Kassai horseback-archery competition- video

[Grayson]

this is interesting if your thinking about mounted archery
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQy_VTAT8ck

[shoelessgirl]

Wow, something to aspire to! Thanks for the link, Grayson

[Njal]

This clip shows some very impresiive skills.

I would enjoy leading the Norsemen in a fight against these guys. I can imagine them circling a ground based force and pumping the skjoldburgh full of arrows.

It seemed to me that many of the riders 'fired' more arrows when looking back across the shoulder. It is easier to fire a bow from horseback this way?

[Callum]

[Grayson]

Another clip, this is even more impressive. i believe it is Kassai Himself, awesome horsemanship and archery

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPKgSC7JPIk

[Njal]

That is a goht clip Grayson.
This guy seems to fire mostly from roughly 90° angle.

I wonder what the typical poundage bow is that can be drawn on horseback?

[gt1cm2]

Depends all on what the rider is comfortable shooting. I will be starting this soon with my horse and I will be shooting 30# because that is what I am comfortable with. However Kassai bows range from 15# (childs bow) to about 65# from what I can find on his site. Grozer bows bows range from 15 # to 120 #.

For traditional poundage’s you would be best to look on ATARNet as their site is aimed at historically correct horse bows.

[Njal]

Goht I would like to see some of your shooting once you are proficient. Most skillful.

At what distance will a 30# bow punch through a typical wooden shield do you know?

I would like to see about my hauberk too.

[NigelT]

I'd actually be surprised if you could get a 30# arrow very far though a shield, especially one made of modern 12mm plywood. I doubt mounted horsemen would have been firing into shield walls - would seem a bit of a waste of arrows to me. Perhaps much more effective shooting people as they run away or on raiding parties or some such?

[shoelessgirl]

Hmmm... I agree with Nigel that few arrows from a 30lb bow would go through a shield and that horse archers would be far more likely to shoot down stragglers and aim for gaps in the wall.

Saying that, however, I think a good bodkin head could do some damage. I wonder if Dave would let me have a go at home *ponders*

ETA I should point out that I have broken my fair share of arrows by shooting into solid wood target frames/corrugated iron sheds and the occasional tree, so it is far more likely that an arrow would break on a shield than splinter it. An arrow from such a light bow is actually reasonably likely to bounce right off.

[Gaius Drustanus]

Ave Comites
Refer to the Parthian General Surena at the Battle of Carrhae 53 BC. Some of the horse archers fire directly at the Phalanx while others fire upward simultaneously so that their arrows hail down on the Legions from above. Typically the Legionaries expected them to run out of arrows very shortly but Surena had thought of that , providing supply trains of camels with more ammunition.
Surena backed up his hordes of mounted archers with 1000 full plate heavy cavalry, the famous Cataphracts (means "Fully Enclosed").Plutarch says:"Now they could be seen clearly, their helmets and breastplates blazing like fire, their Margianian steel glittering keen and bright, their horses armoured with plates of bronze and steel." The Romans became aware that Parthian arrows could punch through their armour and shields as the arrow-storm began to fall among the packed ranks.
20,000 Romans lost their lives and 10,000 were captured (some of them might have ended up in China at the city of Le Jun). Very soon after his great victory however Surena was executed by the Shah who. Plutarch says, was jealous.
We have Kassai trained friends in Nelson who are horse archers in N.Z. They can be reached at horsebackarchery.co.nz

[Njal]

If they could penetrate hauberk una skjold foot troops would be at a distinct disadvantage.

That is a pretty good website Roman, do you train with these guys or have you? That would be an entertaining display I would like to see it. You should try to organise something that like for Taupo next year.

[Gaius Drustanus]

Yes, Son of an Alan, it would be good to invite Rob Schreiner to Taupo to see a demo of Kassai horseback archery and yes when we practised archery with him in Glenfield he said nice things about our archery skills. Finding out that he was hungarian I took him some picnic sandwiches.

[Gaius Drustanus]

Yes, Son of an Alan, it would be good to invite Rob Schreiner to Taupo to see a demo of Kassai horseback archery and yes when we practised archery with him in Glenfield he said nice things about our archery skills. Finding out that he was hungarian I took him some picnic sandwiches.

[Njal]

I would be surprised if picnic sandwiches would suffice for a Hungarian man, are they really always hungry? HA!

I would like to see more strictly period displays happening, you should invite him. It would be good to have three displays, one early classic one Norse and one plate. You Romans are quite lucky to have horsemen to play with!

What type of arrows were the Parthians mentioned above using? Were they a bodkin type? That’s quite impressive going through shield and segmentata or were they using chainmail, lorica, or whatever you lot call it?

I say the Norsemen would be happy to donate a skjold next Taupo if someone wanted to fire at it from horseback to show publicly the capability of the bow.