The Way of Archery: A 1637 Chinese Military Training Manual

by Jie Tian, Justin Ma

The Way of Archery provides a detailed introduction to practicing archery in the traditional Chinese military style. It explains the basics of how to shoot using the Asian thumb proper posture, training regimen, equipment, and avoiding pitfalls in shooting. The thorough translation and commentary (with original and new illustrations) provide a fresh and practical perspective on Gao Ying’s 1637 archery treatise (which, itself, influenced generations of archers in East Asia). The authors themselves are active practitioners of Chinese archery, having spent an endless amount of time and effort vetting their understanding of this old manual and putting its ideas into practice. Through this process, the authors have been able to make this archery text accessible to modern readers. Not only will the reader come to understand the technical side of the Way of Archery, but will connect with the philosophy and spirit of the ancient Chinese warriors.

176 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2015

Reviews

[Paul A · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Way of Archery" is an invaluable reference for learning Ming Chinese archery technique. The authors have provided a well laid-out translation of a 1637 Military Training Manual written by archery master, Gao Ying. They have taken the additional steps of exploring the text for themselves and providing a plethora of images that help underscore the points that Gao Ying is attempting to make. Any historical archery enthusiast would do well to read this book and give Ming-style archery a shot. Could not recommend this enough and I plan to use this as a reference for years to come.

[Teng Foong · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is written by a loyal man who is hoping to help protect his country during the Ming Dynasty from invasions
via sharing the skills of archery

His viewpoint is simple - Proper archery technique to prolong one's shooting ability ensuring them being able to kill the enemy, although not being used today for warfare his teachings will help maximise our body's potential when it comes to our form and that one does not dwelve into the wrong technique carelessly

[Ezra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gao Ying wrote this manual late in his life so he complains a fair bit about how people do things wrong "nowadays". I thought the book was useful but some of the concepts are hard to understand without watching the Way of Archery videos on YouTube. It also goes without saying that the best option is having an experienced coach to teach you traditional archery but barring that (or as a supplement), you can't go wrong with this book.

[Anders · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book serves both a historical document and an archery manual. The original author, General Gao Ying, put a lot of effort into this book in order to spread his knowledge in the way of archery to his countrymen. Authors Jie Tian and Justin Ma have then translated, analyzed and clarified the instructions for modern archers.

There is also a youtube chanal "The Way of Archery" which in a pedagogical way further explains some of the key points.

[Alexander Blocher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Level up your historical archery.

Extraordinary work by the translators; Gao Yings sass and thorough explanations are a treasure. The pictures demonstrating the techniques are very helpful.

What a wonderful book.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is really an excellent book on chinese traditional archery technique. The best I have encountered so far. Although it is based on a 17th century archery manual, it is not dull in the sense that it simply translates the antique chinese text into english, but it is also very practical, as it also shows how to put this archery manual into use with your bow and arrow. The book is has a great layout, is very comprehensive, and has great set of pictures on do's and don'ts, so it is easy to follow. It is written by two archers who really know their business. A must read for everybody who is into tradtional archery and uses an `asian style'thumb draw. Even if you are not really into the chinese `ming'archery style, there is a lot to learn to improve your shooting and archery technique in this book. As an Archer, I myself shoot different archery styles.. Western style English Longbow and English Warbow, and Eastern style Mongolian thumb- draw and Sassanid draw.
It is great fun toying with this book, and i must admit that this significantly improved my shooting in the Eastern styles. The Way of Archery is great archery inspiration. Thumbs up mr. Ma and mr. Tian!