# Any of you ever tried a trade from reading fantasy?



## Trailblazer (Mar 25, 2011)

As in you were inspired by the descriptions and acts you read about enough to go out and try it yourself. 

Im reading an archery heavy fantasy book at the moment and im half tempted to splash out on a real bow for myself, one of those beginner recurve bow sets that come with everything you need and giving it a try. Most archery in fantasy is pure fantasy, shooting rabbits on the move at 100 yards (shooting anything that is moving at distance), getting several shots in a bullseye splitting each arrow before down the middle etc. 

While reality is far less impressive and dramatic, pretty much all bow hunting ive seen is hide based or if not still revolving around shooting a stationary animal at close range, its still a fascinating sport/art with a deep connection to our hunter gatherer days. 

(Waits for someone to say they took up blacksmithing)


----------



## Vertigo (Mar 25, 2011)

I've done archery on and off for several years now, and I know there are several other archers knocking around these parts.

Whilst you are pretty much correct about how most fantasy books portray archery (especially when practised by elves!) You should be aware that Robin Hoods (splitting one arrow with your next one) are not as rare as you might imagine especially with modern kit and when shooting indoors in the Winter at generally something around 20m range. I witnessed a three arrow Robin hood at an indoor competition once, though it could be argued that with the first two tending to "droop" a little the third was probably not a very good shot. On that occasion the archer in question had to drop out of the competition as, with three arrows trashed, he hadn't brought enough with him to continue .

Another interesting aspect of arrows is what they can do when they hit something hard. Because of their length they vibrate, creating a drilling action. It has been demonstrated that an arrow can shatter bullet proof glass in this way. On the other hand a simple piece of hanging material like a curtain can easily stop an arrow in its tracks simply by deflecting it (chain mail can work in a similar way).

Oh and welcome to the chrons!


----------



## Trailblazer (Mar 26, 2011)

Ta Vertigo

That must of sucked for that archer as from looking around retail sites, arrows are not cheap with the top end stuff having silly prices.

Ive seen some impressive grouping during the Olympics but most fantasy likes to portray the Robin Hood feet at extreme ranges.

Also does not a modern bow bristling with stabilizers, vibration dampeners and state of the art materials/design allow for greater accuracy than one crafted of natural materials by hand as fantasy bows are (even elvish hands).


----------



## woodsman (Mar 26, 2011)

Archery is the only thing I do left handed, which I found a bit weird. No idea why this is the case either. never got serioously into it. 

Much of my love of cooking came from reading the redwall books at a young age and approximating the recipes. Beyond that i can't think of anything, I wanted to give Reiki a try after reading Feist's Serpentwar Saga but it was a bit expensive at the time. 

On blacksmithing, we used to have a forge in the village and Dad would take me their as a treat. It was, as is often described in fantasy, a place for people to meet and chat in the warmth. Much better than the alternative pub, which is still a lot of fun.


----------



## Vertigo (Mar 26, 2011)

The guy wasn't too upset; after all he had a club bar topic of conversation for the rest of his days. And whilst new arrows (especially some of the carbon fibre ones) can be very expensive, they do get damaged pretty regularly so are viewed as a normal cost.

Modern bows, as you say, bristling with stabilisers are sgnificantly more accurate than the more traditional bow and compound bows (go google) even more so. They also make shooting more comfortable with less twitching and jumping of the bow when you loose. However a traditional bow in experienced hands can still be pretty darn accurate!

Woodsman - I've actually come across that before; it was a long time ago but I seem to remember when I first started, that the instructor told us not to make assumptions about left or right handed and see what felt right and go with that.


----------



## Teresa Edgerton (Mar 26, 2011)

Trailblazer said:


> Most archery in fantasy is pure fantasy, shooting rabbits on the move at 100 yards (shooting anything that is moving at distance), getting several shots in a bullseye splitting each arrow before down the middle etc.



I asked my husband who has done traditional archery: longbow, made his own arrows, etc. Now he uses a crossbow and makes his own bows and bolts. He says the rabbit is hard because it's hopping and may be moving in random directions, but "anything" that is moving in a straight line and at a steady pace ... not pure fantasy at all if the archer had a high proficiency and good equipment.  (A skilled archer with a traditional longbow and wooden arrows would know which were his good arrows, and he would use those.)  

As for splitting the arrow, do you mean being able to do that often, or to split the arrow that splits the arrow? I've never read a fantasy novel where that last one happened.  Do you read a lot of fantasy based on role-playing games?  I don't read those, so the fact that we've seen different things may come down to that if you do.  But in terms of being able to split one arrow at a time: not common but again not as rare as you might think. Whether he could split the arrow all the way down ... there the grain of the wood would be against him.  There was an archer at the time of Queen Elizabeth I who used to go around to fairs and shoot, and he was so uncannily good with a bow that he was accused of witchcraft.

People who have great aptitude for something and have trained and trained and trained can do feats that don't seem to be humanly possible. 

In all the books I've read, when the archery is "pure fantasy" it's simply because the characters are holding their bows wrong or something like that.


----------



## Mouse (Mar 26, 2011)

Teresa Edgerton said:


> As for splitting the arrow, do you mean being able to do that often, or to split the arrow that splits the arrow? I've never read a fantasy novel where that last one happened.



I'm pretty sure Raif does this in J.V. Jones's Sword of Shadows books. 

I've also done archery. And done it left-handed.


----------



## Trailblazer (Mar 26, 2011)

Teresa Edgerton said:


> I asked my husband who has done traditional archer: longbow, made his own arrows, etc. Now he uses a crossbow and makes his own bows and bolts. He says the rabbit is hard because it's hopping and may be moving in random directions, but "anything" that is moving in a straight line and at a steady pace ... not pure fantasy at all if the archer had a high proficiency and good equipment.  (A skilled archer with a traditional longbow and wooden arrows would know which were his good arrows, and he would use those.)
> 
> As for splitting the arrow, do you mean being able to do that often, or to split the arrow that splits the arrow? I've never read a fantasy novel where that last one happened.  Do you read a lot of fantasy based on role-playing games?  I don't read those, so the fact that we've seen different things may come down to that if you do.  But in terms of being able to split one arrow at a time: not common but again not as rare as you might think. Whether he could split the arrow all the way down ... there the grain of the wood would be against him.  There was an archer at the time of Queen Elizabeth I who used to go around to fairs and shoot, and he was so uncannily good with a bow that he was accused of witchcraft.
> 
> ...



Well not having done it myself I cant give an educated example of whats possible and what isnt, but I have used firearms for years so am familiar with shooting in general. 
Most of what the bowmen in fantasy are capable of seems far fetched to me. Even with modern firearms hitting moving targets with a single shot that travels 4 or 5 times faster than an arrow and receives far less wind distortion is difficult.



Mouse said:


> I'm pretty sure Raif does this in J.V. Jones's Sword of Shadows books.
> 
> I've also done archery. And done it left-handed.



By sheer coincidence you just named the book im reading and impetus of this thread.


----------



## Teresa Edgerton (Mar 26, 2011)

Ah.  Haven't read any J. V. Jones.  That's just one author, though, however prolific.


----------



## Teresa Edgerton (Mar 26, 2011)

Trailblazer said:


> Even with modern firearms hitting moving targets with a single shot that travels 4 or 5 times faster than an arrow and receives far less wind distortion is difficult.



An excellent archer would allow for the wind, and shoot where the animal is going, not where it is at, which is why a straight path and a steady pace is important.


----------



## Mouse (Mar 26, 2011)

Trailblazer said:


> By sheer coincidence you just named the book im reading and impetus of this thread.



Ah ha! I did wonder. 

Teresa, I can't name any others.


----------



## HoopyFrood (Mar 26, 2011)

I've always wanted to try archery. And whenever I read about a sword fight in a book, it makes me want to try fencing. 

I didn't take it up because I read about it in Locke Lamora, as I'd known about it long before that, but it may be that reading about it put the idea into my head again when I decided to learn how to walk a coin over my knuckles (mostly it was a decision to have something to do with my hands while I thought about stuff for my dissertation). Well, can only do it on the left hand at the moment.


----------



## Mouse (Mar 26, 2011)

HoopyFrood said:


> I decided to learn how to walk a coin over my knuckles (mostly it was a decision to have something to do with my hands while I thought about stuff for my dissertation). Well, can only do it on the left hand at the moment.



I can do that. Used to date a magician. 

I'm pretty handy with a katana, but I wanted to do that after watching too many martial arts flicks. I don't think there's anything I've wanted to do after reading about it in fantasy.  (Well, apart from have magic and super powers and stuff!)


----------



## woodsman (Mar 26, 2011)

Hows the magic - super powers working out? 
I did actually, now that I think about it, learn to juggle after reading _Prince of the Blood_. I still can't do it well with my eyes closed or with one hand though.

Not from fantasy -  I think my love of the outdoors, camping and cooking over a camp fire, came from dad reading Arthur Ransom's S_wallows and Amazons_ books to me as a wee nipper. I remember the first time we built a fire and cooked on it and then made mum try some of the grub - she did look somewhat dubious.


----------



## Trailblazer (Apr 11, 2011)

Well ive contacted my nearest archery club and will hopefully attend a training day soon. 

I was surprised at the upfront requirements just to do training (this is for the uk).  You have to join the national agency for a years membership first, which gets you insurance to shoot at clubs, then you have to join the club for a year also, both of course have membership fees. So you have to join 2 agencies just for a 'have a go'.

If you want to shoot full bore rifles you can attend a guest day after being screened at no cost (apart from ammo) or obligation. Kind of weird the first hurdles of entry into Archery are steeper than into Shooting.


----------



## woodsman (Apr 11, 2011)

There's no (as far as I'm aware) license though is there? Try getting a FAC, you need referees,they'll ask to see where you're shooting (often clubs), police checks, house & safe checks. Serious jazz. 

I imagine if you had a big garden you could just shoot for free? Not too different from doing a martial art, where you have to buy insurance and pay club fees.


----------



## Cayal (Apr 11, 2011)

I've tried being a King of a Realm...didn't work out to well.


----------



## Vertigo (Apr 11, 2011)

Trailblazer said:


> Well ive contacted my nearest archery club and will hopefully attend a training day soon.
> 
> I was surprised at the upfront requirements just to do training (this is for the uk). You have to join the national agency for a years membership first, which gets you insurance to shoot at clubs, then you have to join the club for a year also, both of course have membership fees. So you have to join 2 agencies just for a 'have a go'.
> 
> If you want to shoot full bore rifles you can attend a guest day after being screened at no cost (apart from ammo) or obligation. Kind of weird the first hurdles of entry into Archery are steeper than into Shooting.


 
I don't think that is a requirement - I suspect the club probably just has a rather restrictive insurance policy. If you check out your local sports centre you will probably find they may occasionally run introductory courses. That was how I started and then I joind a club. Usually membership of the GNAS is included in your club subscription, you shouldn't need to do it separately.

Ah... now I've typed all that I didn't check out what country you are in . My comments above would only apply to the UK.


----------



## Trailblazer (Apr 11, 2011)

Vertigo said:


> I don't think that is a requirement - I suspect the club probably just has a rather restrictive insurance policy. If you check out your local sports centre you will probably find they may occasionally run introductory courses. That was how I started and then I joind a club. Usually membership of the GNAS is included in your club subscription, you shouldn't need to do it separately.
> 
> Ah... now I've typed all that I didn't check out what country you are in . My comments above would only apply to the UK.



Yeh im UK. It's probably because my local club is a field archery club so I would be joining the NFAS rather than the GNAS.


----------



## Vertigo (Apr 11, 2011)

I'm still a little surprised, though I'm not talking from a personal knowldege as far as field archery goes. That said if they are running courses for beginners I would say it is extremely unusual for them not to have insurance cover for the students whilst they are on a course. My club did not run courses or do official coaching for exactly that reason as they said it would be too costly. So if they are running courses then they should be adequately covered. Sounds to me like they are using it as a way to boost their subscriptions. But as I say, I'm don't know the specifics so I may well be talking complete rubbish as far as your situation goes


----------



## Menion (Apr 12, 2011)

The Megalomaniac Mages & Magicians club still hav'nt answered my letter....


----------



## Vertigo (Apr 12, 2011)

Ah they turned me down M, didn't have a big enough ego for them


----------



## Menion (Apr 12, 2011)

I told them I had a pointy hat and stuff...


----------



## clovis-man (Apr 12, 2011)

I once took a course in archery (many years ago). I did it because I already seemed to have some aptitude and wanted to "hone my skills". As soon as I got away from just doing what felt right and began to rigorously apply proper technique, I could no longer even hit the broad side of a barn.


----------



## Trailblazer (Apr 12, 2011)

Vertigo said:


> I'm still a little surprised, though I'm not talking from a personal knowldege as far as field archery goes. That said if they are running courses for beginners I would say it is extremely unusual for them not to have insurance cover for the students whilst they are on a course. My club did not run courses or do official coaching for exactly that reason as they said it would be too costly. So if they are running courses then they should be adequately covered. Sounds to me like they are using it as a way to boost their subscriptions. But as I say, I'm don't know the specifics so I may well be talking complete rubbish as far as your situation goes



Maybe they're just being cheeky about the club membership .

Ive paid anyway so im getting booked in on the next training day. It's a full day training 9am-4pm so you get some money's worth there.

I had not really looked into the types of archery much until now but field archery sounds even more interesting. Shooting at 3D animals aswell as targets in the woods and at unmarked ranges will give a more oldskool/fantasy experience.


----------



## Vertigo (Apr 12, 2011)

I personally favoured target archery as I was particularly drawn to the mental aspects of archery - did you know that they put one of the Britsh team on tv once and measured his heart rate which was exceptionally high around 120 (poor guy had never been on tv before) but then he went up to the firing line and by the time he was at full draw his heart beat had dropped to around 35. Quite astonishing to watch it fall so fast in the space of around 1 or 2 minutes. I find that meditative aspect the most attractive part of it and so find the lack of distractions in field archery very attractive, it's almost like the target is only there to stop the arrow shooting off into the distance. I now only practice at home and on my own (I do live right out in the country ).


----------



## MstrTal (Apr 13, 2011)

Once many years ago I read a lot of darker fantasy novels with assassin type characters in it. Due to my childhood environment I thought that such a course of action would suite me just dandy so I started a bit of research in that regard. Nothing to ostentatious mind. I bought books on throwing knives, plant based poisons, Greys Anatomy, acupuncture, purchased piano wire and the like. Fortunately I was horrid at sewing so I couldn't make little pockets for all my "tools" and ended up with bandages on all my fingers. I have since had shoulder surgery twice on my dominate shoulder so I couldn't throw a knife or hatchet to save my own life. I could never acquire any of the proper plants or lock picks as a minor and most devastating of all I learned that there was no such thing as "Spider-Silk" so I couldn't get a really light weight rope. 

Thankfully I moved out of that environment into a much more err not wholesome one per say but one with more hormonally driven distractions and I outgrew that particular phase of my life. I did however spend an awful lot of time learning things no pre-teen or person should ever rightly know outside of the police, botanist, herbalist, mortician and well I guess aspiring writers professions.


----------



## Trailblazer (Apr 16, 2011)

Well I had my training day today. Was good fun and will probably go again next week.  The outdoor nature definitely adds some spice. 

You go round a course in the woods shooting at paper and 3D targets in all sorts of positions and distances making each shot different.  One was only about 10 meters away but it was a badger picture on the ground behind a thick clump of tree branches. The direct line of fire had a small window of space but if you were off by just a little you would likely be fowled by branches. 

Then another long range target had a large tree at the half way point just shy of the target. But when you sighted down the arrow it gave the illusion of almost blocking the target causing us noobs and a few others to erroneously compensate wide.  

Shooting at targets in a gym probably wouldn't have offered the same reward. Though I think most do that in the coldest winter months until the weather improves.


----------



## Vladd67 (Apr 16, 2011)

MstrTal maybe you should ask Santa for one of these just for old times sake.
- ST-23 Locksmith School in a Box with FREE Easy Picking Book and 5 Piece Lock Pick Set: Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools


----------



## Vertigo (Apr 17, 2011)

Trailblazer you are quite correct in that inoors shooting is something that is generally only done in winter. In summer pretty much all archery is done outside. Apart from anything else you simply can't get the range indoors. Target archers generally shoot rounds that are split up amongst distances varying from 20m up to 100m.


----------

