Jean-Marie Coche
Jean-Marie Coche (1949-2006) was a very famous bowmaker, known in particular for having relaunched this profession in France in 1981, after having trained himself in the United States. He is also famous for having founded the school of instinctive flexible archery called “La Voie médiane”. Its teachings allowed archers to bring together athletic, technical but also spiritual abilities. Among the big principles taught by this school are: shooting with a bow with no accessory to help aim, diaphragmatic breathing when shooting and searching for self-knowledge. Having wrote several books on the discipline, Jean-Marie Coche trained numerous contemporary archers in instinctive flexible archery, among which some who continue to pass on his shooting method and philosophy to next generations.
The museum owns several objects that belonged to Jean-Marie Coche:
- A signed bow from the “Samouraï” model made of bamboo, ebony, dark fiber, leather, string and synthetic fibers. Its draw weight is 35 pounds for a 2,23 ft draw length.
- A large hunting bow made in 1988 and given by Jean-Marie Coche himself.
- A thick leather armband with laces and metallic sockets. The armband protects the shooter’s forearm from the string’s backlash after shooting. This one was built by Jean-Marie Coche who put his monogram on it.
- A three-finger leather gauntlet. Also called glove or finger guards, it protects the archer’s fingers from the friction of the string.
