LITMIR.BIZ

      AMERICAN AND JAPANESE FULL DRAW

      Note that with the American full draw (upper sketch), in which the string is not drawn well behind the ear, the elbow is not in line with the shoulders, and that in the Japanese full draw (lower sketch) it is in line, thus shifting the entire pull of the string onto the shoulder of the draw arm instead of continuing it on the elbow as in the American method.

      No one can deny the superior neatness and schematic beauty of the Oriental full draw. For in it the chest can and should be extended and the shoulders thrust apart as far as possible. For this reason it would seem that Oriental archery is better exercise than ours though it can never equal ours for accuracy. In judging their system this point should be kept in mind, and it should also be remembered that the old English archers drew to the ear. They drew with the finger tips, whereas the Japanese have the string in a groove at the base of the crotch of the thumb. (See illustrations on page 27.) It will be seen that the string in Japanese shooting goes considerably further back behind the ear than was the case in the old English archery—the difference in fact being the distance from the crotch of the thumb to a point near the tip of the forefinger.

      I hope that the consideration of this point may lead some American archers to experiment with longer bows which would permit a fuller draw in the manner of the archers of old England. And I also hope that some may be stimulated to acquire Japanese equipment of their own and try their hand at it. This need not ruin their technique with the American bow as the two systems are so entirely unlike. Another great difference between Japanese archery and almost all others is that the shooting is done from a structure built especially for the purpose.