Making a new thumb ring, Sugakkji(숫깍지)

I have no complains of the old thumb ring that I made out of a billiard ball.  However, I found out that there was a thumb ring, that only Koreans were used in Asia.  It is called "Sugakkji", in translation, means male thumb ring.  It has a belly sticking out from the ring, so it is called male thumb ring.
The benefits of this style are, can draw longer, hold longer, and good for heavy bows.
Although my bow is only #30, I wanted to make this ring for my future heavy bows :)

I ordered a board of hard maple wood.  I did not know what kind of wood I need to order, but it seemed like maple wood is pretty hard wood so it was my choice.
It took me about a week to finish it because, the wood was so hard, it took me long time to shape it.  I had to make sure it fits me perfectly, so I was extra careful about the fitment.

I used a heat gun to carve "Dong Yi", which means "people from East, who are good with bows"  That was what Chinese people called Koreans, long time ago.

I used a cow hide to prevent the ring slips away from my thumb.
Overall, I love my new ring.  I tested it many times, and it was little weird at the beginning, but now I am loving it.

Customizing my bow

I met a guy who was using a same bow as mine.  His bow was heavier, but the look was exactly the same since we were using bows from the same company. 
I wanted to customize my bow, so it's distinctive.  I decided to paint it black, and write words that I really like.
I used a leather paint that I bought on Amazon, masking tape on the edge, so I could still see the sheep skin.  I used a Gundam marker pen to write words "궁아일체 일발필중", "弓我一體 一發必中" which means, "when body and the bow become one, one shot hit target 100%"
  

Meeting a friend

 

I was struggling with arrows hitting my bow violently.  Arrows hit my bow so hard that I could smell burned.  I did not know what was the problem.  I somehow thought that arrows were not matched to my bow draw weight, but I was not sure.
One day, I was practicing at Redwood bowmen club, and I met a guy(Mike) who was using a Hungarian bow with a thumb ring.  We instantly talked to each other because there was only 2 of us who were using a thumb ring.  He told me that a guy name Justin Ma, who a is instructor of Chinese Ming dynasty archery, and he might can help with my problem.
I joined facebook page of Chinese archery, Korean archery, and other Asian archery group, and I sent a message to Justin.
He was not only very nice, but also very knowledgeable of Asian archery.  I asked many questions, and he answered all of them.  We set up the time, and met up at the range.
The pictures are, Justin, repositioned my nocking point, and testing my arrows.

After he tested, and fixed my nocking point, all of my problems were solved.  He corrected my form, and gave me great advice.  It would have taken a lot longer to find out what was my problem if I have not met Justin.
Thank you, Justin. 

This is Justin's website.