How to shoot arrows quickly?

A few days ago, Lengyan published an article titled "Can a bow shoot multiple arrows at the same time? Let's start with the brain-opening shooting method of "Baahubali"!", which discussed whether a bow can shoot multiple arrows at the same time. The article attracted a lot of attention from readers, so some readers also expressed their own questions: "A Nordic guy shoots several arrows in a second." and "So what is the matter with the continuous arrows in history?" Let's start with the continuous arrows.
The continuous arrows, Baidu Encyclopedia explains as arrows fired continuously. Many novels also mention continuous arrows, and some heroes died under continuous arrows. For example, Shi Xiu, the desperate Sanlang in Water Margin, was shot to death by Fang La's generals with continuous arrows. So what is the continuous arrow? Does it really exist? Starting from the literal meaning, the Chinese word "连珠" means to string many beads together, which is a metaphor for being connected together without interruption. In this way, the continuous arrow must be a way of shooting arrows quickly and continuously. Let's take a look at the process of archery. Take the arrow out of the quiver, nock it, draw the bow, and release the arrow. So as long as you keep drawing arrows to shoot, you can do it without interruption.
But how to make it like a string of beads, connected together, without interruption? This is more difficult. You know, the speed of the arrow leaving the string is very fast. When you take the arrow out of the quiver, nock it, draw the bow and release the arrow, the previous arrow has already hit the target. It is impossible to achieve the uninterrupted continuous shooting method like a string of beads. But obviously, whether it is ancient legends or modern videos, someone has achieved fast and continuous shooting, basically realizing the literal meaning of continuous arrows. In other words, if the archery speed is fast enough, continuous arrows can be achieved, so how can we shoot arrows quickly? Let's start with the archery posture, which generally has large frame, small frame, and medium frame.
▲ Large frame archery
▲ Medium frame archery
▲ Small frame archery
The biggest difference between these three archery postures is that the distance of the bow is different and the length of the arrow is also different. From this point of view, the small frame with the shortest arrow and the shortest distance should be the one with the fastest arrow shooting speed. After solving the posture problem, let's look at the arrow-nocking problem. How can we quickly draw the arrow, nock the arrow quickly, and then shoot the arrow? According to some ancient paintings or specific archery methods, we can see two ways here, that is, holding more arrows in the hand, both of which can save the time of taking the arrow out of the quiver and achieve rapid shooting.
▲Ancient murals
▲The author imitated the continuous archery at the end. Continuous archery is related to the archer's movements. The movements are consistent and not deformed, and the archery can be skillfully and smoothly, so that continuous archery can be achieved. For example, Lars from Denmark and Master Casa from Hungary are both masters who are proficient in rapid shooting. Some people here say that ancient arrows are all bladed. Won't they scratch your hands if you take them quickly? In fact, there are many types of arrowheads. Here are two examples, armor-breaking head and cutting head. The armor-breaking head is mostly conical, and the cutting head is mostly bladed on both wings.
▲Armor-breaking head
▲Armor-breaking head and cutting head The armor-breaking head can be quickly drawn in the hand without hurting the hand. Now, let's summarize how to make continuous arrows.
First, the technique of quickly nodding arrows, second, the technique of holding arrows to facilitate quick nodding and continuous shooting, and third, the skillful quick pulling and releasing. But did this kind of continuous arrows exist in Chinese history? This really needs to be verified. The author consulted many senior people in the archery industry, but none of them gave a definite answer. Does our current rapid shooting belong to continuous arrows? It really requires later archaeological demonstration. The author also studied some ancient portraits and found pictures that can quickly nod arrows. For example, in this scroll of Huang Zongdao, a painter of the Song Dynasty, who captured a deer, you can clearly see that there is an arrow in each hand, which is a very obvious way of quickly nodding arrows. It can be seen that this method of quickly nodding arrows and holding arrows does exist in the Central Plains. Although whether it is a continuous arrow remains to be verified, the author believes that this method of continuous arrows does exist. Bows and arrows are important tools for the ancients, from hunting to obtain meat to using them for military purposes to attack the enemy. That's why Confucius added it to the six arts of Confucian gentlemen. In recent years, traditional bows and arrows have begun to revive, and some friends believe that some archery techniques do not exist, such as continuous arrows. But how many years have we learned traditional archery? Ancient men practiced archery since childhood, so it is not impossible for them to do it. Finally, history is the backbone, and culture is the revival.