Are you a bow and arrow lover? Then you are a “Toxophilite,” you know!
Surprised right? Or can you imagine your compound arrow can travel up to 200mph, almost like a race car? Did you know it was the first event that allowed girls to participate in the Olympic game?
There are hundreds of interesting facts about archery like these that you probably don’t know yet. Hang in there.
I will unwrap the most incredible and interesting archery facts that will surely blow your mind.
A Sneak Peak at archery facts
- The oldest sport and fight art of mankind.
- Arrows can travel faster than a sprinting Cheetah.
- People who love arrows or bows are known as Toxophilite.
- Archery is the first game that allowed female participants in the Olympics.
- The fastest archery was invented in Europe.
- The very first compound bow was introduced in 1966.
- Matt Stutzman shot the longest arrow with his legs.
- The first official archery tournament was in 1483.
- Babylonians were the first Bow users.
- The Bows were used in modern Olympics design 3500 years ago.
- The most awarded country for archery is South Korea.
- The most powerful bow is the Mongolian Recurve bow.
- The first ever fire arrows were used in the war between England and Wales.
Table of Contents
Here You Go The Top 51 Archery Facts You Must Know
To find out the facts about archery, we rummage through the internet and most history books. I have laid them out here.
- Babylonians Were the first Bow users.
In 2340 BC, the bow was first used by Babylonians for hunting purposes. Later it was greatly used for wars and sports entertainment.
- Arrows can travel faster than a sprinting Cheetah.
Surprisingly, the arrows in competition can travel up to 150 mph. And in the case of compound arrows, it even increases.
Where the world’s fastest Cheetah has a 60mph speed, the arrows are 2.5 times faster than them.
- People who love arrows or bows are known as Toxophilite
The word Toxophilite comes from the Greek ” toxon” which is bow and arrow. Where “Philos” means love. So you can call yourself a Toxophilite if you love archery.
- In early Olympic sports, archers had to arrow the pigeons
In 1900 when archery was first introduced to the Olympics, the participants had to target a pigeon as an object. But later, it was replaced by a plastic tube with few feathers that looked like pigeons.
- Archery was abandoned for more than 50 years in International Competitions
It’s shocking to hear, but in 1920, archery was banned in the Olympics and other international gaming events due to the lack of safety equipment and international uniformity principles.
Hopefully, archery was introduced again internationally in 1972, fulfilling all the necessary formalities.
- Roger Ascham first wrote a book on archery.
Roger Ascham published the first book introducing archery, named ‘ Toxophilus’ in 1545.
- The first sport to allow female participants in the Olympics
Archery was introduced in the Olympics in 1900, and all the sports were among male participants. In 1904 they allowed women to participate in the Olympics through archery.
- Archery is considered a National Sport In Bhutan.
Archery is their national sport in Bhutan, and every Buddhist village has an archery range.
- King James Banned Golf Because of Archery
In 1457 golf was banned in Scotland as King James believed men should practice archery rather than waste time on golf.
- Archery was considered a holy game in the Ancient Era
In the ancient Tahiti era, archery was called a sacred game, and only the high-ranked people of the society were allowed to play it.
- Shooting arrows depends on the dominant Eyes.
Did you know shooting depends on the dominant eye as it acts as a vice-versa? It’s like, a right-handed archer must aim with his left eye.
- England was the first organized use an Archery competition internationally
In the 1500s, England first introduced archery as a sports competition, and later the trend spread worldwide.
Modern international archery launched in a more organized way thanks to the formation of world archery.
- Splitting the opponent’s arrow is called “Robin Hood.”
As legend Robin Hood split his competitors’ arrows in a sports event, this phenomenon was named after him.
- Art of archery in Japan
An ancient Japanese art named “Kyudo” is about archery, also celebrated as a festival.
- There is a theme song based on archery.
Popular composer Arther Wood composed a theme song on archery named “Barwick Green,” which was played more than 76,000 times.
- The 10-second Archery rule
It is said that aiming at your target for exactly ten seconds gives a better throw than ever.
- Magic Draw length
The fun fact is every archer has a different comfortable draw length called magic draw length. The trainers start the first step by finding a magic draw length.
- Introduction of Yoke tune
The yoke tune’s introduction changed the entire archery experience as it tunes the bow 3-4 times better than any other tunes used before.
- The oldest bow is in South Africa.
The oldest bow was found in Sibudu Cave of South Africa.
- Mounted archery is called the top category of Archery
Hunting the flying bird from a running horse is known as mounted archery, considered the toughest and highest-ranked archery.
- Introduction to fire arrow in wars
The fire arrows were first used in Wales and England for war and became the most popular fighting strategy within a few decades.
- The two most effective aiming strategies were invented in 1817
The fixed site and barebow are the two most effective methods of aiming introduced in 1817, which took archery to an advanced level.
- Mongolian Horse archery in 1430
The Mongolians used small arrows during horse archery, and their technique was later used for war purposes in other regions.
- The Fastest arrow was first invented in Europe.
Arbalest is the fastest arrow introduced in Europe in the 12th century.
- Archer’s paradox effect
When an arrow produces an effect while leaving the bow, it is named the archers’ paradox by ancient Tahiti.
- Clout archery of the early 1500s
The archers aim a flag as an object and score based on how far the arrow is. This is the ancient archery game strategy.
- Japanese “daikyu” is used for advanced Archery.
The Japanese first invented a longbow named ‘daikyu’ to increase accuracy.
- The most advanced archery practice is “Guangdong.”
The traditional archery practice of Koreans is known as Guangdong. It is a very popular study for bow hunting.
- The invention of “majer” for a better overview
In Turkish archery, equipment called ‘majer’ is used to get a better overview; till now, it’s the best overview device.
- Interesting Mongolian draw
The Mongolians used to draw the bow only with thumbs, and it’s only found in their culture.
- Target panic symptoms in archery
A physiological condition is seen among archers that leads to lower accuracy. This condition of losing a target is known as target panic.
- The most powerful ancient bow ‘The Welsh longbow.”
It’s a medieval bow invented by the English, the most powerful analog bow.
- Mounted archery in Japan
The technique that the Japanese practice the most is “yabusame” which is the toughest archery method.
- Lyon and Burford’s Traditional Bowyer’s Bible
The most detailed archery book “The Traditional Bowyer’s Bible ” was published by Lyon and Burford in 1992. And till 2008, they released a total of 4 volumes.
- The most famous of all time, archer Howard Hill
Howard Hill was titled World’s Greatest archer, and the early 1930-1950 was his golden period.
- “Ullr,” the God of archery
In the ancient Norse pagan religion, “Ullr” was called the God of archery.
- The oldest sport and fighting art of the mankind
Archery was first practiced in 20,000 BC and is popular till now. It’s considered the most ancient and traditional art.
- The most powerful Mongolian Bow
The Mongolian recurve is known as the most powerful one till now. Their accuracy was more than 500 yards.
- The most awarded country for archery in South Korea
South Korea has gained most of the Gold medals for archery in the Olympics.
- The oldest gold medalist Eliza Pollock
Eliza Pollock won one gold and 2 bronze medals in 1904 at different Olympic archery games when she was almost 63.
- The upshot of a competition
The last arrow shooted in the competition is called upshot.
- Archery is called the safest sport in the Olympics.
The National Safety Council declared that archery is 3 times safer than golf as there is only one accident among 2000 participants.
- Archery Brought victory to England.
In 1346, during the war of Crecy, the long-bow men killed more than 2000 enemies from French Knights while losing only 50 soldiers.
- The Bows used in modern Olympics design 3500 years ago
The modern crossbow looks high-tech and is composed of a digital mechanism. But the truth is, the structure and design were inspired by 3500 years old bows.
- The youngest archery medalist in the Olympics was a 14-year-old kid
In 1988, a 14-year-old girl, Denise Parker, won the gold medal and made history.
- The first official archery tournament was in 1483
The first official archery tournament record we got was held in 1483, arranged by the ancient community Kilwinning.
- The very first compound bow was introduced in 1966
For modern archery advanced bow with digital touch was invented in 1966.
- The first wheelchair participant to complete the Olympic archery game was Neroli Fairhall.
In 1984, Neroli Fairhall from New Zealand completed a regular Olympic archery event in a wheelchair.
- There exist modern 3D archery.
In 3D archery, people can shoot man-animal-looking 3D figures, mostly used for practice.
- Matt Stutzman, shoot the longest arrow with your legs
Matt Stutzman, a man without arms first shooted with legs and made a Guinness World Record as it was the longest throw till then.
- Chinese was the first to introduce archery in Japan
In the 6th century, they introduced Kyudo in Japan. And later, it became one of the most practiced war strategies and games events among the Japanese.
The Wrap Up
So, with that out of the way, it’s time to say bye. I hope our findings have given you some interesting archery facts.
If so, would you comment below exactly which fact excited you?
