VA, I don't care about tradition at all. Everybody else can go away, for all I care ( OK, be nice). I don't do things because it is cool. Not any more at least.
I have been at this long enough, and soul searched deeply enough to know. . .I feel better when I carry and shoot a longbow. Its a feeling deep inside me. It makes me more satisfied when I walk about and shoot arrows that way. If I myself built the bow and the arrows, it is one step even closer to nirvana.
My recurve is awesome. One of the best out there (in my puny mind). But it isn't a long bow.
CHuckC