How to catch an arrow

I’d like to record for posterity my answer to the question I’m most asked – “How’d you get started catching arrows?”

It was something I did first in the mid-60s. In the 70s, others heard of it and I was featured on the major TV networks, in magazine articles, and in personal appearances. I was praised on several occasions and viciously attacked once in the national press for something I never said, did, or claimed. An arrow went through my hand. And one almost took my eye.

Let me begin by making two important points: First, it is extremely dangerous to attempt to catch an arrow at any speed. Most eye losses are reportedly due to low speed, blunt force impact. This means any arrow shot at you, or even thrown, holds the potential to cost you your sight! Don’t try it. I was extremely lucky not to lose an eye and I was generally very careful.

Second, almost anyone can catch an arrow. If I held an arrow in my hand and tossed it at you, most of you could easily catch it. But if I shot it at you from a high powered hunting bow at relatively close range, no one (not even I during my prime) could catch one. The question is not if you can catch an arrow or not but, rather, at what distance and speed. The critical issue is its elapsed time (ET) – the amount of time it takes to get from the bow to your hand. The shorter the ET, the harder it is to catch.

If you do a Google search, you will find a number of people claiming to catch arrows. And there’s nothing wrong with that. As I said, anyone can do it.

A number of arrow catching clips are posted on YouTube. (None of these are mine as I’ve not posted any.) Some of these clips document something challenging. However, most do not. In some, the arrows are clearly traveling very slowly or from a long distance, which gives the catcher a great deal of time in which to react. But it’s sometimes hard to tell distance and speed in some of these, which are the two critical factors. How can you tell? Well, a telltale sign of low speed and/or extreme distance is the angle of the arrow at the catch point. If the arrow is angled downward, towards the floor, it was traveling very slowly when caught, making the demonstration meaningless.

I would like to point out another couple of important facts that generally get missed: First, catching arrows doesn’t indicate possession of any mystical or supernatural powers. And, second, arrow catching per se has nothing whatsoever to do with being a competent martial artist. It can demonstrate superior speed and reflexes but says absolutely nothing about the catcher’s ability to efficiently and effectively defend himself against an actual attacker.

In coming posts, I’ll be discussing what caused me to first try it, what enabled me to catch arrows, specifics about the task, and some of my more interesting experiences. Thanks again for reading.