"Master of the Arts" - An Interview with John Schulz, by Gene Wensel

[Learner]

       

I recently became aware of an excellent article on Mr. John Schulz, written by Mr. Gene Wensel, which was published in the Oct/Nov 1994 issue of Traditional Bowhunter.

I had received an old looking black & white photocopy of said article, sent to me by Mr. Schulz, in response to a written inquiry which I had sent to him.

Happily, TBM still has backcopies of this issue, so I was able to subsequently purchase a complete issue, which features the following photo:

         

Gene's article was very wonderful and informative, with him sharing both his experiences with John, as well as a direct interview with John for the article.

I'm new to traditional archery, but I've made it my goal to follow the Hill method, as taught by Mr. Schulz. It does seem to me that finding material by John or about him is actually becoming pretty difficult, as much is no longer available in print or digitally.

Because of this I messaged Gene, asking him if I could reproduce his article here, which he graciously granted.  I felt that this was important for newer archers such as myself, to help us become aware of John's great contributions to our understanding of Howard Hill's method and accomplishments.

Gene also sent along some photographs of John and himself, which he gave me permission to reproduce here (thank you very much, Gene!).

I also received permission from Miss Robin Conrads, webmother at TBM, to reproduce the article here at Trad Gang.  But since this would involve posting a series of photos of the pages here at TradGang (which is cumbersome and less than ideal), Ms. Robin also very graciously volunteered to host the entire article at the TBM website (thank you very much, Miss Robin!).

So here is the link where the article can now be read in it's entirety at Traditional Bowhunter Magazine:


   "Master of the Arts" - An Interview with John Schulz   (Oct/Nov 1994, Traditional Bowhunter Magazine)  


And here are Gene's photographs of John, which he kindly shared.  Some look fairly recent:

         

         

         

         

         


Gene closes his article with this quote from Mrs. Elizabeth Hill, Howard's beloved wife.  It underlines the significance of John Schulz's contributions towards teaching the Hill method:

"Among the thousands of archery friends and admirers of my late husband Howard Hill, if I were picking one to describe and explain Howard's methods in every detail, I know no one who I would trust to do so correctly, fully, and in detail as I do John Schulz."

Best wishes,
Frank

[crazynate]

Thanks for sharing that. I also follow Johns form detail to detail as he teaches in his video. It takes a lot of work and practice but I love shooting his way. Wish I could meet him some day just to get  thank him for his instructions in describing Howard hills shooting. I may not get top scores on paper in doors but when it comes to moving targets and drawing fast at unknown distances you can't beat his methods.

[Deno]

Thanks for sharing this Frank. Great read. Hope you're able to get the DVD from John.

Deno

[pete p]

i have that issue in my collection, just looked at this very article not long ago!! This man is an absolute legend.

[Learner]

Originally posted by Deno:
Thanks for sharing this Frank. Great read. Hope you're able to get the DVD from John.

Deno

Hello Deno:

Yes, I did! It is considerably better than the YouTube version.  Still not great video or audio, but it is very helpful.

When I wrote to Mr. Schulz I had asked if he had any other materials he could send along with the dvd.  An old, slightly worn looking, black and white photocopy of this article was what he sent, with a very short note at the bottom of it saying "Enjoy - JS".

I will certainly keep it as a momento.

I would have liked to meet him, but that seems doubtful in this life.  It would have been wonderful to have John as a teacher!

I know that he is planning one more series of classes for this summer, but I doubt that I will be able to go.

Nevertheless, I am very thankful for a few of the members here who have reached out directly to me and offered encouragement and direction in the Hill method.

Thank you,
Frank

[Longbow1415]

Frank,
I was fortunate enough to get John to sign my copy :-)

 
 

[Deno]

Frank
I'd like to go myself. Hard to just pick up and go for sure.  


Longbow1415
Nice piece of memorabilia for sure          

Deno

[ronp]

Cool, good stuff!

[Tradcat]

Thank you Mr. Schulz !

[Learner]

Originally posted by Longbow1415:
Frank,
I was fortunate enough to get John to sign my copy :-)

   
     

Very nice, Paul!  Thanks for sharing those.    

[Ray Lyon]

So is there a DVD version of Hitting Like Howard Hill somewhere that I'm not seeing?

[Learner]

Originally posted by Ray Lyon:
So is there a DVD version of Hitting Like Howard Hill somewhere that I'm not seeing?

Hello Ray.

Not for general distribution, as they are no longer available for retail.

But if you go to John's site, and send them an email from the site, his daughter Laurie should get back to you, letting you know if John has any left.

He doesn't have a computer from what I understand.  So Miss Laurie screens all his requests.

Here's the link:

   John Schulz Straight Shooting  

Best wishes,
Frank

[stujay]

Informative post. Thanks for sharing.

[Steve O]

Frank, you should see if Bob Wesley is still doing his shooting school. Personal instruction is a ton better than reading a book or watching a video. Look at all the guys that try to shoot like Fred Asbell--he's a great shot, but about 1% of the archers that learned from his book and video are to the same level.

[Learner]

Originally posted by Steve O:
Frank, you should see if Bob Wesley is still doing his shooting school. Personal instruction is a ton better than reading a book or watching a video. Look at all the guys that try to shoot like Fred Asbell--he's a great shot, but about 1% of the archers that learned from his book and video are to the same level.

Hello Steve:

That's a possibility.  Bob is certainly within driving distance from where I live.

I've never read any of Bob's materials, and never have seen a video of his shooting form.  I see that Craig at HHA has some of Bob's material, and i have been thinking of getting both Bob's book and video.

Have you or anyone you know attended any of Bob's classes, and if so, what did you think?

John makes an interesting comment on page 32 of the 1994 article in TBM:

"I've given the Hill-style lessons to several now well known individuals, who went on to adapt their own techniques.  My friend Fred Asbell came to Hamilton, Montana years ago to spend a weekend with me learning the Hill style of shooting.  He has since developed his own method from that style.  Paul Brunner is another one who now has his own style.  When Bob Wesley hunted on my team at the National Bowhunt, at his request I studied his shooting form.  "Your bow arm is too straight", I told him.  "It's more of a tournament syle".  He also has his own style, which is fine with me as long as people don't pass it off as the true Hill method."

Frank