Sugakji - Korean Male Ring

A sugakji with bronze coating over weave pattern and one of our leather ring inserts

The Sugakji, or Korean Male, type thumb ring I feel is an underappreciated ring style. It is quite simple and easy to use, it is robust, and it is quite comfortable as it has large load bearing surfaces. This is further enhanced by the use of a leather insert, which tightens the ring front to back after it has been slipped on, substantially increasing the already generous load bearing surfaces of the ring. In short, I’m a fan, and it is no surprise this design is very popular in Korea. What is surprising though is the design’s lack of popularity outside Korea. I digress.

There is a great deal of diversity to this style of ring, however the major fork in its lineage comes in regard to string placement; some designs have a string guard to physically push the string away from the thumb while others do not. While it seems a subtle difference, the resulting change in mechanics are not. That string guard pushes the string and arrow further away from the thumb, necessarily increasing the length of the *cough* “male portion” of the ring in order to permit sufficient purchase of the index finger. This also changes the balance of the ring, increasing the effective lever arm on the thumb upon release, while also increasing the load on the index finger. This was our original design, based upon a design request from the imitable Armin Hirmer of Malta Archery.

However, more recently, I had the itch to play with the design and remove the string guard, replicating the other common style of sugakji. The result was also an exceptional ring, and one which as a matter of taste I actually prefer. As it turns out, the sugakji feels very secure in the hand, unlike many other ring designs, and so the desire to clench the hand to prevent premature release is dramatically lessened. It also is easy to balance the string on compared to many other ring designs. In short, personally anyway, I see no need for said string guard. And its removal allows a number of notable advantages. First, it allows the string to be moved further toward the thumb. This allows the stronger thumb to bear more of the load, which is particularly useful when it comes to war weight bows. Second, it allows the shortening of the male protrusion, which reduces the effective lever arm on the thumb upon release, while maintaining the same purchase with the index finger. This created the new “short” variant I’m introducing here. Thus, I personally prefer this ring design. And, conveniently, we now offer it for sale.

So, if you haven’t tried this style of ring, we highly recommend it. If you’re just starting out, this also is a good type of ring to try. The only word of caution here is that this style of ring is sufficiently different in technique, it is not necessarily good practice for the other common styles.

Seen here our two styles of Sugakji (Korean Male rings), at top the long variant with string guard, and at bottom the short variant without.