First we will describe the most popular method, with archer standing and bending the bow across one leg. It's quite easy to learn and convenient in most situations, but it's easy do develop a twist in bow limbs, if you don't pay attention to details.
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| Bracing the bow by one person. |
If you have to brace the bow this way, you should fix one loop of the string on appropriate limb end. Lower this limb towards the ground, with string fixed, and hold the bow vertical in front of you, with right hand gripping the other siyah from underside (fingers on belly side of the bow), and free loop of the string in left hand. String should be tight all the time, to keep the already fixed loop in place. Then you place your right leg between the bow grip and the string, and block the bottom siyah against front of your left leg, somewhere below the knee. It's essential to support the bow symmetrically: one siyah in your hand (black arrow on our photo), other on your leg (red) and grip of the bow on the back of other leg (yellow). The last point is especially important, since the grip is behind your thigh where you cannot see it easily, and many archers apply the pressure over or (more commonly) under the grip, in which case limbs would bend unevenly. Also, the back surface of bottom siyah should lay flat on your leg; if it's canted, the limb could develop a twist, especially if you keep doing this mistake every time you brace the bow.
You can experiment a bit to find the position most suitable for you: some people stand with their feet wide apart, and support the grip quite low, just over the knee; others stand with their feet closer and bow in more vertical position, with grip resting high behind your thigh, almost on a buttock. It depends on length of the bow and your stature. The thing you should avoid is to support grip of the bow directly at the back of your knee - if you press at the sinews there, it's almost impossible to keep your leg straight. Bow should sit somewhere on the back muscles of your thigh.
When you have your bow supported correctly, you carefully bend it with one hand pushing on upper siyah (support this pushing action by twisting your upper body and bending it a bit forward), until you can fix free loop of the string into place. You should be especially cautious at the beginning, when limbs tips are behind you, long way in front of the grip; then the bow "would like" to twist forward rather than bend correctly. When limbs tips pass the line of the grip (marked blue on our photos) bow become more stable and you can proceed with more confidence.
After the string is braced archer SHOULD NOT RELEASE HIS GRIP ON THE BOW untill he carefully check, that the string on both sides is correctly centered and fixed, loops are not twisted and both limbs are bending to roughly the same shape. It means that using bracing method just described, archer should bend forward to take a close look and if necessary also feel with his free hand at the tip of the bow supported on his leg (his other hand is still controlling opposite limb tip). This is important, because very often you cannot see clearly the end of limb curved around your shank, especially if you have loose trousers legs. Only then he can safely remove his leg from inside of the bow and relax grip on upper limb.
When unstringing the bow we make the same movements in reverse order. This time we should be extra cautious at the end of movement, guiding limb tips carefully until fully relaxed, to avoid sudden twist after we cross axis of the grip. In the previous part I made some remarks about dealing with bows made from natural materials - they apply here, too.
Normally right-handed archer will keep the bow as described, with his right, stronger hand and free string end with left, placing his right leg between them. But of course it can be done the opposite, if you prefer, or if you are left-handed.
Also, it is more convenient for most of us to have free end of the string upwards, to bend the bow and fix the string loop in place while standing upright. But this, too, can be done differently: you can have lower end of string free and bend forward to fix it at the end of the bow supported on your calf. Bit unnatural movement for me, especially with a strong bow (yes, I will bend forward, but only to check, with bow already braced and its force taken by the string), but I've seen it done that way.
There is also another method that is worth knowing, with archer sitting on the ground. It is especially useful when you would like to make some adjustment on the bow (for example changing string length) and you have to brace and unbrace it several times, with some tools close to hand. For obvious reasons it is not recommended performing it on the muddy paddock in front of the stable...
You sit with your legs crossed, right one below left, lay the bow horizontal across your knees and place one loop of the string on right-side limb end. You shouldn't let the free end of the string lay loose; it will be hard to locate after you bend the bow and can change it's twist rate (more about it later). Put it somewhere convenient: hooked on breast-pocket button, clipped in your handy SquirrelClaws (tm) device, tucked behind your ear (so cool!) or simply hold it in your mouth. Hey, have you ever tried this strawberry-flavoured string wax from Flex Archery?
Now you should grip the limbs ends with both hands, from underside (fingers on belly side of the bow), and the thumb of right hand (on this end where the loop is already in place, marked with red arrow on our photos) pressed on the string, to keep it centered on the limb. Then you raise a bit your right knee, put the grip below it and start to bend the bow by pushing with the knee downward and at the same time pulling with both your hands upwards and towards you. When you bent the bow enough for stringing, you rotate it a bit to the left, until you can block left siyah just above your left knee. When you are sure this siyah will not slip, you carefully release grip of you left hand, catch the free end of your string and fix it in place. Check that everything looks good, and slip your bow from knees.
Sitting comfortably you can now measure your bow, put it back under knees if necessary, unstring, twist or untwist string without having to relax the bow completely, put it back on, measure again, etc.
Normally right-handed archer will support the grip of his bow under right knee, as described above, because then he will keep the bow bent with his right, supposedly stronger hand while fusing with free string end with his left. But of course the whole process can be done just the opposite, if you prefer, or if you are left-handed.
Those four variants of stringing we described so far will be enough for most of archers. Other variants and the use of kemend (stringing strap) or tepelik (limb forming template) we can discuss some other time.
In the next part we will proceed to checking the geometry: axial symmetry and balance of limbs
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