Visiting the old guard longbow makers and shooters...and don't forget the European side

   As we dive into the world of the Hill - style longbow,  we would be amiss to not recognize many of the true artisans of the longbow making craft from years gone by.  Also, we need to give credit to the fantastic shooters of these beloved longbows who took the simple art of shooting a simple stickbow and made it look so easy to shoot well.  Lots of people who've faded into obscurity but in their day were really good shots and were very able hunters as well.  We will attempt to give them their due as we can.

   Shooting a Hill - style longbow in the Hill style, is a casual, fluid, beautiful thing to watch.  It is not a grip it and rip it style.  It is not a straight arm sticking out in front of you and draw back style.  It is not a loosey-goosey sometimes reach full draw and sometimes not style.   This method of shooting is a result of a very dogmatic, very methodical, very slowly learned process that if you learn to perfect at the slow speeds (as Hill said) then can be done more and more quickly until the entire movement is fluid, smooth and quite fast and very accurate.  There is no shortcutting the system.  If you do, target panic will likely be your result.  However,  the Hill method of shooting does result in a fast shot...albeit TP free.  We will also look into the masters of shooting these longbows and instructions they gave to be better shots.

   It's all a part of the Hill style and needs to be brought out in a cohesive manner.  For those who have struggled with the shooting part,  may I suggest a couple of books by Stephen (Steve) Graf.  Look them up and buy wherever you get your reading material.  "The American Longbow" and "The Long Fix".   Steve and I had some working together on these books and they are full of great information.  I will not take anything away from his writings in this Blog and hopefully expand on some ideas as they come up.

   A Hill - style longbow can indeed be shot any way the shooter wishes.  I will not say otherwise.  There is lots of info on the internet and videos showing such shooting methods.  However, this Blog is all about showing what the True Hill style is, in it's true essence, without deviation so there is a measuring stick for everyone to come back to, in order to stay on track.  I will be promoting this method as I was personally instructed by John Schulz, and also give insight as to how it blends with instructions he gave to other students over the years.

   We must also recognize that there are many followers of the Hill style of shooting overseas, especially in Europe.  A notable Frenchman name Jean-Marie Coche was a student of Schulz in the 70's.  (John told me that Jean-Marie was his best all around student).  Jean-Marie took the Hill method of shooting back to France, and turned that method into a certifiable archery shooting method, recognized by the French authorities and taught all across Europe.  Pretty cool stuff.  We'll jump into that information as we get time as well.  All this stuff is just the tip of the Hill iceberg that we will attempt to discuss.

Shoot Straight