I've read various disparaging reports that the yumi could only spit an arrow 70 yards maximum, but I highly doubt that. If that's your maximum range, you may as well walk up to the guy and stab him with your arrow
The Last Samurai showed the Japanese bow in action. They didn't seem to be doing anything ludicrously hard or easy with it.
Has anyone ever used one before? How do they compare to other trad bows?
First Position
In the first position, that of notching the arrow, the feet are braced well apart, the body bent forward to relax the muscles, and the point of the arrow is inclined towards the ground.
Second position.
The bowman then, with great deliberation, raises the bow to the second position of aiming, both hands high over the head, fixing his intently upon the target.
Third position.
The bow is then slowly lowered to the final position. The instant this is reached, the string is released, the arrow flies through the air, and the bow spins around in the hand until the string strikes against the back of his bow arm. This trick of allowing the bow to whirl in the hand gives a most graceful finish to the whole operation.
Fourth position.
The string is pulled by the thumb, which in turn is held in place by the two first fingers that grasp the end of the thumb; they, like the thumb, are gloved. This method of holding the string admits of as strong a pull as the old English method of using he fingers, and gives a quicker release.
The notch of the arrow is pulled to the ear, a natural result of lowering the bow from overhead – a system that also brings into play the muscles of the shoulder and the back, for the bow-arm is all the while fully extended and rigid.
