Area Bowyer Insists Bamboo-Backed Ipe Is 'Basically a Selfbow' Despite Containing Two Entirely Different Woods

Traditional bowyer Keith Riser has sparked outrage in the selfbow community by entering a bamboo-backed ipe flatbow in the selfbow division of the Cascade Traditional Archery Championship, arguing that it 'basically counts.' 'Both materials come from plants,' Riser explained at the protest hearing. 'Bamboo is a grass. Ipe is a wood. Plants. Natural. Self. It's a selfbow.' The argument was not well received. 'A selfbow is one piece of wood,' said tournament director Fiona Stave, slowly and with visible restraint. 'Self. As in itself. One thing. His bow is two things glued together. That's a laminate. The name contains the definition.' Riser countered that 'definitions evolve' and that 'the bow identifies as a selfbow,' a statement that caused three judges to simultaneously remove their glasses and pinch the bridges of their noses. The controversy has exposed a broader philosophical rift within the traditional archery community. Purists maintain that only a single-stave bow with no backing of any kind qualifies as a selfbow. Moderates argue that sinew backing, being a traditional practice, should be permitted. And a small but vocal faction led by Riser contends that 'if you can theoretically find both materials in the same forest, it's a selfbow.' 'You cannot find bamboo and ipe in the same forest,' Dr. Helena Bark of the forestry department pointed out. 'They grow on different continents.' 'Adjacent continents,' Riser responded. His entry was disqualified. He has filed an appeal.