Reverse Hand Position Draw- Avatar

[Ssamac]

Wondering if any members who saw the movie Avatar know if there really is a bowshooting style like those people used with the draw hand turned inward? I don't know if this would improve anything or not nor am I going to try,  but just wondering if this is a real shooting style. The people seemed to be imitating the Native Americans. Did they shoot a bow like this?

Opinions welcome.
Thanks
sam

[Mudd]

I will be the 1st to admit... I don't have a clue!...lol
I have tried drawing my bow like that. It' doesn't feel terribly awkward. I haven't built up the nerve to launch an arrow yet. I'm waiting until I get to go to the indoor range to try it, at least there I'll have some chance of finding my arrow.
God bless, Mudd

[FerretWYO]

I think that it would be difficult to shoot that way. It would not align the arrow directly under the eye as if your hand was the way that we shoot.

[leftybearfan]

I have no idea if anyone actually shoots that way.

One thing that bothered me in the movie was the fact that they shot off the opposite side of the shelf (like a normal drawn shot). If you try to draw your bow backhanded, you'll find that you need to switch sides of the riser....at least I do.

[hawaiiarcher]

Compound shooters use the palm facing out but they use a trigger. Avatar is just a movie and they took different styles and merge into one style for the movie. I do like the logs that they use for arrows and it must be great to be 10' tall with a long draw length:).

[leftybearfan]

I do like the logs that they use for arrows and it must be great to be 10' tall with a long draw length:).

The first time the girl drew her bow I thought "Good gracious I wonder what those arrows weigh."   :D

[dragonheart]

Many years ago I saw a picture of an olympic recurve shooter that shot with his palm out RH with a left handed bow.

[xtrema312]

Well having the back of the hand to the face so the fingers open and the hand doesn't move sideways on the shot feels ok in the drawn position without a bow in hand.  My arm and shoulder don't feel tight anywhere, and they feel relaxed actually. Follow through would be smooth I think.  I could almost see where that would work fine.  The only down side I see is drawing the bow; I feel more stress in my arm when I reach forward with an out turned hand.

[zetabow]

I used to know a female archer with Arthritis and had to draw and shoot that way, she managed pretty well.

[BobCo 1965]

Didn't see the movie but it seems like you describing a newer style of the olympic recurve method (BEST method - that's the name, not necessarily my opinion). The practice of the "broken wrist hook" allows for more back muscle to be used (ever use the arrowmaster shortened so you are using only the back while drawing), it takes away a lot of tension from the forearm and hand. It also allows an easier anchor under the chin.

Maybe they consulted an olympic archer???

[Ssamac]

Well appreciate the feedback. They shot really well but that was animated. Aside from seeming awkward, there is no anchor point. Your hand is
"out there" and unless you can hold it out there consistently each time you're going to be all over the place.

I also was wondering what they were using for arrows. They were more like spears. I guess if you are as big as they were and had a 40 inch or so draw, you would need a long arrow and that arrow would need more spine to keep it straight. The longer it is the stiffer it would have to be I guess.  Maybe

Or maybe it's just a fantasy scenario. They seemed to be portraying Native Americans, and the Native American horsebow was short.

sam      

[coaster500]

Quote....."there is no anchor point"

I played with it the day after the movie just because I was curious. I managed to hit the target surface and only ruined one arrow. I could not make it solid. I couldn’t find an anchor. I did notice less stress on joints.

It was a fun experiment....

[Ssamac]

Just as I thought
I think I'll stick to what I'm doing unless I grow a tail

sam

[s_mcflurry]

Originally posted by BobCo 1965:
Maybe they consulted an olympic archer???

They actually consulted a high performance level coach for this movie.  Not sure if the out-turned hand is used by any current or past groups/people, but it was used in the movie to 'make it look more exotic'.  Works for me...the movie was great eye candy!    :D

[pete Darby @ home]

Brian Luke shoots that way.  He has an article in Archery Focus on it. He tried switching from right to left but couldn't seem to make it work.  When he used a right handed bow and turned his hand over it started working.

[Austin]

I tried it a bit last week, almost lost a few arrows, lol. Seemed to use different muscles for the draw, and my aim point needed to be different. It seems like it could be fun.

[briandean]

If you shoot with your palm facing away from your face, your fingers roll the string the 'wrong' way - away from the riser.  This could cause the arrows to move away from & pop off the shelf just before release - not good. The guys that shoot with thumb rings have their shelves on the opposite side (i.e. left-handed for a right-handed shooter & vice-versa) for this very reason.

[BrokenArrows]

Saw a short on making the movie, and it showed the actors practicing drawing and shooting that way. Looks like a mix of some Asian styles. Did not show if they were actually hitting well that way. Their bows were long and thin, and the arrows had waaaay smaller points than the CGI arrows in the movie.

As for the Navi...

If they are 9 - 10 ft tall, they could draw 48 inches?

If they weigh 600 - 800 lbs, their war bows could pull 200 - 400 pounds of draw weight?

Those arrows look like atl-atl shafts, they could weigh 3000 - 4000 grains?

[MercilessMing]

 If you shoot with your palm facing away from your face, your fingers roll the string the 'wrong' way - away from the riser. This could cause the arrows to move away from & pop off the shelf just before release - not good. The guys that shoot with thumb rings have their shelves on the opposite side (i.e. left-handed for a right-handed shooter & vice-versa) for this very reason

I have always tried to shoot lefty (I am righty) but could not afford to buy LH bow to start.  Looks like I can use RH bow with this style.

[MercilessMing]

I tried the palm facing out style with left hand today using my son's RH longbow.  Not bad for the first time and arrows did form a group but not centered at where I looked.  The aiming is harder due to not able to use the arrow to help the aim.  I had to use more instinct to shoot.

I noticed this is a bit harder for me to push-pull the arrow.  What worked easier for me is raised the bow above my eyes and did a little bit like the Japanese yumi bow draw helped to keep the arrow staying on the bow.  At full draw, even I cant the bow at 10 oclock angle the arrow stayed on the shelf.  Another thing is with the palm facing out, I have another 1" to 1.5" more draw length.  It was fun to shoot it.  A couple members of our club saw that and thouht that was fun too.