Okay, so apparently some people did their research on historical archery, and it turns out it’s pretty badass. Much more, I would argue, than what I used to think. Now the guy Lars Andersen already aired a video a few years ago, but narrated by speak&spell and with poor quality image, it was a bit of a bore. He published a new video explaining what he’s managed to accomplish after a few years of training, and though it’s a bit egocentric at times, it’s honestly worth the watch:
To sum it up, forget what you’ve seen in movies, now archers can: shoot while running; shoot while running backwards; shoot while jumping; shoot while falling; shoot while hanging upside down; shoot while skating (yes Legolas did it first); shoot ten arrows in less than five seconds, and with good accuracy; shoot other arrows in midair; catch arrows and shoot them back… This all makes archers pretty OP in my opinion, but I thought it pretty fun to see what they could actually pull off in those times. In my opinion, it’s on a whole other level compared to what movies usually show.
And props to those guys who put themselves in absurdly dangerous situations just to make their point. Love it.
Last Edit: Jan 23, 2015 12:00:27 GMT -6 by Zabrard
Post by Calliara Mahariel on Jan 23, 2015 14:35:02 GMT -6
I've watched those kind of videos before, about weapons of old times and such (I'm an archaeologist so I'm a bit of a nerd about that ._. ) but I didn't know this one, so thank you!
Actually, I've always tried to rp my 'warrior' type characters with the most accuracy I've been able (specially my Vampire characters from World of Darkness, one of them was a Templar)
Thanks for sharing, now Calli will have more moves lol
Post by Swift_Assassin on Jan 23, 2015 15:11:21 GMT -6
Is that really a patch though? Seems more like a rollback to a previous version than an update.
I think Robert's going to be utilizing some of those now. Definitely during the Inquisition RP and he'll probably pick up some techniques as he watches others use them, like Calli for instance.
That video was totally awesome! Me and Chels/Margaid watched it drop-jawed for the most part.
Out of all the incredibly impressive feats shown in that video, I actually think one of the things I found most interesting was the way modern archery has kind of bastardized the "proper" form. I recall reading a critic's review of "Brave" when it came out that praised Merida's form as one of the only accurate portrayals of archery form in modern cinema (the same review decried The Hunger Games and LotR). Ever since reading that review, I've always kept a half an eye out for archery form in movies. Based on this video, it seems like that review was from a very modern mindset (draw-hand to the cheek, arrow on the left, one eye squinted, etc). Maybe Katniss's "everyone is trying to kill me, so I'm running and my form is not picture-perfect but effective" archery style is more accurate than we know!
[The whole left vs right side of the bow is such a cool detail! The first time I did archery (very, very badly) at a Renn Faire, I kept shooting from the right side of the bow because it seemed more natural. The guy who was running the game showed me that I was supposed to put it on the left side. It's good to know I wasn't so far off!]
Almost makes me want to bring back Iauron and his bow!
Is that really a patch though? Seems more like a rollback to a previous version than an update.
Weeell... I guess you could argue that archery was 'reinstalled' in the 19th century, sort of ? So that would count as a patch.
I wonder if it will get popular to the point where movies, books, and games start changing their depictions of war archery. Doubtful. Still, always interesting to learn the ways things really used to be done. Do you think in the future they'll be making movies about our times and the actors will be super-awkward using firearms ?