I do not know how many members here have watched a Korean movie called War of arrows.
You can watch it on Netfliex.
In the movie, the main characher shoots an arrow that curves to hit a target.
I found a link that some body did in real life. I am not sure how he did it.
I also noticed that the guy in the video twisted the right hand a lot, what is the benefit of doing it? http://youtu.be/1KOGxBUkYME
Amarutu
I am not sure if the shown archer really shot the arrow in a curve. His arrow is more to the right, than I would expect from the turtlepress videos (I don't know korean archery well). Togheter with the twisting of the bowstring (pushing the arrow even more away from the line of sight) it could be possible the arrow flew straight, but passes the side of the nearer target.
Downloading and slowing down the sequence shown in the video did not show me anything but blurry pictures.
The twisitng of the bowstring is a technique you can find in modern day kyudo and old archery manuscripts like Saracen Archery, Arab Archery, the "Resale-ye Kamandari" and other sources I don't know.
Depending on how much you twist the bowstring, it pushes the arrow away from your face. I experience it as a tool to hold my stringarm closer to my face, adding stability to my posture and get my followthrough-motion of my stringhand in the line of the arrow, to increase accuracy.
Uli
agree with Amarutu
Bede
Twisting in Saracen Archery and other manuscripts from the Middle East does not refer to the hand twisting the string as seen in the movie. To quote:
The archer should complete the operation by coolly and calmly forming a crescent (muhallilan) with an upward twist (farkah)of the wrist...
It is clear from the following text that the farkah or twist is a smoothly executed movement after the string is released by the thumb to clear the thumb from the string. It is not intended to apply any pressure to the string at all.
In Japanese archery, turning the wrist pushes the string into the groove on the thumb of the glove (yugake) by means of the proximal section of the index finger. This area of the glove is usually reinforced to prevent wear. An expert on Japanese archery could explain this better.
A movie is usually not a good source of archery instruction. The bows used are specially light so that actors can draw them and look competent. The effect of the "twist" is exaggerated because of the prop bow. As for shooting an arrow on a horizontally curved path, most archers try to avoid this fault and have their arrows go straight. Other movies have things like this done with bullets. They are equally entertaining, but contrary to physics.
Amarutu
Arab-Archery sounds a little more like twisting the bowstring.
The twisted loose consists in drawing the arrow to its full length, pausing for a count of two, giving the arrow a twist with the right hand from the inside of the string, and then releasing the index finger and thumb and relaxing the hands. The twist (farkah) consists of pressing lightly upon the string with the base of the index finger and turning the right hand a little until the space between the thumb and index finger adheres to the side of the archer's neck, and, as it were, rubs against it.
And of course, all techniques have their local touch to it.
Bede
They still specify light pressure on the string, which is not what the movie shows. The Arab Archery technique uses the string to start off the twisting of the hand. It does not initiate hard pressure on the string which would cause the string to push against the thumb at the bottom edge of the ring and then drag across the brow of the ring. on release There are some other quotes that speak of releasing with a snap of the fingers which time and language have made hard to interpret.
