing.
Yea, espeacially if you consider that those where seperate stats in some older RPGs (dex and agility) and often only affects precision and not the basedamage.
@@michaeledmunds7056 I guess in 5e terms, a longbow would have it's attack roll modifier be based on DEX, since you need to aim the shot to hit them, and have it's damage modifier be based on STR, since the amount of power you put in is proportional to what is delivered on impact. I suppose you could put a strength requirement on them too, make it like Heavy weapons and have attacks be at disadvantage when you don't meet the requirement.
@@branhan215124 That's exactly how it worked in 3rd edition D&D: Bows used DEX for attack rolls but damage was based on STR. (Crossbows did a bit more base damage (1d10 for a heavy crossbow vs 1d8 for a longbow), but couldn't add STR.) Technically, bows were actually a little more complicated: Every bow had a 'Strength Rating' which determined the maximum damage bonus. If your strength was equal to or higher than the bow's strength rating, it did that much additional damage. (So if you were an 22 STR fighter wielding a longbow with a Strength Rating of 16, it would do 1d8+3 damage.) However, if your strength was lower than the bow's strength rating, you took a penalty to attack rolls equal to the difference in strength, up to -4, in addition to a lower damage. (So if the 13 STR rogue picked up that longbow, they'd take a -3 penalty to attack rolls and deal 1d8+1 damage. The 8 STR wizard would take a full -4 penalty to attack rolls and deal 1d8-1 damage. This is on top of any proficiency penalty they might have (and indeed Rogues and Wizards are not proficient with bows by default). ... Thrown weapons also worked similarly, in that they used DEX to hit and STR for damage, though there was a feat to allow you to apply your strength to the attack roll instead. Slings also worked using the same system of DEX to hit, STR for damage, and were a simple weapon (unlike bows) capable of multi-attacking (unlike crossbows). It also had a range increment of 50', which wasn't great but was better than most thrown weapons. They did base 1d4 damage for some incomprehensible reason, weren't served by many feats, and were generally slept on (for some reason the Pathfinder designers especially hated them?), but if you were a barbarian you could theoretically be doing 1d4+6 damage, which, y'know, wasn't 1d12+9, but if you can't reach the enemy it's nothing to scoff at. They were also a Monk Weapon so you could flurry of blows which was neat (less neat was everything about the 3.X Monk).
@@branhan215124 Most realistically, DEX (or its equivalent) should probably be used for the accuracy rolls of all physical attacks period, with strength determining the damage it dealt.
That's the interesting thing about horse archery, a horse is not only a means of fast transportation, but it's also much better at melee fighting than the average person. I was going to suggest in the first bit that the real good way to have a backup melee option as an archer was to get real good at kicking, but honestly a mediocre horse is better at kicking than you will ever be.
I was going to complain about the unusable nature of bladed bows but after seeing how accurate and objective you were about their shortcomings i realized this wasnt going to be a shitty clickbait video and ended up watching the whole thing… you earned a new sub
As a guy who likes guns, the shotgun analogy is perfect. Same as with a shotgun blasting multiple pellets, the energy between all of them is reduced compared to a single slug. 00 buckshot is basically sending 8 9mm pistol rounds at once while a slug is like a cannon ball. Same thing also with multiple targets. As far as as rate of fire too, a rifle would be much faster to shoot one at a time accurately. Great video!
shooting multiple arrows is only superficially similar to a shotgun though. the important thing is to differentiate between energy and momentum. -energy is equal to mass times velocity squared -momentum is mass times velocity -energy equals range and penetration -momentum equals accuracy and stopping power shooting two arrows cuts their velocity in half. this equates to quartering their energy so you're loosing a LOT of penetration, while their momentum is only cut in half and actually remains the same if both hit, meaning you still have plenty of stopping power. in a shotgun however (lets just assume it's somehow only two projectiles because it makes the maths easier) the two projectiles are not the same mass as a single slug would be, so if you're shooting two projectiles, you can make each half the mass of the slug and now you can shoot two projectiles while maintaining full velocity, meaning you're only loosing half the energy (instead of three quarters you loose with the arrows) and your momentum is still only halved because there is no squaring in that equation. issue is you can't really make arrows lighter, they need to be a certain length for the bow to function right and they need to have the right amount of flex and strength so messing with the diameter isn't going to work either, lightening the tip messes with the balance and so on. now the maths isn't going to perfectly reflect reality because of stuff like friction and air resistance but this should tell you why a shotgun makes sense whereas shooting multiple arrows really doesn't
@@windhelmguard5295"now the maths isn't going to perfectly reflect reality because of stuff like friction and air resistance but this should tell you why a shotgun makes sense whereas shooting multiple arrows really doesn't" Against armored targets, a shotgun *doesn't* make sense. Even slugs aren't great with penetration against modern body armor. Though, it's correct in that it's more like if you were to load multiple slugs into a shotgun.
@@basedeltazero714 that hugely depends on the slug that is used, while most shotgun slugs are designed for hunting medium to large game, there are shotgun slugs that are specifically designed to penetrate armour and honestly most body armour probably wouldn't prevent serious injury even if the slug doesn't penetrate.
The musical bows trope reminds me of Sir Tristian in the Fate series. His bow works by magic as you might assume, but it functions more like a harp that can fire sonic projectiles than a bow that can make music. As a result, he can actually attack with only one arm. Somehow, he's got the best of both worlds, where it simultaneously works as an instrument and a weapon.
I think you could design a "somewhat functional" crossbow harp. If you take a reverse draw and have harp limbs below that so if you where to look from above it looks like a cross with a bunch of extra crossbeams. Now that I think about it if we are going separate limbs and we put that sort of on a forked limb. 1 that moves like with any bow and 1 that remains static for the harp playing stuff. If the harp strings are close enough the feathers from the arrow might even be able to sort of strung the harp, though I don't know if you'll stay accurate with that.
I have a coment on the 2 arrow thjing: Yes, the arrows are slower, less powerfull and less acurate than a single arrow. BUT: If you are in a situation, where you have basically a sniper position, and time to aim, and know, you have to be on the run the moment you are discoverd, AND you have multiple targets that you want to hit: Shooting 2 arrows may be viable. It may be even more viable if combined with poison tipped arrpws, because then you don't have to rely on perfect acuracy and the full power of the bow. Again not a battlefield tactic, but in poltical fantsy scenario, this may still be ones best option
@@TheAzureGhosttrue, but that would also be more noticeable with both light and sound marking the attack. The poisoned arrows could be very subtle, perhaps even undetectable by anyone but the targets.
@@emilyrln Unless you managed to create a poison that kills or incapacitates within a second or so, an alarm would be raised anyhow. Explosives might actually be more advantageous regardless, for their shock factor. In any case, you'd have to be really sure of yourself to attempt that shot. Unless you're sure you can take both targets out instantly, you're probably still better off shooting the first and then taking care of the second as that one is still processing what just happened.
Interesting to note on the music archery connection: The mythological origin of the Yamatogoto instrument comes from the tale of Amaterasu and the Cave. The party goddess Ame-no-Uzume needed music to dance to to draw out Amaterasu from the cave, so six hunters brought their bows and used them to play a melody for everyone to party to. When Amaterasu came out of the cave one of the celebrations was the act of taking the six strings and weaving them into the first ever Yamatogoto
It does help that since archery has been around for so long, mankind has had plenty of time to get creative with it. Compared to a lot of other skills, it's had more time to develop and adapt to different situations. We can see the same thing with melee weapons as well, with them generally answering the same question of "how do I make the enemy less alive", but creating a variety of fighting styles and weapons to adapt to different situations. It's just that with melee weaponry, it's much easier to see the differences at a glance with an untrained eye, while bows tend to be more subtle in their differences when it comes to both style and design.
I have to wonder if, designed properly so as not to interfere with the firing of the bow, a better solution to the bladed bow concept might be something more akin to a punching dagger integrated into the middle/handle area of the bow. It certainly wouldn't have the range of the bow/spear concept, but I feel like that placement might be less likely to damage the bow since more of the force of striking with it could be absorbed by your hand and arm, in addition to possibly being less detrimental to the firing of the bow by keeping the added weight in the center rather than at the ends where the bending happens. I could be completely wrong about all of this, I'm no expert, and I'm not sure it'd be much more effective than just using an arrow as an improvised dagger, but it's a thought. If nothing else, it'd probably be another fun fantasy weapon concept.
Reminds me of some fantasy bow i saw somewhere in the past which had a blade in firing direction above and below the grip and some round cover over the hands as protection. Can't remember where i saw that, but i think it was some videogame RPG.
You're right. Physically that makes sense. It would be impractical and expose the bow to damage from blocking incoming strikes, but then again, knives and daggers historically have often been weapons of last resort anyway. Other approaches would be adding brass knuckles or spikes to the glove you hold your bow with, or getting proficient with using arrows as melee weapons.
Love how you take some time to breathe or think. We sometimes get tired of perfect speakers in a mashed up video. Gives perception the speaker is more like a person and less like a product for the evil algorithm
In a wonderful confluence of two of these tropes, In times past, when the art was suppressed - or just because fights might happen the required it, it was not unknown for Capoeirstas to attach knives, spikes, or razorblades to the ends of their berimbau, to use as an improvised spear.
Unlikely. Capoeira is already enough of a close-quarters thing, and merges well enough with having the knives or machetes on hand (google "makulele", basically it's Capoeira with a machete in each hand, and even braggiest songs!), that they would not likely bother. An African hunter of teh kind who actually used their hunting bows as instruments? More likely, if only barely. A Capoeirist? Not so much. But I like how you think, my friend. 😀
@@notfeedynotlazy I mean, I've only been practicing Capoeira for 23 years, and have been told this by multiple Mestre's across that time. Like much in Capoeira, it may be semi-mythological / folkloric retelling, but if so, its pretty pervasive.
@@SuperByakhee Funny, my own mestres never mentioned that to me in roughly 30 years (I started back in the late '90s). It's the funny thing of myths, sometimes some people hear themm, others don't.
I haven't heard about knives and the like attached to the end of the instrument but I did hear about the end of the baqueta (vaqueta) being sharpened on the end with poison applied to the tip as a way of weaponizing the berimbau even if indirectly.
While the 69k is a NICE joke, its likely not real out of the 3 actually worthwhile analytical studies, the main Lombard one only managed to actually prove that the chipped stones had fractures as fitting to someone pushing on the top/edge side with the opposite end down into something, but lack any trace evidence of flexible wood (you know as would be needed for archery, be it on its own or with either sinew or wound plant strings) compared to explanations given and reproduced that show it could have as easily been from use as a peeling razors of animal skin and tendons from bones or simpler spears or even as darts (as do most sites with sharpened flint, bone, quartz or other stone materials older than 19-20k BC), much how the few "less research paper more book" ala Lyn Wadleys doorstop effectively concludes "its a cool possibility but i could just be bullshitting myself by reading implications into implications". Edit for bit of context: i noted 19-20k BC because thats when pretty much when cave paintings of of people using something that is even vaguely resembling bow and arrow start appearing across the world, while darts, spears, javelins and other forms of "sharp stick" go back as far as relatively advanced hominids could put their hands in the closest pigmented liquid and press it against nearby surfaces.
I really love when you make videos with so much research. I love to see the history and science behind modern/historical tropes. It brings things back down from fantasy to something (somehow) grounded in reality. Lastly, it's always great to see you enjoy yourself! Keep up the great work! :D
Fun fact about the body of the berimbau- historically, it was made of biriba wood, which was specifically chosen for its flexibility (I'm told it was considered the "bamboo" of the amazon), which would make it great as an actual bow. Modern berimbaus however are (usually) not made of this type of wood, because due to deforestation it has become an endangered species
I used to START LARP fights with a two-arrow shot (already nocked and ready to go) but yeah, the power loss isn't a huge deal when you're not often full drawing anyway (close shots) and the effect is the same (damage is damage). They do have less power (less than half, but not by much, half the energy but with the mass factored in as well).
Great video David, probably one of your best. Not just the subject matter but the presentation and the feel of it just all flows nicely together. Congrats on the cool sponsor as well!
Easily the best written and presented video of yours, as an essay, it is well constructed and versed, clearly supported and researched, the flow is logical and coherent. The video is fantastic, the inclusion of insert clips and side-by-sides at appropriate times without over-use. Your skills as a presenter have increased greatly beyond simply showcasing your talents and expressing fondness for archery and pop culture. Bravo, David!
The musical bow is the one that surprised me the most! Next chance I get to roll up a bard, I might just have to ask the dm if I can flavor a longbow as a berimbau
A few fantastical solution to the bladed bow's issues: - Integrating the blades directly into the construction of the bow's arms rather than being mounted on the ends, making it less unwieldy by keeping the weight more in-line with the typical points of flexion (but a bit more dangerous with regards to slicing yourself, certainly for an untrained user) - Using supernaturally light-yet-strong fantasy metals, such as mithril or ironwood, to make them more resistant to the stresses of melee combat - Have a supernaturally strong wielder and reinforce it with stronger materials, similarly to a horn-/composite bow In my case, I'm using all three for an NPC I've recently introduced into my D&D campaign, who wields a composite longbow made from the metallic bones of a bladetail felldrake (imagine a T. rex with a giant blade for a tail-or Glavenus from Monster Hunter, which is what I've not-so-subtly adapted). The arms are made from ironwood, felldrake horns and sinew, with curved blades made from the felldrake's tail molded directly into the arms. Ironwood is only slightly heavier than yew but substantially stronger, while felldrake horns and sinews are almost identical in weight to those of large bovines (the creatures typically sourced for hornbows) but are as strong as high-carbon steel (a wizard did it). The tail is denser and stronger still, but still lighter than iron or steel. The composite construction also allows for a vastly increased draw strength compared to a simple pure-wooden bow. Fortunately, the wielder (Dame Veille Drake, the Iron Vanguard) happens to be jacked as all hell and has a Belt of Stone Giant Strength to boot.
Lars Andersen has shown a lot of these things as well. It's nice to finally have proof that some of these crazy shots are plausible if not outright doable, and it has changed the way I do my D&D games. :edit for spelling:
Hey Mr. Blumineck Man, one question I've come to have: have there been, or would it be possible to have a SHIELD BOW? It'd be quite heavier, given you're holding it with the arm extended (that gravity lever effect), and with quite reduced visibility, but the very situation where you'd need one is on open spaces, far from cover. You can check where I get this idea from in Warframe's Duviri Bowmen enemies. Their bows project a buckler-sized field in front and around the riser with a hole for the arrow. It doesn't exactly act as a buckler, but the concept is right there. Were we to lean even more on the shield part, I extended the concept to having a TOWER SHIELD with an ARROW SLIT. Pair such a shield / barricade with a regular bow, and I think it's perfectly viable. 99% cover from enemy archers, portable, can deploy anywhere. So, what's your say on my ramblings? 😂🏹🎯
The best way to feasibly achieve what you are asking(with traditional archery), is to carry around a shield that you can deploy as cover. When it comes to crossbows, attaching a small shield to it is much more feasible, since you can use both of your arms to support the extra weight. Additionally, modern shields are made from much lighter material than traditional shields, and some of those materials are even capable of stopping bullets. the downside is that the shield would need to be pretty small still, so it would work well in an urban environment(where you can bolster it by positioning around other forms of cover), but not so well in a open field. For that, you would be much better off carrying a tall shield on your back, to be deployed once you reach your position, or to cover you while moving to another location/retreating.
It would certainly be possible to attach a buckler or shield boss to the front of your bow. Depending on the situation the counterweight might even be beneficial. And in theory you could use it in a way similar to a gou-rang hook shield. But blocking strikes with your bow limb is not exactly a good idea if you plan to shoot some more arrows after that. You'd probably be better off with an actual buckler or a lightweight leather or wicker shield you can strap to your back or as others mentioned, bring a full pavise to hide behind.
I think I've heard of some Turkish mounted archers strapping their shields to their arms so they have cover while shooting, so that might be the closest thing
Yes, Ottoman and Turkish archers sometimes had small round shields called kalkan shields that they could wear while using their bows. I think a thumb draw would be easier to use with such a shield than the finger draw, especially considering which side the arrow typically rests with each technique.
for anyone interested in seeing the more extreme side of curving arrows, and for those who havent seen him somehow, look up Lars Anderson. he's basically a real life fantasy archer. course his setups are staged, but the principles make archers look better than melee users even in close range
Given some fairly specific contexts, I could see the spear/bow setup being useful. In the case of a last stand where there's little room to retreat and the enemy may be too fast to fall back carefully, it may be necessary for your archers to be able to swift switch weapons from ranged to melee (and, hopefully, vice versa). Situations where a group is low on melee weapons might not want to give up even a short sword to archers. Not to mention, using a spear at a basic level is generally straightforward; it may not be effective in the long run (as you said, the weapon isn't really designed for that), but if you just need your archers to hold something off for short term (and/or die trying), well... a crappy spear wall is better than nothing. Other situations I could think of would be situations where capture is unlikely; that is, the enemy isn't taking prisoners - in that case, might as well try anything.
I don't know of any texts that would prove my theory/hypothesis that some types of spearbows could also be used in a similar manner to how certain spears were used in a certain way. What I'm getting at is that we have a fairly decent knowledge of how a spear could be used offensively while retreating (like the Parthian shot/salute for the bow) and sometimes on horseback. A number of Asian martial arts will have you draw a half semi circle with the backhand so that the speartip makes a circular motion and you knock thrust off course by swiping side to side. The Korean martial manuscript the Muyedobotongji also describes spear combat while mounted and some of those pictures (I have the book at home) look a lot like what would be necessary. There is also a Japanese spear that has been translated as a tube spear. This is a spear that has tube that you hold with your leading hand that helps with a really smooth thrust from the backhand. The thing about this spears martial arts school is, is that it teaches a way of running backwards in retreat while still delivering accurate thrusts at the foe. I think that if we combine all of this stuff while mounted switching back and forth between bow and a thrusting spear we could have a really fun style. If they persue us too hard that's a bunch of thrust to the face or their mount,but if they slow down even just a little bit /or their horse gets really tired they are gonna get shot at by arrows. I have done some mounted archery for a while and shooting backwards is really not that hard and I'm a terrible shot.
The wildest mounted archery shot I saw was very recently. Mongolian archery contest and the guy's barely hanging onto the horse, his body sideways practically horizontal to the ground, and his aim is lateral to the horse run. The guy was impressive, but I was also blown away by the horse able to adjust to the center of mass shift.
I have to point out that arrows don't spin normally. There may be some rotation due to imprecision in vane position, but not a significant rotation. Spinning requires a force to accelerate the spin, which requires energy. A spinning arrow will also have much more drag from the fins. This energy loss is a very noticeable portion the arrow's total energy. Any spin velocity is also insufficient to provide gyroscopic stabilization. The except is some types of arrows used for bird hunting. These arrows have vane intended to have high drag and are attached in an orientation to cause spin for the purpise of more drag. The reason for all this drag is to avoid losing an arrow if you miss as it severely reduces range when shooting up. These are typically called Flu Flu arrows.
Imagine everyone knowing you as this breakdancer who always plays this cool stick guitar thing, and then when trouble comes, you grab your weird fiddlesticks set with feathers in the middle of the sticks, duck under a strike and capoeira kick the baddie in the face, then curve some arrows with your berimbau bow into the body of a dude hiding behind a rock. He's not dead cus it didn't pierce deep, so you run, stab him, retrieve your arrow, roll back and shoot another dude's face out of the roll.
I believe that there was a Native American tribe that used their bows as lances from horseback. I believe some formed metal around the tip, while others fire hardened and ground tips. May have been fire hardened in one era, tipped in the next. I can't remember which tribe but I believe it was a plains tribe.
first impression is that you mesh a relaxed descriptive language, "their own pointy stick", with knowledge, facts, integrity. for me it works. well done!
This is absolutely one of the videos ever made. In the novel saga I'm writing, I decided to introduce a band of infamous sellswords (designed to be a homage to Vinland Saga's Askeladd and his ilk). Their leader, Eðall Gimbrosa, is a fabled archer with blessed sight, known for two things: his impeccable accuracy and his archery quirks. One of those quirks is that he dons a custom made dress, designed to stabilize or tense specific parts of his body, enhancing his peculiar fighting style. Another quirk is what he calls "Heljarheilsan" (Old Norse for "Death's Greeting", corny, I know) - each time he shoots an arrow, he raises his right hand in a provocative gesture which may draw his enemy's attention and blind them to where the arrow is flying. But even so, this being a low fantasy, mostly realistic setting, I wanted for his character to employ physically possible, yet widely mocked techniques. The curved shot you showed us lands in his arsenal as of now. Keep it coming, David, and if I devise something equally absurd though feasible, I'll be sure to share with you and get you to try it out 😉
Came here to mention the berimbau because I had 0 expectation anyone would even know about it. Needless to say I cheered when you actually pulled one out.
The character Dafydd Ap Hywel in Gordon Dickson's classical fantasy novel "The Dragon and the George" (Original title intended to be "SAINT Dragon and the George", a play on St. George and the Dragon, but changed so the religiously minded wouldn't get ticked off) is a longbowman. In particular, a Welsh longbowman. He insists that the longbow is NOT an English weapon, but a Welsh weapon. His longbow is reputed to be a 200-pound bow, maybe more. He's also an incredibly wondrous archer. He is depicted sticking arrows upright in the ground in front of himself, then fires all of them before the first one can hit, striking all of his targets precisely with killing shots. It's a great story, but is it possible? Maybe? Is it good tactically? Maybe? If you haven't read that book, I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful American isekai story, good vs evil, will the good guy get the girl sort of book.
Just wanted to say I love the energy you bring to this. You acknowledge what isn't realistic, but it doesn't stop these tropes from being cool and inspirational. Too many people let realism ruin the magic for them. Thanks for reminding us that we're allowed to do impractical stuff just because it's cool or fun. Keep it up.
Found this channel a couple of days ago and loving it! Whilst I enjoy my target archery, I love the "unconventional" archery far more. Suspect my club will frown on me if I start messing around at the range unless I'm by myself though :P
The whole point of Capoeira was to hide the military training of black African slaves from the European slavemasters (who obviously didn't want their slaves to have these skills). They took the martial arts of kickfighting & wrestling, added training with the hunting bow, knives & more, and brilliantly hid them in plain sight by making them seem like music & highly acrobatic dancing.
8:14 of course capoeira is where that's from. Historically, capoeira was designed by slaves looking to revolt. Because of this, capoeira techniques are near indistinguishable from dancing, in order to train right under their masters noses. So a musical instrument/bow fits right in.
3rd option for multishot is having them on the same side, but splayed so that they diverge in flight. this V-shaped shot means you have to perfect how much to splay them, and ranging that, and learning the limits of it. multishot would be as hard to master, imo, as standard archery... it's a whole new skill, really, and likely rather limited in it's utility.
there is also evidence that before the viking age, in iron age scandinavia there were bows that were also used as make shift spears. The "Nydam bow" was a bow found that appeared to have a sharpened spike end that went out far above the top knock, and also had an extra knock for a sort of "stored" position for the string. the idea being that this would have been carried as a spear or such for self defence, and then strung up as a bow for long range attacks or more likely hunting. In the context of its period I think its a fascinating find. Later viking age bows dont show any evidence of this sort of construction or use. And personally I havnt heard of any other bows like this, so it may have just been a very lucky one off find of a one of a kind bow of its era, but the idea that perhaps this was a sort of civilian defense weapon for someone who couldnt afford a true iron spear head, but wanted a spear for protection (something that was very common and even culturally significant in the period) is absolutely fascinating to me personaly. Hopefully one day Ill get to have a replica of the bow for my own collection.
I think the multi shot ( particularly in the two different directions )could make sense as the first shot into a large group and then move to quick shots. The first shot gives you plenty of setup time.
I find it extraordinarily impressive how perfectly you managed to pair the recording of this video, to the minute, with the 70000th anniversary of archery.
Another option for close combat with a bow is simply using it as a club. Native archers in Florida did this reasonably effectively according to El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega's account. They used powerful longbows.
I always thought the trope about using an archery bow as a musical bow was about replacing a string instrument's bow. Whether this works (with enough rosin) isn't really even up for debate, musical bows are directly descended from archery bows. I don't know if putting rosin all over the bow string will render it less effective as a weapon, but it would most likely release cloud of unhealthy dust with every shot.
Man, watching your videos (and especially this one) really makes me wish there was actually *better* representation for archery in video games. I would love a game where having multiple arrow types in a quiver meant different techniques were available, where you could change your shot style as you got better, or relied on something like mouse gestures or even like fighting game inputs to change the type of shots you made.
14:47 Yeah, but Yondu's arrow is technically an arrow, but it's high tech and has an independent propulsion system that, I guess, converts high pitched sound waves into propulsion. The curving arrows I think of is that one scene from Robin Hood: PoT.
I think acrobatic archery probably had its own era of dominance. Back when armor really couldn't practically stop a deer hunting bow, well, why use a war bow when you could shoot the deer hunting bow faster? That opens up all sorts of tactical mobility that just isn't used by later archers who need to worry about getting through medium armor.
Funny enough, I always imagined the multi arrow shot being the fantasy sneaky equivalent of the modern double tap against soft targets. I.e. when you are already in a close distance and want to make sure an unarmoured enemy is taken down. But as you say, probably makes only sense in fantasy where thermodynamics aren't a thing, otherwise you lose too much force on both arrows that one arrow would just be the safer option.
Great video, I just haven't heard of the origin of the berimbau. Just a little correction, a european medieval warbow would not be pulled tpass the ears because of its design. The same for a japanese yumi and a turkish bow. All of them usually can't be flexed more than the back of the chin. However manchu and mongolian huntbows and warbows were indeed pulled this way. Even the arrows made for using with such bows are longer because you are expected to pass your ears. The issue of mobility is more a cultural and historical thing. In Europe it was more common to use archers to defend walls during a siege or in strategic positions, while in asia the archery evolved to be fast and mobile, usually on horseback. Then in modern times the olympic competitions focused on stationary archery, while in Turkey, Hungary, Mongolia and some other countries with stronger tradition in horseback archery continue promoting other types of competitions for this style of archery.
I tend to like the idea of a push-blade, like a katar, over the knuckles. this could free up the limbs to flex as normal, while also having a blade to hand while shooting. it also can act as a balance (like the spars used in modern bows). I'd envision this on a short-bow.
Yeah, I can see how the curving arrow trick could be a bit of effective psychological warfare, where it might scare someone into stepping out from behind a tree, or just otherwise undermine their nerve. They may not be in a mindset that lets them quickly rationalize that the shots don't have as much power, due to the "WTF?!" factor.
For the musical bow I would mount a violin in the front of the bow on a balancer stick in such a way that the flight of the arrow would cross the strings of the violin out in front.
I have heard that capoeira has its origin as a "stealthy" martial art, in that it was disguised as dancing (as the people practicing it would not be allowed to learn combat of any kind). So using this instrument (of Angolan heritage) as an archey bow makes perfect sense.
There could be a precedent for shooting two arrows at one target if you could reasonably aim them within close quarters. 2 arrows on an unarmored target might make it really uncomfortable to move and mess up their arm movement with having to navigate around 2 arrows, or remove two. Depending on the arrow head, it could feel even worse to have them in and take out
12:00 with the multi shot, shooting horizontally you can do it much easier because the bow is now just a flat surface to line the arrows on and then shoot your "tableau" so to speak.
This was a really fun video from a fantasy writer aspect. I actually have a character in my book who has a blade on her bow. It's less at the end of the arm and more in the front of the bow's riser. I definitely got some new ideas from seeing these other tropes though, such as a specific arrow used to curve around a target with a some sort of specialized head on it. Less about penetration, and more about scaring the crap out of someone to get them out from behind cover for a direct hit. Great content bro!
Great video! It's amazing to see what enough practice and training can make people do with archery. To the question of applying said techniques, we have to remember that warfare/fighting wasn't always an army or armored guys facing another one. Actually, most soldiers in armies were very lightly armored. Until the Renaissance (and arguably even after), going to war meant you had to buy your equipment. Only the richest had a full set of armor. So a lot of soldiers were very lightly armored. Shooting multiple arrows at once could have been used to shoot at a faster target (like light cavalry or maybe for hunting?). Curving the arrow could help hunt a bandit hiding behind something. The bow-spear could be a repellant against cavalry charge as horses always got afraid of going into a spear wall or simply a stopgap solution when a tactic or technology was missing (as is often the case with mixed weaponry). And lastly, a big part of popular entertainment could be archery competitions which maybe implied a trick shot. Yes, the situations where such tropes were useful might not be numerous, but maybe more than what we expect. Or since people were already thinking the same way we did, maybe they just came from a simple "what if?"
I've seen some incredibly curving shots by another archer on TH-cam. He's known for his trick shots and speed shooting, so yeah. The other stuff was pretty neat, too. Thanks for the lessons!
I made a balded bow for tabletop, but it was more a scimitar blade sharing the grip of the bow, separate from the limbs. it was ultralight fantasy metal too, so it wasn't unduly heavy, but it was generally less effective as a melee weapon because of the weight of the bow and the fact that you had an entire bow limb as a "pommel"
love the video, and glad that you found a way to include the silly Bard Bows from Final Fantasy. I love Final Fantasy, and love the Bard, and the Dancer, but the bow with a harp, pure silly, but wait theirs more... We have keyboard bow now.
Goblin bows from BG3 has blades that works like a fist weapon (or could be, even though it’s not haha). A way to melee-fy the bow with less tension on the limbs.
Personally, I'd rather use a sling against zombies. My reason for this is that slings as well as rocks & stones are numerous whereas bows & arrows take some time to build. Furthermore, bows & arrows can be broken whereas slings as well as rocks & stones... Well, you get my point, right? What's more, arrows could get stuck in zombie ribs & arms whereas rocks & stones could smash heads & chests, to say nothing of ribs & arms. Just saying.
As a camp counselor, I rigged a bow with 6 nocks and 6 arrow rests. I had to move the target to the 15 yard line to even reach it and most of the arrows bounced out. It was fun though.
You really are such an inspiration, thank you for.... everything, really. Funnily enough, the first thing I kind of want to invest time/energy would be poledancing, so I'll have to look into that but I doubt there's anything in my town or frankly, most towns in my country, but.... one can dream. Or plan, as the case maybe. Fortunately, we have a really nice HEMA section here, specifically for archery :)
Berimbau's. The overachievers of the instrument family. Came from Africa, stayed in brazil, used in a martial art, and functions like a bow. Jokes aside, I feel like the melee bow idea could work if instead of stabbing people with the tips, you use it to deliver light cuts. Sure, not enough to Peirce through armor, but enough for them to reel back a second or two, in which time you could use an arrow to stab them with.
Horse Archery and Speed shooting are my two favorites when it comes to archery. I wish more people practiced sustained speed shooting because that, to me, is an impressive skill requiring a lot of stamina. I agree the lack of strength being represented in games when it comes it aggravating. I like how many Skill Bassed TTRPGs have bows require a minimum strength. I like seeing bladed bows as strictly slicing weapons rather than stabbing. Those seem more realistic to use as you arent as likely to transfer too much force into the bow itself and just cut the skin. Though that would make it useless against armor. Which is fine. You have arrows for armor penetration. For musical bows a lot of them are rediculous. Seeing the real world instrument from Brazil was neat, I did not know about that. Most "realistic bowstruments" i have seen is just a bow with some woodwind stuck to a part of the bow. However I know people can attach things to arrows to make them whistle. So I can imagine a blunt arrowhead with the whistle and shooting them up for a musical performance. (And likely never find your arrows again.)
The shoting a bow with your feet thing reminds me of Tulin from "The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom". He is an anthropomorthic bird who uses his feet to carry his bow abd shoot with it while his arms/wings carry him in the air. He is an adorable little archer.
Great video man, as someone who started archey recently (in part due to your content) I really appreciate the effort you put in and all the references and demonstrations. Bonus points due to showing the Berimbau cus I'm also Brazilian! Keep up the good work!
Yeah it'd make more sense for Archery to be a composite skill. Where DEX gives the accuracy and STR gives the power of the shot(by expanding archers max draw length andor allowing use of more powerful bows)
I can't believe I'm only now thinking about it, but I really want to see you try using a sword as an arrow. Go full EMIYA. It's dumb, but will probably be fun.
Try Zombies, Run! on the ZRX app for free: zrx.app/zombies
Such a great app! Well executed and easy to use, plus it takes your mind away from the monotony of running. 10/10
I actually used that a couple years ago for my runs and jogs and it's kind of fun
In the traditional Bowyers Bible there's a page where either a Cherokee or some other tribes bow where there a blade attached to it
There's bows with speartips in the plains of North America
Alright, first time I've seen an sponsor placement I'm willing to listen to in full.
Alright, props -- that's the first time somebody integrated an ad well enough into the video that I didn't feel the desire to skip it. I'm not even mad; if I could still run, I'd be downloading that app right now.
The only reason I skipped it was because he uploaded the short. It's that smooth.
Thank you! I really appreciate that! I'm trying to make my ads more interesting and less jarring
@@blumineck it honestly blended pretty seamlessly with the video, I didn't notice until the phone recording.
Honestly I first thought that the zombie tangent was just interesting, not even an ad lol
Plus the app is actually really nice ! I hadn't heard of it in years, but it's fun to use, lets you set your own goals, and doesn't require you to pay for much iirc. I don't mind seeing it here !
What's interesting about the berimbau being alin to a bow and arrow is that it is intrinsically associated with capoeira. One does not exist without the other. And Capoeira was intended to be a martial art disguised as a dance. To allow slaves to train fighting without being found out and punished.
Fitting that the berimbau is a weapon disguised as an instrument.
I was thinking the same thing. So much planning went into that and yet sadly not enough uprisings came from having such skills and equipment.
@@InfernosReaper More than you'd think
@@alexandredesouza3692 Yeah, but still not enough.
@@InfernosReaper I mean, what's enough? Escaping slavery, throwing a revolt or overthrowing the government?
@@alexandredesouza3692 I mean, "more instances of it happening" which I guess *could* end in "try to overthrow the government" but that seems like that would end poorly.
As a Brazilian, I appreciate that you at least tried to play the berimbau. Hopefully you bring it back in the future, too.
You don't need to be Brazilian to enjoy the berimbau. (Greetings from Spain. My Capoeria apelido is Matrix).
(And I'm in utter terror of, were Blumineck to do Capoeira, what his apelido might be...)
@@notfeedynotlazyyou do capoeria, thats awesome i myself am a kick boxer, i have been noticing that people practicing martial arts is seemingly on the rise i keep seeing dojos pop up everywhere which really fills me with joy.
Another option where shooting two arrows might be advantageous: you have a very heavy bow (say a 200 pound draw weight) but your only option is to shoot arrows that are designed for half that draw weight (you ran out of arrows, haven't ditched your bow for your sidearm, and you happen to come across somebody else's quiver of lighter arrows designed for a 100 pound bow). Since these are lighter and weaker, they might actually break with the force your heavy bow is trying to put into them. Shooting two arrows would allow you to still shoot, in this very unlikely scenario.
Perfect arrow weight is greatly overrated.
It might help! It's a niche scenario but it could come up.
But also once you get above a certain bow weight, the arrows tend to be relatively interchangeable- in the 100 years' war for example, everyone used the same arrows regardless of their bow - you just shot what you could get!
@@blumineck Maybe I am talking out my ass here, but wouldn't that be because their bows are proportionally closer to each other so an "average" arrow has more or less the same performance? Say, the difference between 200 pound bow and a 160 one is 40 pounds, but that is just 20% weaker, where the difference between an 80 pound and a 40 pound bow is still 40 pounds, but that is half as weak.
@@louisvictor3473 I would think that this is more a logistic supply problem. You need plenty of arrows, and you need them now, especially as an invasive army on campaign. So you would probably shoot heavier arrows. Not because they didn't have the knowledge about the perfect arrow, but because they might not have spruce or pine and replace it with heavier wood like walnut tree or chestnut
@@autre1806 That is looking at it from a different angle. I was looking from a "why bow still shoot good" point of view.
Archers shown at 00:56
Clockwise from top left: Mihai Cozmei, Freedomandfeathers, Segredalreal (archer unnamed), Lars Anderson, Byron Ferguson
Appreciate the namedrops, I'd love to see more of this community of skilled arrowslingers
@Blumineck The hazuyari actually isn't the only weapon where it was done. The elites of the Sioux indians also had 2 versions of what they call a ghost lance bow. The first version looks a lot like a western version of a hazuyari, but second had a spike attached at a different angle functioning more like warpick.
For anyone who hasn't seen her stuff freedomandfeathers (her name escapes me) is awesome
And i beat all of these Guys with Bows they are trice as strong 🤣🤣🤣
The berimbau is a really cool instrument and I recommend people to look up videos of it being played, specially in capoeira circles
Ayep. It only has two notes, high and low, but that's exactly as many notes as a drum has, and we all know how much a good drummer can sound and how much energy it can transmit. The berimbau is the same. The energy a good berimbau gives to a _roda_ (the circle) is simply amazing.
I really need to get into capoeira!
@@notfeedynotlazy the berimbau can actually make up to 5 notes. Some of those are made by combining two different notes at the same time. Just like some kinds of drums, as you pointed.
@@blumineckWith you being an archer and a dancer, and with the berimbau existing, it's honestly surprising you have not yet got yourself into it.
I think that the "DEX is the archery stat" being common is probably at least as much for the fine motor control of aiming accurately as it is for the acrobatics of shield surfing.
Yea, espeacially if you consider that those where seperate stats in some older RPGs (dex and agility) and often only affects precision and not the basedamage.
I prefer settings where you need both strength and dex for archery, because that's most realistic
@@michaeledmunds7056 I guess in 5e terms, a longbow would have it's attack roll modifier be based on DEX, since you need to aim the shot to hit them, and have it's damage modifier be based on STR, since the amount of power you put in is proportional to what is delivered on impact. I suppose you could put a strength requirement on them too, make it like Heavy weapons and have attacks be at disadvantage when you don't meet the requirement.
@@branhan215124 That's exactly how it worked in 3rd edition D&D: Bows used DEX for attack rolls but damage was based on STR. (Crossbows did a bit more base damage (1d10 for a heavy crossbow vs 1d8 for a longbow), but couldn't add STR.)
Technically, bows were actually a little more complicated: Every bow had a 'Strength Rating' which determined the maximum damage bonus. If your strength was equal to or higher than the bow's strength rating, it did that much additional damage. (So if you were an 22 STR fighter wielding a longbow with a Strength Rating of 16, it would do 1d8+3 damage.) However, if your strength was lower than the bow's strength rating, you took a penalty to attack rolls equal to the difference in strength, up to -4, in addition to a lower damage. (So if the 13 STR rogue picked up that longbow, they'd take a -3 penalty to attack rolls and deal 1d8+1 damage. The 8 STR wizard would take a full -4 penalty to attack rolls and deal 1d8-1 damage. This is on top of any proficiency penalty they might have (and indeed Rogues and Wizards are not proficient with bows by default).
... Thrown weapons also worked similarly, in that they used DEX to hit and STR for damage, though there was a feat to allow you to apply your strength to the attack roll instead. Slings also worked using the same system of DEX to hit, STR for damage, and were a simple weapon (unlike bows) capable of multi-attacking (unlike crossbows). It also had a range increment of 50', which wasn't great but was better than most thrown weapons. They did base 1d4 damage for some incomprehensible reason, weren't served by many feats, and were generally slept on (for some reason the Pathfinder designers especially hated them?), but if you were a barbarian you could theoretically be doing 1d4+6 damage, which, y'know, wasn't 1d12+9, but if you can't reach the enemy it's nothing to scoff at. They were also a Monk Weapon so you could flurry of blows which was neat (less neat was everything about the 3.X Monk).
@@branhan215124 Most realistically, DEX (or its equivalent) should probably be used for the accuracy rolls of all physical attacks period, with strength determining the damage it dealt.
Love all of these tropes! But the curving arrow is always fun to see in reality as it’s such a party trick!
It's so fun when it works!
That's the interesting thing about horse archery, a horse is not only a means of fast transportation, but it's also much better at melee fighting than the average person. I was going to suggest in the first bit that the real good way to have a backup melee option as an archer was to get real good at kicking, but honestly a mediocre horse is better at kicking than you will ever be.
As someone who got a bone bruise from a horse kick, I can confirm.
@@LongForgottenJ for a horse kick? I got a bruise from a horse play-biting me XD
I was going to complain about the unusable nature of bladed bows but after seeing how accurate and objective you were about their shortcomings i realized this wasnt going to be a shitty clickbait video and ended up watching the whole thing… you earned a new sub
i always appreciate the objective approach and flashiness of this channel
consistently good, good sub
^ THIS ditto
As a guy who likes guns, the shotgun analogy is perfect. Same as with a shotgun blasting multiple pellets, the energy between all of them is reduced compared to a single slug. 00 buckshot is basically sending 8 9mm pistol rounds at once while a slug is like a cannon ball. Same thing also with multiple targets. As far as as rate of fire too, a rifle would be much faster to shoot one at a time accurately. Great video!
shooting multiple arrows is only superficially similar to a shotgun though.
the important thing is to differentiate between energy and momentum.
-energy is equal to mass times velocity squared
-momentum is mass times velocity
-energy equals range and penetration
-momentum equals accuracy and stopping power
shooting two arrows cuts their velocity in half.
this equates to quartering their energy so you're loosing a LOT of penetration, while
their momentum is only cut in half and actually remains the same if both hit, meaning you still have plenty of stopping power.
in a shotgun however (lets just assume it's somehow only two projectiles because it makes the maths easier) the two projectiles are not the same mass as a single slug would be, so if you're shooting two projectiles, you can make each half the mass of the slug and now you can shoot two projectiles while maintaining full velocity, meaning you're only loosing half the energy (instead of three quarters you loose with the arrows) and your momentum is still only halved because there is no squaring in that equation.
issue is you can't really make arrows lighter, they need to be a certain length for the bow to function right and they need to have the right amount of flex and strength so messing with the diameter isn't going to work either, lightening the tip messes with the balance and so on.
now the maths isn't going to perfectly reflect reality because of stuff like friction and air resistance but this should tell you why a shotgun makes sense whereas shooting multiple arrows really doesn't
@@windhelmguard5295"now the maths isn't going to perfectly reflect reality because of stuff like friction and air resistance but this should tell you why a shotgun makes sense whereas shooting multiple arrows really doesn't"
Against armored targets, a shotgun *doesn't* make sense. Even slugs aren't great with penetration against modern body armor.
Though, it's correct in that it's more like if you were to load multiple slugs into a shotgun.
@@basedeltazero714 that hugely depends on the slug that is used, while most shotgun slugs are designed for hunting medium to large game, there are shotgun slugs that are specifically designed to penetrate armour and honestly most body armour probably wouldn't prevent serious injury even if the slug doesn't penetrate.
The musical bows trope reminds me of Sir Tristian in the Fate series. His bow works by magic as you might assume, but it functions more like a harp that can fire sonic projectiles than a bow that can make music. As a result, he can actually attack with only one arm. Somehow, he's got the best of both worlds, where it simultaneously works as an instrument and a weapon.
I think you could design a "somewhat functional" crossbow harp. If you take a reverse draw and have harp limbs below that so if you where to look from above it looks like a cross with a bunch of extra crossbeams.
Now that I think about it if we are going separate limbs and we put that sort of on a forked limb. 1 that moves like with any bow and 1 that remains static for the harp playing stuff. If the harp strings are close enough the feathers from the arrow might even be able to sort of strung the harp, though I don't know if you'll stay accurate with that.
It's great how enthusiastically you've applied yourself to the history and science of archery. These videos are very educational.
I have a coment on the 2 arrow thjing:
Yes, the arrows are slower, less powerfull and less acurate than a single arrow.
BUT: If you are in a situation, where you have basically a sniper position, and time to aim, and know, you have to be on the run the moment you are discoverd, AND you have multiple targets that you want to hit: Shooting 2 arrows may be viable.
It may be even more viable if combined with poison tipped arrpws, because then you don't have to rely on perfect acuracy and the full power of the bow.
Again not a battlefield tactic, but in poltical fantsy scenario, this may still be ones best option
change the poisondip into improvised light explosives and you need even less accuracy while dealing more chaos and damage to the enemy lines.
@@TheAzureGhosttrue, but that would also be more noticeable with both light and sound marking the attack. The poisoned arrows could be very subtle, perhaps even undetectable by anyone but the targets.
@@emilyrln Unless you managed to create a poison that kills or incapacitates within a second or so, an alarm would be raised anyhow. Explosives might actually be more advantageous regardless, for their shock factor.
In any case, you'd have to be really sure of yourself to attempt that shot. Unless you're sure you can take both targets out instantly, you're probably still better off shooting the first and then taking care of the second as that one is still processing what just happened.
Interesting to note on the music archery connection:
The mythological origin of the Yamatogoto instrument comes from the tale of Amaterasu and the Cave. The party goddess Ame-no-Uzume needed music to dance to to draw out Amaterasu from the cave, so six hunters brought their bows and used them to play a melody for everyone to party to. When Amaterasu came out of the cave one of the celebrations was the act of taking the six strings and weaving them into the first ever Yamatogoto
Man, that was a wild day. No sun, woman crushed by cow, roosters everywhere, a stripper goddess, new musical instrument invented...
I have learned you can do a lot with archery, but you need to be creative with it.
It's the same with most skills I think 😁
It does help that since archery has been around for so long, mankind has had plenty of time to get creative with it. Compared to a lot of other skills, it's had more time to develop and adapt to different situations.
We can see the same thing with melee weapons as well, with them generally answering the same question of "how do I make the enemy less alive", but creating a variety of fighting styles and weapons to adapt to different situations. It's just that with melee weaponry, it's much easier to see the differences at a glance with an untrained eye, while bows tend to be more subtle in their differences when it comes to both style and design.
I have to wonder if, designed properly so as not to interfere with the firing of the bow, a better solution to the bladed bow concept might be something more akin to a punching dagger integrated into the middle/handle area of the bow. It certainly wouldn't have the range of the bow/spear concept, but I feel like that placement might be less likely to damage the bow since more of the force of striking with it could be absorbed by your hand and arm, in addition to possibly being less detrimental to the firing of the bow by keeping the added weight in the center rather than at the ends where the bending happens. I could be completely wrong about all of this, I'm no expert, and I'm not sure it'd be much more effective than just using an arrow as an improvised dagger, but it's a thought. If nothing else, it'd probably be another fun fantasy weapon concept.
Why a dagger? Put a montante! It will double as stabilising counterweight, too! 😀
Reminds me of some fantasy bow i saw somewhere in the past which had a blade in firing direction above and below the grip and some round cover over the hands as protection.
Can't remember where i saw that, but i think it was some videogame RPG.
@@TheAzureGhostI recall seeing that type of design in Neverwinter Nights, maybe a sketch in the PHB.
I mean, aren't you just better off with a bladed glove? But yeah, that would work
You're right. Physically that makes sense. It would be impractical and expose the bow to damage from blocking incoming strikes, but then again, knives and daggers historically have often been weapons of last resort anyway. Other approaches would be adding brass knuckles or spikes to the glove you hold your bow with, or getting proficient with using arrows as melee weapons.
The jumpscare at 2:09 are scarier than the sound of zombies groaning into your ears while you are running in the middle of the woods
Love how you take some time to breathe or think. We sometimes get tired of perfect speakers in a mashed up video. Gives perception the speaker is more like a person and less like a product for the evil algorithm
In a wonderful confluence of two of these tropes, In times past, when the art was suppressed - or just because fights might happen the required it, it was not unknown for Capoeirstas to attach knives, spikes, or razorblades to the ends of their berimbau, to use as an improvised spear.
Unlikely. Capoeira is already enough of a close-quarters thing, and merges well enough with having the knives or machetes on hand (google "makulele", basically it's Capoeira with a machete in each hand, and even braggiest songs!), that they would not likely bother. An African hunter of teh kind who actually used their hunting bows as instruments? More likely, if only barely. A Capoeirist? Not so much. But I like how you think, my friend. 😀
@@notfeedynotlazy I mean, I've only been practicing Capoeira for 23 years, and have been told this by multiple Mestre's across that time. Like much in Capoeira, it may be semi-mythological / folkloric retelling, but if so, its pretty pervasive.
@@SuperByakhee Funny, my own mestres never mentioned that to me in roughly 30 years (I started back in the late '90s). It's the funny thing of myths, sometimes some people hear themm, others don't.
I haven't heard about knives and the like attached to the end of the instrument but I did hear about the end of the baqueta (vaqueta) being sharpened on the end with poison applied to the tip as a way of weaponizing the berimbau even if indirectly.
0:07 hang on, when were you on Britain's got talent, and where can I watch a clip of your performance?
Also wanna know
While the 69k is a NICE joke, its likely not real out of the 3 actually worthwhile analytical studies, the main Lombard one only managed to actually prove that the chipped stones had fractures as fitting to someone pushing on the top/edge side with the opposite end down into something, but lack any trace evidence of flexible wood (you know as would be needed for archery, be it on its own or with either sinew or wound plant strings) compared to explanations given and reproduced that show it could have as easily been from use as a peeling razors of animal skin and tendons from bones or simpler spears or even as darts (as do most sites with sharpened flint, bone, quartz or other stone materials older than 19-20k BC), much how the few "less research paper more book" ala Lyn Wadleys doorstop effectively concludes "its a cool possibility but i could just be bullshitting myself by reading implications into implications".
Edit for bit of context: i noted 19-20k BC because thats when pretty much when cave paintings of of people using something that is even vaguely resembling bow and arrow start appearing across the world, while darts, spears, javelins and other forms of "sharp stick" go back as far as relatively advanced hominids could put their hands in the closest pigmented liquid and press it against nearby surfaces.
Your shorts are great, but I'm a huge fan of your longer explanations. W upload.
Really appreciate how much effort you put into making the more impractical tropes work, gives a very mythbusters kinda vibe to the video structure
I enjoy these longer form videos David, they sure show the work you put in.
I really love when you make videos with so much research. I love to see the history and science behind modern/historical tropes. It brings things back down from fantasy to something (somehow) grounded in reality. Lastly, it's always great to see you enjoy yourself! Keep up the great work! :D
Fun fact about the body of the berimbau- historically, it was made of biriba wood, which was specifically chosen for its flexibility (I'm told it was considered the "bamboo" of the amazon), which would make it great as an actual bow. Modern berimbaus however are (usually) not made of this type of wood, because due to deforestation it has become an endangered species
I used to START LARP fights with a two-arrow shot (already nocked and ready to go) but yeah, the power loss isn't a huge deal when you're not often full drawing anyway (close shots) and the effect is the same (damage is damage). They do have less power (less than half, but not by much, half the energy but with the mass factored in as well).
Great video David, probably one of your best. Not just the subject matter but the presentation and the feel of it just all flows nicely together. Congrats on the cool sponsor as well!
@@SixDeadZeroHEMA thank you so much! That's lovely to hear!
Easily the best written and presented video of yours, as an essay, it is well constructed and versed, clearly supported and researched, the flow is logical and coherent. The video is fantastic, the inclusion of insert clips and side-by-sides at appropriate times without over-use. Your skills as a presenter have increased greatly beyond simply showcasing your talents and expressing fondness for archery and pop culture.
Bravo, David!
The musical bow is the one that surprised me the most! Next chance I get to roll up a bard, I might just have to ask the dm if I can flavor a longbow as a berimbau
It's really no different than a washtub bass. Put your bow on a sounding box and pluck the string!
For my "Well actually..." moment for the day archers routinely use curved shots. They aim high and let gravity pull it down. Which is a curved shot.
A few fantastical solution to the bladed bow's issues:
- Integrating the blades directly into the construction of the bow's arms rather than being mounted on the ends, making it less unwieldy by keeping the weight more in-line with the typical points of flexion (but a bit more dangerous with regards to slicing yourself, certainly for an untrained user)
- Using supernaturally light-yet-strong fantasy metals, such as mithril or ironwood, to make them more resistant to the stresses of melee combat
- Have a supernaturally strong wielder and reinforce it with stronger materials, similarly to a horn-/composite bow
In my case, I'm using all three for an NPC I've recently introduced into my D&D campaign, who wields a composite longbow made from the metallic bones of a bladetail felldrake (imagine a T. rex with a giant blade for a tail-or Glavenus from Monster Hunter, which is what I've not-so-subtly adapted). The arms are made from ironwood, felldrake horns and sinew, with curved blades made from the felldrake's tail molded directly into the arms. Ironwood is only slightly heavier than yew but substantially stronger, while felldrake horns and sinews are almost identical in weight to those of large bovines (the creatures typically sourced for hornbows) but are as strong as high-carbon steel (a wizard did it). The tail is denser and stronger still, but still lighter than iron or steel. The composite construction also allows for a vastly increased draw strength compared to a simple pure-wooden bow. Fortunately, the wielder (Dame Veille Drake, the Iron Vanguard) happens to be jacked as all hell and has a Belt of Stone Giant Strength to boot.
Lars Andersen has shown a lot of these things as well. It's nice to finally have proof that some of these crazy shots are plausible if not outright doable, and it has changed the way I do my D&D games.
:edit for spelling:
Hey Mr. Blumineck Man, one question I've come to have: have there been, or would it be possible to have a SHIELD BOW? It'd be quite heavier, given you're holding it with the arm extended (that gravity lever effect), and with quite reduced visibility, but the very situation where you'd need one is on open spaces, far from cover.
You can check where I get this idea from in Warframe's Duviri Bowmen enemies. Their bows project a buckler-sized field in front and around the riser with a hole for the arrow. It doesn't exactly act as a buckler, but the concept is right there.
Were we to lean even more on the shield part, I extended the concept to having a TOWER SHIELD with an ARROW SLIT. Pair such a shield / barricade with a regular bow, and I think it's perfectly viable. 99% cover from enemy archers, portable, can deploy anywhere.
So, what's your say on my ramblings? 😂🏹🎯
Better to use a pavise or some sort of defensive position or structure, or move around on transportation such as a horse or vehicle.
The best way to feasibly achieve what you are asking(with traditional archery), is to carry around a shield that you can deploy as cover. When it comes to crossbows, attaching a small shield to it is much more feasible, since you can use both of your arms to support the extra weight. Additionally, modern shields are made from much lighter material than traditional shields, and some of those materials are even capable of stopping bullets. the downside is that the shield would need to be pretty small still, so it would work well in an urban environment(where you can bolster it by positioning around other forms of cover), but not so well in a open field. For that, you would be much better off carrying a tall shield on your back, to be deployed once you reach your position, or to cover you while moving to another location/retreating.
It would certainly be possible to attach a buckler or shield boss to the front of your bow. Depending on the situation the counterweight might even be beneficial. And in theory you could use it in a way similar to a gou-rang hook shield. But blocking strikes with your bow limb is not exactly a good idea if you plan to shoot some more arrows after that. You'd probably be better off with an actual buckler or a lightweight leather or wicker shield you can strap to your back or as others mentioned, bring a full pavise to hide behind.
I think I've heard of some Turkish mounted archers strapping their shields to their arms so they have cover while shooting, so that might be the closest thing
Yes, Ottoman and Turkish archers sometimes had small round shields called kalkan shields that they could wear while using their bows. I think a thumb draw would be easier to use with such a shield than the finger draw, especially considering which side the arrow typically rests with each technique.
for anyone interested in seeing the more extreme side of curving arrows, and for those who havent seen him somehow, look up Lars Anderson. he's basically a real life fantasy archer. course his setups are staged, but the principles make archers look better than melee users even in close range
I'm just here to appreciate the little colorful pots of plants you have on your shed wall, that looks really cute! Glad we got to see them!
That's adorable that you noticed that. Have a great day! :D
Given some fairly specific contexts, I could see the spear/bow setup being useful. In the case of a last stand where there's little room to retreat and the enemy may be too fast to fall back carefully, it may be necessary for your archers to be able to swift switch weapons from ranged to melee (and, hopefully, vice versa). Situations where a group is low on melee weapons might not want to give up even a short sword to archers. Not to mention, using a spear at a basic level is generally straightforward; it may not be effective in the long run (as you said, the weapon isn't really designed for that), but if you just need your archers to hold something off for short term (and/or die trying), well... a crappy spear wall is better than nothing. Other situations I could think of would be situations where capture is unlikely; that is, the enemy isn't taking prisoners - in that case, might as well try anything.
I don't know of any texts that would prove my theory/hypothesis that some types of spearbows could also be used in a similar manner to how certain spears were used in a certain way.
What I'm getting at is that we have a fairly decent knowledge of how a spear could be used offensively while retreating (like the Parthian shot/salute for the bow) and sometimes on horseback. A number of Asian martial arts will have you draw a half semi circle with the backhand so that the speartip makes a circular motion and you knock thrust off course by swiping side to side. The Korean martial manuscript the Muyedobotongji also describes spear combat while mounted and some of those pictures (I have the book at home) look a lot like what would be necessary. There is also a Japanese spear that has been translated as a tube spear. This is a spear that has tube that you hold with your leading hand that helps with a really smooth thrust from the backhand. The thing about this spears martial arts school is, is that it teaches a way of running backwards in retreat while still delivering accurate thrusts at the foe.
I think that if we combine all of this stuff while mounted switching back and forth between bow and a thrusting spear we could have a really fun style. If they persue us too hard that's a bunch of thrust to the face or their mount,but if they slow down even just a little bit /or their horse gets really tired they are gonna get shot at by arrows. I have done some mounted archery for a while and shooting backwards is really not that hard and I'm a terrible shot.
The wildest mounted archery shot I saw was very recently. Mongolian archery contest and the guy's barely hanging onto the horse, his body sideways practically horizontal to the ground, and his aim is lateral to the horse run. The guy was impressive, but I was also blown away by the horse able to adjust to the center of mass shift.
I have to point out that arrows don't spin normally. There may be some rotation due to imprecision in vane position, but not a significant rotation. Spinning requires a force to accelerate the spin, which requires energy. A spinning arrow will also have much more drag from the fins. This energy loss is a very noticeable portion the arrow's total energy. Any spin velocity is also insufficient to provide gyroscopic stabilization.
The except is some types of arrows used for bird hunting. These arrows have vane intended to have high drag and are attached in an orientation to cause spin for the purpise of more drag. The reason for all this drag is to avoid losing an arrow if you miss as it severely reduces range when shooting up. These are typically called Flu Flu arrows.
That's really cool! I didn't think that it was possible to do the moving arrow around something trick shot. Very cool! Thanks for showing that off!
Imagine everyone knowing you as this breakdancer who always plays this cool stick guitar thing, and then when trouble comes, you grab your weird fiddlesticks set with feathers in the middle of the sticks, duck under a strike and capoeira kick the baddie in the face, then curve some arrows with your berimbau bow into the body of a dude hiding behind a rock. He's not dead cus it didn't pierce deep, so you run, stab him, retrieve your arrow, roll back and shoot another dude's face out of the roll.
Any chance to try horseback archery ?
I believe that there was a Native American tribe that used their bows as lances from horseback. I believe some formed metal around the tip, while others fire hardened and ground tips. May have been fire hardened in one era, tipped in the next. I can't remember which tribe but I believe it was a plains tribe.
Cheyennes had a slightly wiggly lance which I think was called a bow-lance. I think it was associated with 'Contraries'.
first impression is that you mesh a relaxed descriptive language, "their own pointy stick", with knowledge, facts, integrity. for me it works. well done!
This is absolutely one of the videos ever made. In the novel saga I'm writing, I decided to introduce a band of infamous sellswords (designed to be a homage to Vinland Saga's Askeladd and his ilk). Their leader, Eðall Gimbrosa, is a fabled archer with blessed sight, known for two things: his impeccable accuracy and his archery quirks.
One of those quirks is that he dons a custom made dress, designed to stabilize or tense specific parts of his body, enhancing his peculiar fighting style. Another quirk is what he calls "Heljarheilsan" (Old Norse for "Death's Greeting", corny, I know) - each time he shoots an arrow, he raises his right hand in a provocative gesture which may draw his enemy's attention and blind them to where the arrow is flying.
But even so, this being a low fantasy, mostly realistic setting, I wanted for his character to employ physically possible, yet widely mocked techniques. The curved shot you showed us lands in his arsenal as of now. Keep it coming, David, and if I devise something equally absurd though feasible, I'll be sure to share with you and get you to try it out 😉
You are so clearly a performer. The thought you put into the presentation of this shows!
As a brazilian i never expected to be watching your videos and out of nowhere see you holding a berimbau
Came here to mention the berimbau because I had 0 expectation anyone would even know about it. Needless to say I cheered when you actually pulled one out.
I kind of love that your onscreen graphic for "literature" was a comic book.
6:52 Maybe Apollo was just the god of string.
18:22 Fully equipped trickster's bow.
The character Dafydd Ap Hywel in Gordon Dickson's classical fantasy novel "The Dragon and the George" (Original title intended to be "SAINT Dragon and the George", a play on St. George and the Dragon, but changed so the religiously minded wouldn't get ticked off) is a longbowman. In particular, a Welsh longbowman. He insists that the longbow is NOT an English weapon, but a Welsh weapon. His longbow is reputed to be a 200-pound bow, maybe more. He's also an incredibly wondrous archer. He is depicted sticking arrows upright in the ground in front of himself, then fires all of them before the first one can hit, striking all of his targets precisely with killing shots. It's a great story, but is it possible? Maybe? Is it good tactically? Maybe?
If you haven't read that book, I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful American isekai story, good vs evil, will the good guy get the girl sort of book.
Just wanted to say I love the energy you bring to this.
You acknowledge what isn't realistic, but it doesn't stop these tropes from being cool and inspirational.
Too many people let realism ruin the magic for them.
Thanks for reminding us that we're allowed to do impractical stuff just because it's cool or fun.
Keep it up.
Found this channel a couple of days ago and loving it! Whilst I enjoy my target archery, I love the "unconventional" archery far more. Suspect my club will frown on me if I start messing around at the range unless I'm by myself though :P
I actually had an idea for an rpg game where everyone's weapons are also musical instruments. Thanks for making that thought work
The whole point of Capoeira was to hide the military training of black African slaves from the European slavemasters (who obviously didn't want their slaves to have these skills). They took the martial arts of kickfighting & wrestling, added training with the hunting bow, knives & more, and brilliantly hid them in plain sight by making them seem like music & highly acrobatic dancing.
8:14 of course capoeira is where that's from.
Historically, capoeira was designed by slaves looking to revolt.
Because of this, capoeira techniques are near indistinguishable from dancing, in order to train right under their masters noses. So a musical instrument/bow fits right in.
3rd option for multishot is having them on the same side, but splayed so that they diverge in flight. this V-shaped shot means you have to perfect how much to splay them, and ranging that, and learning the limits of it.
multishot would be as hard to master, imo, as standard archery... it's a whole new skill, really, and likely rather limited in it's utility.
there is also evidence that before the viking age, in iron age scandinavia there were bows that were also used as make shift spears.
The "Nydam bow" was a bow found that appeared to have a sharpened spike end that went out far above the top knock, and also had an extra knock for a sort of "stored" position for the string. the idea being that this would have been carried as a spear or such for self defence, and then strung up as a bow for long range attacks or more likely hunting. In the context of its period I think its a fascinating find. Later viking age bows dont show any evidence of this sort of construction or use. And personally I havnt heard of any other bows like this, so it may have just been a very lucky one off find of a one of a kind bow of its era, but the idea that perhaps this was a sort of civilian defense weapon for someone who couldnt afford a true iron spear head, but wanted a spear for protection (something that was very common and even culturally significant in the period) is absolutely fascinating to me personaly. Hopefully one day Ill get to have a replica of the bow for my own collection.
I think the multi shot ( particularly in the two different directions )could make sense as the first shot into a large group and then move to quick shots.
The first shot gives you plenty of setup time.
I find it extraordinarily impressive how perfectly you managed to pair the recording of this video, to the minute, with the 70000th anniversary of archery.
Another option for close combat with a bow is simply using it as a club. Native archers in Florida did this reasonably effectively according to El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega's account. They used powerful longbows.
I always thought the trope about using an archery bow as a musical bow was about replacing a string instrument's bow. Whether this works (with enough rosin) isn't really even up for debate, musical bows are directly descended from archery bows. I don't know if putting rosin all over the bow string will render it less effective as a weapon, but it would most likely release cloud of unhealthy dust with every shot.
Man, watching your videos (and especially this one) really makes me wish there was actually *better* representation for archery in video games. I would love a game where having multiple arrow types in a quiver meant different techniques were available, where you could change your shot style as you got better, or relied on something like mouse gestures or even like fighting game inputs to change the type of shots you made.
14:47 Yeah, but Yondu's arrow is technically an arrow, but it's high tech and has an independent propulsion system that, I guess, converts high pitched sound waves into propulsion. The curving arrows I think of is that one scene from Robin Hood: PoT.
It's a bargain basement Knife Missile.
I think acrobatic archery probably had its own era of dominance. Back when armor really couldn't practically stop a deer hunting bow, well, why use a war bow when you could shoot the deer hunting bow faster? That opens up all sorts of tactical mobility that just isn't used by later archers who need to worry about getting through medium armor.
Funny enough, I always imagined the multi arrow shot being the fantasy sneaky equivalent of the modern double tap against soft targets. I.e. when you are already in a close distance and want to make sure an unarmoured enemy is taken down. But as you say, probably makes only sense in fantasy where thermodynamics aren't a thing, otherwise you lose too much force on both arrows that one arrow would just be the safer option.
Incredible as always sir.
Interesting fact, the curving arrow is actually utilized in the Mahabharata.
Great video, I just haven't heard of the origin of the berimbau. Just a little correction, a european medieval warbow would not be pulled tpass the ears because of its design. The same for a japanese yumi and a turkish bow. All of them usually can't be flexed more than the back of the chin. However manchu and mongolian huntbows and warbows were indeed pulled this way. Even the arrows made for using with such bows are longer because you are expected to pass your ears.
The issue of mobility is more a cultural and historical thing. In Europe it was more common to use archers to defend walls during a siege or in strategic positions, while in asia the archery evolved to be fast and mobile, usually on horseback. Then in modern times the olympic competitions focused on stationary archery, while in Turkey, Hungary, Mongolia and some other countries with stronger tradition in horseback archery continue promoting other types of competitions for this style of archery.
I immediately thought of a berimbau as an instrument. I love to see it portrayed and publicized.
for the curving arrow it would be really cool to have a slow-motion video.
anyway: this was cool to watch. Thank you!
I tend to like the idea of a push-blade, like a katar, over the knuckles. this could free up the limbs to flex as normal, while also having a blade to hand while shooting.
it also can act as a balance (like the spars used in modern bows).
I'd envision this on a short-bow.
Yeah, I can see how the curving arrow trick could be a bit of effective psychological warfare, where it might scare someone into stepping out from behind a tree, or just otherwise undermine their nerve. They may not be in a mindset that lets them quickly rationalize that the shots don't have as much power, due to the "WTF?!" factor.
For the musical bow I would mount a violin in the front of the bow on a balancer stick in such a way that the flight of the arrow would cross the strings of the violin out in front.
I have heard that capoeira has its origin as a "stealthy" martial art, in that it was disguised as dancing (as the people practicing it would not be allowed to learn combat of any kind). So using this instrument (of Angolan heritage) as an archey bow makes perfect sense.
You're right about capoeira being a stealthy martial arts, it was very used i the colonial era of brazil 👍
I like the idea of a knife blade on the end of the bow, gives you the ability to keep the enemy at a distance.
There could be a precedent for shooting two arrows at one target if you could reasonably aim them within close quarters. 2 arrows on an unarmored target might make it really uncomfortable to move and mess up their arm movement with having to navigate around 2 arrows, or remove two. Depending on the arrow head, it could feel even worse to have them in and take out
12:00 with the multi shot, shooting horizontally you can do it much easier because the bow is now just a flat surface to line the arrows on and then shoot your "tableau" so to speak.
Sneaking up and shooting two unarmored guards in the back is a possible scenario for dual arrows.
if you have arrows with an adjustable clamp for the feathers, you can alter its position to anywhere on the go!
This was a really fun video from a fantasy writer aspect. I actually have a character in my book who has a blade on her bow. It's less at the end of the arm and more in the front of the bow's riser. I definitely got some new ideas from seeing these other tropes though, such as a specific arrow used to curve around a target with a some sort of specialized head on it. Less about penetration, and more about scaring the crap out of someone to get them out from behind cover for a direct hit. Great content bro!
Great video! It's amazing to see what enough practice and training can make people do with archery.
To the question of applying said techniques, we have to remember that warfare/fighting wasn't always an army or armored guys facing another one. Actually, most soldiers in armies were very lightly armored. Until the Renaissance (and arguably even after), going to war meant you had to buy your equipment. Only the richest had a full set of armor. So a lot of soldiers were very lightly armored.
Shooting multiple arrows at once could have been used to shoot at a faster target (like light cavalry or maybe for hunting?). Curving the arrow could help hunt a bandit hiding behind something.
The bow-spear could be a repellant against cavalry charge as horses always got afraid of going into a spear wall or simply a stopgap solution when a tactic or technology was missing (as is often the case with mixed weaponry). And lastly, a big part of popular entertainment could be archery competitions which maybe implied a trick shot. Yes, the situations where such tropes were useful might not be numerous, but maybe more than what we expect. Or since people were already thinking the same way we did, maybe they just came from a simple "what if?"
I've seen some incredibly curving shots by another archer on TH-cam. He's known for his trick shots and speed shooting, so yeah. The other stuff was pretty neat, too. Thanks for the lessons!
I made a balded bow for tabletop, but it was more a scimitar blade sharing the grip of the bow, separate from the limbs. it was ultralight fantasy metal too, so it wasn't unduly heavy, but it was generally less effective as a melee weapon because of the weight of the bow and the fact that you had an entire bow limb as a "pommel"
love the video, and glad that you found a way to include the silly Bard Bows from Final Fantasy. I love Final Fantasy, and love the Bard, and the Dancer, but the bow with a harp, pure silly, but wait theirs more... We have keyboard bow now.
Well I think you could make it work if the limbs of the harp and bow string fork out early enough.
@@woutvanostaden1299 just look up "FFXIV Bard Relic weapon"
Goblin bows from BG3 has blades that works like a fist weapon (or could be, even though it’s not haha). A way to melee-fy the bow with less tension on the limbs.
Your range of abilities is pretty impressive. Means it goes well with your charm and wit :)
Personally, I'd rather use a sling against zombies. My reason for this is that slings as well as rocks & stones are numerous whereas bows & arrows take some time to build. Furthermore, bows & arrows can be broken whereas slings as well as rocks & stones... Well, you get my point, right? What's more, arrows could get stuck in zombie ribs & arms whereas rocks & stones could smash heads & chests, to say nothing of ribs & arms. Just saying.
As a camp counselor, I rigged a bow with 6 nocks and 6 arrow rests. I had to move the target to the 15 yard line to even reach it and most of the arrows bounced out. It was fun though.
You really are such an inspiration, thank you for.... everything, really.
Funnily enough, the first thing I kind of want to invest time/energy would be poledancing, so I'll have to look into that but I doubt there's anything in my town or frankly, most towns in my country, but.... one can dream. Or plan, as the case maybe.
Fortunately, we have a really nice HEMA section here, specifically for archery :)
Berimbau's. The overachievers of the instrument family. Came from Africa, stayed in brazil, used in a martial art, and functions like a bow.
Jokes aside, I feel like the melee bow idea could work if instead of stabbing people with the tips, you use it to deliver light cuts. Sure, not enough to Peirce through armor, but enough for them to reel back a second or two, in which time you could use an arrow to stab them with.
Horse Archery and Speed shooting are my two favorites when it comes to archery. I wish more people practiced sustained speed shooting because that, to me, is an impressive skill requiring a lot of stamina.
I agree the lack of strength being represented in games when it comes it aggravating. I like how many Skill Bassed TTRPGs have bows require a minimum strength.
I like seeing bladed bows as strictly slicing weapons rather than stabbing. Those seem more realistic to use as you arent as likely to transfer too much force into the bow itself and just cut the skin. Though that would make it useless against armor. Which is fine. You have arrows for armor penetration.
For musical bows a lot of them are rediculous. Seeing the real world instrument from Brazil was neat, I did not know about that. Most "realistic bowstruments" i have seen is just a bow with some woodwind stuck to a part of the bow. However I know people can attach things to arrows to make them whistle. So I can imagine a blunt arrowhead with the whistle and shooting them up for a musical performance. (And likely never find your arrows again.)
I also like the idea of a grappling hook being launched from an arrow also. Maybe for another video?
The shoting a bow with your feet thing reminds me of Tulin from "The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom". He is an anthropomorthic bird who uses his feet to carry his bow abd shoot with it while his arms/wings carry him in the air. He is an adorable little archer.
That was the smoothest sponsor ad I've ever seen
Great video man, as someone who started archey recently (in part due to your content) I really appreciate the effort you put in and all the references and demonstrations.
Bonus points due to showing the Berimbau cus I'm also Brazilian!
Keep up the good work!
Yeah it'd make more sense for Archery to be a composite skill. Where DEX gives the accuracy and STR gives the power of the shot(by expanding archers max draw length andor allowing use of more powerful bows)
I can't believe I'm only now thinking about it, but I really want to see you try using a sword as an arrow. Go full EMIYA. It's dumb, but will probably be fun.