Lajos Kassai (born 16 September 1960), is a Hungarian

bowyer A bowyer is a master-craftsman who makes bows. Though this was once a widespread profession, the importance of bowyers and of bows was diminished by the introduction of gunpowder weaponry. However, the trade has survived and many bowyers conti ...

archer Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In mo ...

and

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

. He is primarily known for his work reviving the traditional art of

horse archery A horse archer is a cavalryman armed with a bow and able to shoot while riding from horseback. Archery has occasionally been used from the backs of other riding animals. In large open areas, it was a highly successful technique for hunting, f ...

, including adapting it into a modern sport. For his work he received the Officer's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the O ...

Bow-making

Lajos Kassai started making his bows in the mid-1980s and was competing successfully in field archery. Then based on the work of Karoly Cs. Sebestyen and Dr Gyula Fabian, using modern materials and technologies, he reconstructed and as first one in the world started series production of the traditional Hungarian bow used in the age of the

Hungarian Conquest Hungarian may refer to: * Hungary, a country in Central Europe * Kingdom of Hungary, state of Hungary, existing between 1000 and 1946 * Hungarians, ethnic groups in Hungary * Hungarian algorithm, a polynomial time algorithm for solving the assignm ...

. Eventually bow-making became his primary profession, and he became the first in the world to mass-produce this style of bow. Besides Hungarian, Kassai makes other types of traditional bows, including;

Scythian The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved for the ancient tribes of northern and eastern Centra ...

Hun The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...

(asymmetric type), Avar, and

Mongol The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...

Equestrian archery

Kassai created the competitive rule system of horse archery in the late 1980s, and started to propagate this new sport, first in Hungary, and from the 1990s in the rest of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He made himself familiar with Zen-archery in

Kamakura is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Kamakura has an estimated population of 172,929 (1 September 2020) and a population density of 4,359 persons per km² over the total area of . Kamakura was designated as a city on 3 November 1939. Kamak ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, and travelled to Shao-lin in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to study. He summarized his experiences in his book "Horse archery", which since its issue has been translated into German, English and Russian. He founded the center of Hungarian horse archery, Kassai-valley, near

Kaposmérő Kaposmérő is a village in Somogy county, Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the north ...

. Horse archery centers based on the Kassai-school are currently operating in fourteen countries, and organize world cups regularly. In 2011, the University of Physical Education accepted the education practice developed by Kassai and began horse archery training. Hungary is the first country in the world where one can get a teaching diploma in horse archery. His life and work was dramatized by Géza Kaszás in the film ''A lovasíjász'' (The horse archer), which premiered in January 2016.

Achievements

Lajos Kassai won all competitions he entered from 1994 to 2019 among them countless of World Cup rounds, international equestrian archery competitions and the Equestrian Archery Open World Championship in 2014.

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
of Lajos Kassai

He set five Guinness World Records: 2011: In December, he shot 14 discs under 19.85 seconds in front of an 8,000 member audience and set his fifth Guinness World Record at the Budapest Sport Arena. 2009: In December, he set his fourth record in the Budapest Sports Arena. He shot 12 pieces of 30 cm diameter flying discs (thrown by his students) from the back of a galloping horse in 17.80 seconds. 2006: Riding 12 horses, Kassai Lajos did equestrian archery continuously for 24 hours during 661 competition runs, he achieved a total score of 15,596.43 points with 5,412 shots. His average point per standard competition (9 runs) was 212.35 points. 2002: Riding 12 horses, during 12 hours of continuous equestrian archery, he managed to achieve a total score of 7,126.05 with nearly 3,000 shots in 323 competition runs, breaking his previous record. His average point per standard competition was 198.55 points. 1998: Riding 12 horses, shot more than 1,000 targeted shots in 286 competition runs during 12 hours of continuous equestrian archery. His average point per standard competition was 133 points.

Awards, merits

* Teleki Pál merit (2021) *World Ethnosport Confederation – Special award (2020) *University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, - Riding instructor honorary award (2018) *Granite Lion Award – Finalist in the public role model category (2017) *„For the Hungarian nation” – Silver medal (2017) *From the Hungarian Equestrian Association – Count István Széchenyi Equestrian Commemorative Medal (2017) *Pongrátz Gergely cross of merit (2017) *Middle Cross of the

Order of Merit of Hungary The Hungarian Order of Merit ( hu, Magyar Érdemrend) is the fourth highest State Order of Hungary. Founded in 1991, the order is a revival of an original order founded in 1946 and abolished in 1949. Its origins, however, can be traced to the Or ...

(2016) *Pro Comitatu Somogy award (2016) *“For the Hungarians of the World” public award (2014) *The Original Kassai System equestrian archery method was included in the (Hungarikum) Collection of Hungarian Values (2013) *Golden Arrowhead Award (2013) *Szent István University, Gödöllő – Riding instructor honorary award and Silver Laurel Wreath Award (2013) *Bárdudvarnok – Honorary citizen (2013) *Hungarian Heritage Award (2012) *The Original Kassai System equestrian archery method was included in Intangible Cultural Heritage in Hungary (2012) *Knight of the Hungarian Culture (2012) *Equestrian Archery was included into the university education first time in the world in Hungary, Budapest (2011) *Person of the year – Somogy County (2010) *The Kassai Equestrian Archery School won the (Kaposvár Városért díj) – Award for the city of Kaposvár (2009) *Árpád Shield Award (2008) *Our Heritage – Somogy County’s treasure award (2008) *Kaposmérő – Honorary citizen *Officer's Cross of the

(2003)

Travels to foreign countries

2020.

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

: Antalya – 2. International Traditional Sport Award 2020.

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

: Doha – training camp 2020.

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

: Pretoria – training camp and track initiation 2019.

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

: Miercurea Ciuc – track initiation 2019.

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

: Charron La Rochelle – track initiation 2019.

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

: Volgograd – training camp and track initiation 2019. China: Wuhan – training camp and track initiation 2018.

: Nova Scotia – training camp and track initiation 2018. USA: Hamilton, MT – training camp and track initiation 2018.

Luxemburg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small land ...

: Limpach – training camp and track initiation 2017.

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

: Arlington, WA – training camp and track initiation 2017. Canada: Ottawa – training camp 2017. USA: Solvang, California – training camp at Monty Roberts’ farm (Flag is up) 2015.

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

: Penang, Turf Club, International Festival with Horses – training camp and presentation 2015. (November) Qatar: Doha – training camp 2015. (August) Qatar: Doha – training camp 2015.

: Peking – CCTV, Impossible Challenge China – presentation 2015. China: Peking, Tsingtao – training camp 2015.

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

: Köln, Baasem – track initiation 2015. France: Maulde – track initiation 2014. China: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Peking – training camp 2014: Qatar: Doha – training camp and presentation 2014. China: Chinghai, Tsingtao, Tongwancheng, Inner Mongolia – training camp 2013. China: Hsian, Hohhot, Xilinhot, Wuhan – presentation 2013. China: Peking – presentation 2013. France: Avignon, (Cheval Passion 2013) – presentation 2012. Turkey: Denizli – presentation 2012. China: Peking, Ordosz – presentation 2012. China: Peking, Csengtu, Sanghaj, Hangcsou, Sencsen – presentation 2012.

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

: Zürich (Mercedes SCI Cup) – presentation 2011. France: Paris (International Agricultural Exhibition) – presentation 2010. France: Saint Sébastien sur Loire – presentation 2009.

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

: Seville (Sicab) – presentation 2007.

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

: Mariensee – presentation 2006.

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

: Athens (European Archery Championship, 2006) – presentation 2006. Germany: Berlin – training camp and presentation 2002. USA: Fort Dodge, Iowa – presentation 2000. USA: Fort Dodge, Iowa – presentation 1999: China: Shaolin – study trip 1999. Ausztria: Bécs (Wiener Stadthalle) – presentation 1996. USA: Pennsylvania – training camp and presentation 1996.

– study trip 1992.

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

: Amsterdam – presentation 1992.

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

: Forli – presentation Presentations - Attended by royal families of the countries: * 2019.

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

: London (Royal Windsor Horse Show) * 2015. Malaysia: Pinang * 2014. Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur * 2012.

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

: Al Faris * 2009.

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

: El Jadida

Family

Kassai is married and has three daughters. His wife is Vanda Kassainé Olter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kassai, Lajos 1960 births Living people People from Kaposvár Hungarian male archers Bowyers Sportspeople from Somogy County