Asian Traditional Archery Research Network
The complete archive of atarn.org — the research community, founded by Stephen Selby, that rekindled the traditional archery of Asia. 184 articles, 63 newsletters and more than a thousand photographs, preserved and made searchable.
By region
The traditions ATARN documented, from the Yellow Sea to the Danube.
China
The deepest collection — crossbows, thumb rings, bow-making, Qing military archery and classical texts.
33 articles
Mongolia & Khitan
Naadam festivals, Buryat bows, Khitan archaeology and the living tradition of the steppe.
12 articles
Korea
Prof. Thomas Duvernay’s classic survey of Korean traditional archery.
4 articles
Japan & Kyūdō
Kyūdō and the classical archery arts of Japan.
6 articles
Manchu & Xibe
Qing dynasty archery and the Xibe heirs of the Manchu bow.
1 article
Tibet & Bhutan
Archery in the Himalayas — Bhutan’s national sport and Tibetan tradition.
1 article
Islamic World
Ottoman flight archery and the archery heritage of the Middle East.
9 articles
Central Asia
Bows and archery traditions along the Silk Road.
1 article
India & Sri Lanka
The archery heritage of the subcontinent.
3 articles
Indonesia
Traditional archery of the Indonesian archipelago.
1 article
Hungary & the Magyars
The Hungarian horseback-archery revival and the Magyar composite bow.
5 articlesCollections
The network’s own records — letters, craft knowledge, projects and reference.
From the archive
Substantial studies worth starting with.
Scythian Bows
SCYTHIAN-STYLE BOWS DISCOVERED IN XINJIANG From the photographs and drawings of Stephen Selby. By Bede Dwyer Introduction . This is written to give a historical context to the information th…
Closed Quivers
The Closed Quiver by Bede Dwyer Text and Illustrations © Bede Dwyer, 1997. PREFACE The original version of this article was published in the Journal of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries, Vol…
Sri Lankan Archery
The End of an Archery Tradition Sri Lankan Archery by Douglas Elmy republished with permission of the Society of Archer-Antiquaries, (Journal of the Society of Archery-Antiquaries, Volume 43…
Instinctive Archer: Korean Archery
The Way of the Bow © Thomas Duvernay, 1997 Re-printed with permission from INSTINCTIVE ARCHER MAGAZINE Drawing by Brtitish Officer Frank Dadd R.I., 1901 Archery in Korea is probably as ancie…
Magyar Archery (1)
A BRIEF HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF HUNGARIAN ARCHERY, PART I by Chris Szabó [Christopher Andrew Szabó, a second-generation Hungarian born in London, has had a lifelong fascination with Old Magya…
The Archery Tradition in Mongolia
Mongolian National Archery by Munkhtsetseg Re-printed with permission from INSTINCTIVE ARCHER MAGAZINE It was a great pleasure for me to find out that people around the world are taking an i…
The letters
Nine years of monthly dispatches — finds, festivals, research and correspondence.