ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE METHOD OF ARCHERY
CHINESE ARCHERY

Written by Liu Chi (Liu Qi) 1722 C.E.
©Translated to English by Marek aquila 2020

STRAIGHTEN THE BODY, HOLD THE BOW

​Look at this man's posture, internally aligned, outwardly straight. He is calm, unhurried, and very refined. His whole spirit is gathered internally, not displayed outward; this is superior skill. When it comes to holding the bow, releasing the arrow, he moves controlled and gracefully, but this is a secondary result. These movements are very natural and elegant, and you have to study them.

FIX THE WILL, FIND THE NOCK

​Look at the man's posture, he is solemn and quiet, his spirit is focused, because he is focused on the goal, his whole person lacks no intent. These are more important than "embracing  bows, nocking arrows like plucking stars", this is the new style of the Capitol, it shows elegance, but it is also a great study.

RAISE THE BOW, RAISE THE BREATH

Be careful not to hold your hands too high or too low in this position; his ribs are not leaning to the side, and are not twisted. Open the waist and inhale with the navel. Facing front, shoulders level, this is physical and easy to see, raising the breath is more difficult. Take a closer look at his navel and you'll see its power. At this moment, raising the breath cannot be forgotten, you must remember this.

LINK THE HIPS, DRAW THE STRING

​Illustration of this position are from the side rather than the front. Look at the shoulders, the elbows, the back, all three places have even strength, and at this moment, all three places are important. The waist is not soft, the bottom does not protrude, the stomach is not protruding, and the knees do not bend. Though this is the appearance, rather than the inner strength, the structure must be so. If that's not the case, there will be a problem.

ADD STRENGTH EVENLY

Look at his form, when he draws the bow to 80-90%, combining breath and strength, evenly increases the strength of the chest, stomach, waist, elbows, all at one time. Then the two shoulders can be opened and the back bones can come together, this is the technique just before a full draw. A person needs to study and imitate the posture carefully, so you still have the strength for a full draw.

FULLY DRAW THE BOW

​This diagram is facing the front of his body, so you can't see how the string is drawn. You should observe him, the sternum is open, the shoulders and elbows are level and straight like a balanced scale, and then the back will undoubtedly come together. This is the correct full draw form. The student needs to gradually add each skill, and then he will certainly achieve the wonderful form.
​When the front hand is taking pressure and the rear hand is back to its position, the waist and stomach use internal forces, to all help each other. The term translated as a balance scale is constant, which literally means weighing or measuring. From a very young age, Chinese used two pans of the balance scale to find weight of equal measure.

VERIFY THE RELEASE

​Look at the man's posture, his front hand does not move, it doesn’t tremble. This is the primary most important detail. It's the old way; release the arrow with the back hand, the front hand doesn't feel the release or react. When it comes to the back handing moving further back and horizontal after the release, it just makes sure the hand goes absolutely straight. If you add any power, then this is a mistake. Both approaches are important and cannot be ignored.

FRONT VIEW OF AIMING

Look at his posture, the bow is upright and level, pointing directly at the target, not tilting, nor rising, front and back in a straight line. This is an important skill. The rest is the same as the other postures.

INCREASE REAR ELBOW STRENGTH

​Look at his posture, elbows are not loose, shoulders do not hunch, hands do not hang, this posture provides the greatest strength. Imitate and try to understand his head, chest, back, waist and bottom in this position.