Ming Dynasty archery has become very popular recently, thanks in no small part to the excellent book on the subject by Jie Tian & Justin Ma. Excellent translations of Gao Ying’s writing paired with additional explanations and demonstrations, it is no surprise that this has caught on.

One missing piece to the puzzle though has long been the lack of a good “Gao Ying” style ring, as depicted in the book. Most modern interpretations lean more toward the Korean style, which significantly affects how the ring behaves with the string and how force is loaded on the thumb. So we created our interpretation to resemble, as closely as possible both in illustration and description, the original “Gao’s Four Victory Ring.”

The resultant “Gao Ying style” ring has excellent properties, being both comfortable and offering an extremely crisp release. This crisp release is due to the release angle, which is notably more aggressive than many other ring designs. Less experienced ring shooters should be cautious to avoid over-curling the thumb, as the “two pronged guard” provides a great deal of protection from the string while masking much of the feedback. For this reason, we don’t necessarily recommend this ring style to beginners, as it definitely performs best with a deft touch. This style of draw/ring has become very popular, and is known as the “shallow-hook” technique, where the thumb is minimally bent. The ring’s exceptional comfort comes form its large load bearing surfaces on the thumb and its tendon relief. This is definitely one of our all time favorite rings, a must-own part of any collection!

We size all our rings on a virtually continuous spectrum for a perfect fit. No longer do you have to live with set sizes made for a hypothetical thumb. Measuring your thumb accurately though is still difficult, which is why we strongly recommend our customers use one of our Ring Sizers and order a set of three closely sized rings. More information can be found by clicking the Sizing Information link on the banner at the bottom of the the page.