Historical Saracen Archery Leaner's Guide

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Foreword

Weapons of Choice

Step 0: Bracing the Bow

Step 1: Grasping (and Intro to Drawing)

Step 2: Locking and Drawing

Step 3: Nocking and Drawing

Step 4: Loosing I (release)

Step 5: Loosing II (follow-through)

Step 6: Loosing III (increase weight)

Step 7: Loosing IV (max weight)

Step 8: Loosing V (arrow flight intro)

Step 9: Loosing VI (flight refinement)

Step 10: Sighting

Summary and Tests of the Archer

Conclusion

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Foreword
I hope this guide will be a useful introduction to the world of Saracen Archery, a book based
on 14th century manuscripts written by a master Mameluke archer named Ṭaybughā. I don’t
intend to replace the book, I just want to distill and present it to beginners and other archery
lovers who may be curious about its style of archery.

My hope is someone fairly new to archery, like myself, could actually follow this guide and,
by the end of it, have a substantial and appreciable hold on how to wield a bow and arrows the
way the Mamelukes did. I also hope it sparks curiosity about Middle Eastern and Eastern
archery in general. I intentionally avoid a lot of technical archery information since my intent
is to keep the guide as short and beginner-friendly as possible. Archery is intensely artistic
and scientific and deserves deeper discussion than I have room for here.

First, who were the Mamelukes (or Mamluks)? The name applied to a people who originated
as Turkish slave troops in Persia around 750 CE. Over time, they gained freedom and respect
and they rose in society until they eventually created a new sultanate around 1250 CE. It was
written of them “if a thousand of their horse join battle and let off a single bout of arrows,
they can mow down a thousand [Arab] horse” (meaning cavalry) and “the Turk can shoot at
beasts, birds, hoops, men, sitting quarry, dummies, and birds on the wing, and do so at full
gallop to fore or to rear, to left or to right, upwards or downwards, loosing ten arrows before
the [enemy] can nock one.” Sounds exciting, right?! It was these phenomenal Mamelukes and
their mounted archers who halted the advance of the Mongols into Syria and Egypt in 1260
CE.

Don’t think Saracen Archery is exclusively a history lesson, though. I’d highly encourage
searching for “mounted archery” and enjoying that rabbit hole. The principles and methods
Ṭaybughā offered those centuries ago are very much a living art and some of the images and
videos of modern archers using them are breathtaking and inspiring. There are also some
phenomenal modern archers making great content on this subject. Having tried Ṭaybughā’s
techniques myself, I’m now having a hard time wanting to pick up my modern recurve
(gorgeous as it is) because the Mameluke way teases me with its potential for exceptional
speed, agility, and accuracy. I also freely admit I’ve bought three horse bows for myself, two
for my kids, and six dozen arrows since reading the book. I’m hooked!

So how did they do it?

The Mameluke Archery Fundamentals

Bracing, Grasping, Locking, Drawing, Nocking, Loosing, Sighting

Like a tower, each of their fundamentals builds upon the last, but note how they seem out of
order! Why learn Nocking after Drawing? And why did they learn aiming as the very last
step?! Their accuracy is one of the things they were famous for and it almost seems intuitive
when you first pick up a bow and arrow that you want to aim at a target. Why would
Ṭaybughā teach aiming last??

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Mameluke archers learned in a very specific sequence in order to break archery apart and
master each piece more-or-less individually. They learned step-wise, only moving on when
each fundamental became second nature. Since they moved Sighting to last, they learned
exceptional bow handling without the distraction or frustration of scoring or hitting marks.
This also helped prevent forming bad habits. If you ignore good form in a rush to hit targets,
you will have a hard time correcting those mistakes later. Ask almost any self-taught archer
and they will confirm this. Mameluke beginners truly focused on building their skills so by
the time Sighting needed consideration, achieving it was simply a matter of fine tuning.

My hope with this guide is to resurrect Ṭaybughā’s teaching method and put it to the test!

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Weapons of Choice
I thought it would be helpful for the true beginner to go over a list of gear you may need to
work your way through the guide. Experienced Western archers may find this section
interesting for how some of the materials differ from what they are used to.

Bow and String – Arrows – Thumb Guards – Arm Guard – Quivers – Practice Space

The Bow and String

I won’t spend too much time here except to recommend the reader research the “composite
bow” generally (very different from the modern “compound bow”), and the Turkish-style
horse bow specifically. For terminology’s sake, below is a diagram of the type of bow
Ṭaybughā would have been familiar with (Fig. 5), not labelled is the Belly which is the side of
the bow facing the string, and the Back which is the opposite side.

If you want to put Saracen Archery’s principles into practice, I recommend the novice start
with no more than 20-25# draw weight. I know that sounds low and if you have experience
already with archery feel free to start with whatever draw weight you like, but I think you’ll
see by the end of the guide why starting at a lower weight is smart.

If you’re looking to buy a starter bow, a very large and well-known online retailer has a
tremendous variety of traditional bows in the $80-$150 range. Search terms like “traditional
recurve bow” and “horsebow” are good starting points. Since nearly all new bows nowadays
come with strings, I won’t mention them separately except to say the thicker bit near the
middle of the string is called the “serving.”

The “Neck” can also be called the “Knee.”

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The Arrows

It sounds odd, but don’t buy or make arrows right away because there are a few steps you
have to get down before you will need them. Selecting practice arrows is covered in detail on
the Nocking and Drawing page. When it’s time, be sure to start with inexpensive arrows
because they will get abused. You will want at least one practice set without feathers, strange
as that sounds.

If you just have to buy arrows now, pay very close attention to two things: the length of the
arrows and choosing arrow stiffness based on the draw weight of your bow. Due to the unique
Mameluke way of drawing the bow, your arrows need to be longer than they would for
Western archery. Since you probably don’t know your Middle Eastern draw length yet,
generally 30-32″ arrow length is a safe bet (you can always shorten an arrow but going longer
means buying new ones). As for wood arrow stiffness (or spine), add 15 pounds to the draw
weight of your bow since higher stiffness is safer for beginners.

As for feathers, your first arrows don’t need them, but there is one interesting point about
them for later. I didn’t find anything in the text about how the fletching should have one
unique feather (called the cock feather) to help with orienting arrows. I speculate this is
because the Mameluke follow-through takes the bow and hand out of the path of the arrow,
but we’ll get into that later.

When you do need feathers, Ṭaybughā recommends three-feather fletching that is between 2-
1/2 to 5 inches long and no taller than 4/5 of an inch. See Figure 55 below for arrow
terminology. (Labelled as farāwān, but not in English is the part between the Nock and the
Fletching, which is the Heel.)

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Thumb Guards

Due to the fact that the Mamelukes drew the bowstring with their thumbs instead of the first
three fingers, there is a great need for a device to protect the thumb. See Figure 17 below and
hunt around online for different types and how to get one that is properly fitted. You may not
be able to get the most out of this guide until you have one that is comfortable (if you plan to
increase your draw weight over time). In my own trials, one thumb ring was too small and it
bruised and pinched my thumb until I adjusted its size. The advantage of the leather guard is
that tightness isn’t an issue but they are much more technique sensitive. Beginners should use
rigid rings, then change to leather once they get the hang of the thumb draw and have an
excellent release and follow-through.

While your bow is light, feel free to practice without one, but once you get up around 35# or
more you will have a hard time loosing very many arrows without pain.

Arm Guards

These aren’t mentioned in the book so I wanted to bring them up just enough to say you don’t
need one. Thanks to the thumb loose, as shown in Figure 1, the string moves away from the
forearm holding the bow instead of toward it. The only way to hit your forearm while using
thumb draw is if you are are bending the wrist that holds the bow or have the bow rotated in
your grasping hand. Both of these should be easy to avoid if you follow the guide. Also note,
this diagram is a view looking down from above (and you’ll note the arrow is on the opposite
side of the bow from Western archery, which will be explained later).

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Quivers

During the vast majority of your learning from this guide and really for the vast majority of
casual target archery using these methods, you will not need a quiver. Crazy, huh? The only
time a quiver would really be essential would be if you were doing actual mounted archery or
were headed into battle. See the page on Nocking and Drawing for an explanation of why this
is true.

Having said that, let’s still discuss them a bit. For a mounted archer using the thumb draw, a
back quiver would be far slower than a thigh quiver on the same side as the draw hand. For
the lightning speed the Mamelukes were famed for, the quiver should be worn such that the
points are angled toward the archer’s front and the nocks are pointed up and back toward the
archer’s back. See the image below for a modern example.

Modern Archer on Horseback with Quiver

I was also able to find a guide on how to make a quiver similar to this out of
leather (http://www.horsearcher.com/equipment.html). If you’d like to see what type of quiver
a Mameluke archer would have used in combat, have a search for “turkish quiver.”

Practice Space

This isn’t directly discussed in Saracen Archery, but it makes sense to mention. At first, you
can practice on your own just about anywhere. All you need is space to move around without
bumping into things and this will get you by for several days or even weeks. Without getting
into the “when” or “why” just know that you’ll need to be able to safely loose arrows first at
the 4-6 yard range, then 20-40, then in a wide open space, then finally at 75 yards. Don’t
worry if those larger distances aren’t reasonable for you yet because you won’t even need to
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consider them for quite some time. A very large percentage of your practice will be spent at
the 4-6 yard distance and going beyond 20 could even be considered optional depending on
how deeply you want to commit to Saracen Archery‘s techniques.

A helpful item for your inside practice space is a large mirror, like one of those inexpensive
ones for hanging on doors. They can often be less than 10 dollars. Hang it up horizontally
somewhere easy to see while holding your bow.

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Step 0: Bracing the Bow
It goes without saying you won’t be shooting a bow that isn’t strung. Below is the simplest
and fastest way to brace or “string” a traditional-style recurve and it doesn’t require any
additional equipment. Refer to the following diagram (Fig. 36) for help picturing the process,
and there’s also a video below. You might want to review the parts of the bow if you are
unfamiliar with composite bows.

While standing, take the top limb of your bow in your Draw hand (hold it at the level of its
upper neck) and pass the bow behind the Draw-side leg and in front of the Grasp-side leg.
Ensure the back of the bow is facing your back, and its belly is facing your belly. You should
be in a position where your Draw-side foot is in front of the grip (with the grip resting against
the back of your knee), and your Grasp-side foot is behind the bottom bow limb (with the
knee of the limb resting against your shin).

With your Grasp hand, bend down and hook the bottom loop onto the bottom string nock.
Stand back up and slide your hand up the string until you are holding the upper string loop.
Use your Draw hand to force the neck of the bow forward firmly while using your legs to
resist the force. Once you’ve bent the limb far enough forward, you should be able to slip the
string loop up and over the siyah and into the upper string nock. Check the string alignment
before releasing pressure on the neck. Then check the straightness of the limbs before using
the bow.

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Un-bracing is the reverse with the exception that you have to step through the bow between
the belly and string first. Always unstring your bow when you are done practicing for the day.

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Step 1: Grasping (and Intro to Drawing)
“The first thing that a learner should do is to take a light bow…grasp it, and draw with the three
appropriate fingers for some days until he can apply the correct grasp.” – Ṭaybughā

Grasping is much more than simply picking up the bow by the grip. Holding the bow in the
correct way with the correct fingers at proper tension is what enables some of the more
staggering feats of Mameluke archery. It is the foundation upon which the entire tower is
built. Each digit is placed and held in a specific way and each has a specific job.

You may have noticed the “three appropriate fingers” part of that quote. What about the
thumb draw? My interpretation is that the reason novices start with a three-finger draw is that
the focus of this stage of learning should be exclusively on the Grasp. No arrows are used yet
so a proper Lock on the string isn’t necessary. A three-finger draw is intuitive and simple and
the idea is to not burden the novice with learning too much at once. Also, you’ll see another
good reason for starting that way in a moment.

Briefly review the following diagram (Fig. 18) so we can have a common terminology.

Take your bow up by one of its limbs using your Draw hand in a way that makes it easy to
turn so you can see both back and belly of the grip as needed. We will be focusing first on
only the middle, ring, and little fingers of your Grasp hand. While looking at the midline of
the grip’s back, place the middle of the proximal phalanxes of the three fingers onto that
midline. Wrap them around the bow in sequence, starting from the little finger up. There

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should be decreasing pressure from each finger with the little finger pressing hardest. Keep
your thumb and index finger relaxed and away from the grip.

You may be wondering how high up or down on the grip you should have your hand from a
vertical perspective. Plan your Grasp so that your thumb would end up at the level just under
the deepest concavity of the arrow pass. If your bow doesn’t have an arrow pass, put the gap
between your middle and ring fingers in the vertical center of the grip.

BEFORE WE MOVE ON. Check the three wrapped fingers. You may need to make some
modifications. See the image below which demonstrates a potential issue.

This grip is too thin for my hand.

For average length fingers but a thin bow grip: If any of your three wrapped fingers touch
your palm when Grasping, you need to thicken the grip, possibly by wrapping a piece of
leather around it. Once you can wrap the three fingers correctly and there is roughly half a
finger-width from them to the palm, you are good to go. Skip down to Fig 19 and check that
your fingers are in the Intermediate position.

For long fingers: If you have long fingers and they press into your palm, stop here and thicken
the grip of your bow as above, but also make the following change to your Grasp: instead of
setting the middle of the proximal phalanxes against the midline of your grip, set the second
crease of your fingers against it. Wrap the three fingers as usual. The Grasp should now feel
more stable and look like the “Square” grasp shown in Fig 19.

For short fingers: Instead of placing the middle of the proximal phalanxes against the grip’s
midline, place the proximal crease against the midline of the grip. Your three fingers should
resemble the “Oblique” grasp below and the bow should feel more secure.

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A NOTE ABOUT FIGURE 19: beware it is actually a partial “cut away” view and is
actually showing the middle finger Grasping the bow NOT the index finger. The index finger
has a special position described next.

Now that you have the bottom three fingers correctly wrapped around the grip, let’s move on
to the index finger. Very gently wrap it around the back of the grip just barely past the midline
such that the pad of the fingertip is resting lightly above the center of the middle phalanx of
the middle finger. This is important because it keeps the index finger out of the arrow’s path
when Loosing and it allows the thumb to lay flat. See below (but ignore that I haven’t fixed
the grip thickness yet).

Please keep in mind the instruction to keep the Grasping index finger and thumb relaxed. If
you ignore this advice and tense those digits, you will regret the habit when we get to
Nocking and Drawing.

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What you can’t see in the images here is that the bow is not being held perfectly vertically. In
fact, the bow needs to be canted inward very slightly. Western archers may have a hard time
getting away from the idea that the bow should be held perfectly vertical, but I give good
confirmation on the Loosing II page that Mamelukes actually canted their bows (clockwise if
the bow is in your left hand and counter-clockwise if the bow is in your right).

A brief word on your stance when preparing to Draw. Refer to Fig. 42 below. People of
average proportions will be somewhere between the two stances shown. More oblique is
always preferred because it allows a longer Draw and therefore more power to the arrow from
bows of identical draw weight.

There are more factors to adjusting stance that just the “tall” and “short” mentioned in the original
caption.

Back to Grasping and Drawing. Once you have examined your Grasp and found it correct,
extend your left arm out as shown just above, then use the first three fingers of your Draw
hand to reach and pull the string back in a line completely parallel to your Grasp arm until
your fingers reach a line drawn vertically down from your ear lobe. This is a good time to
emphasize the goal of the Draw is to end in a position where your Grasp hand, elbow, and
shoulder are level with your Draw hand, elbow, and shoulder. They should all end up in the
same horizontal plane. More on this later, but for now it would tremendously helpful to have a
large mirror set at chest height to practice in front of.

Relax the Draw, but keep hold of the string (note how the three fingers can balance the bow
by its string much more easily than if you were already trying to use the thumb). Release your
Grasp completely then re-set it. Repeat this many times a day for “some days” until correct
Grasping is muscle memory.

Here’s a video that summarizes and demonstrates this topic:

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Step 2: Locking and Drawing
“He should next lock his fingers on the bowstring without using an arrow and draw for a time until he is
able to lock correctly and can thus grasp, lock, and draw to the best of his physical ability.” – Ṭaybughā

Let’s talk about that thumb draw. You won’t need any arrows for this and don’t worry about
the string just yet. First look at the palm of your Draw hand, then tuck the middle, ring, and
little fingers into your palm such that the fingernails are hidden from view. Your index finger
and thumb will make an “L” shape. Now, bend your thumb and place its tip against the side of
your middle finger right in the center of the middle phalanx. Next bend your index finger such
that its second crease is covering your thumbnail and you’re pointing at yourself. It is very
important to keep the index finger only half bent with its tip pointing away from the hand. Do
not wrap the index finger all the way around the thumb. (This would cause you grief later,
you’ll see why.) Repeat this a few times until it feels more natural. Refer to the images below.

Now let’s add the string. Put on your thumb ring or guard as discussed above. Grasp the bow
properly and hold it in front of you. Take your Draw hand and place it close to (but outside)
the string, palm facing down and fingers outstretched. Tuck the middle, ring, and index
fingers into your palm as before. Next, hook the thumb around the string and place it’s tip
against the middle finger like you practiced. If you are wearing a thumb ring with a groove,
now is the time the string should “catch” into that groove. If there is no groove, the string
should lay gently against the flesh of your thumb and get “hooked” against the side of the ring
closest to the base of your thumb. If you are wearing a leather thumb guard, the string should
feel nestled near the thumb’s distal crease (this is also the spot to place the string if you are
not going to wear a thumb guard). Once your thumb is comfortably closed around the string,
drop the index finger to cover the thumb nail. Your Draw hand should resemble the images
below.

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A very important note here: Look how the bird’s-eye image shows light coming through the
space near the web of the thumb and the string. This is critical. Don’t close your thumb
against the hand to “pinch” the string. Keep the thumb low and that space open. That is where
the nock of your arrow is going to be later. Also note how the hand is level with the wrist, not
bent up or down at all.

Completing the Draw

For the next bit, that large mirror mentioned previously is tremendously helpful. Extend your
Grasping hand out from your body until the elbow is nearly locked, then reach up to Lock the
string. Pull the Drawing hand back toward the mouth and past it until the tip of your index
finger (which should be pointed downwards) would appear to be vertically lined up with your
ear lobe. Check that your hands, elbows, and shoulders are all in the same horizontal plane.
(The principle of keeping all of the parts of the upper limbs in one horizontal plane appears to
have been so important it was repeated multiple times throughout the book and that’s why
I’ve repeated it here. This will not feel natural to experienced Western archers who are used to
bringing the nock close to the mouth and looking more-or-less down the shaft of the arrow).
Next, relax your Draw but keep the Grasping arm outstretched, let go of the string, and repeat
Locking and Drawing over and over every day “for a time” until these fundamentals become
muscle memory [Footnote 2]. Practicing on both sides is a great idea!

Thumb Lock and Full Draw video

Footnote 2:

Let’s talk about that Grasping arm in more detail. In order to achieve their famed high rate of fire but still be
accurate, the Mamelukes were always Sighting on their marks once engaged. To that end, arrows were Nocked
while the Grasping hand was nearly fully extended. The reason being that the Grasping hand is supremely useful
as an aiming reference and the closer to full Draw the Grasping hand stays, the faster the arrow can be Sighted
on target using Ṭaybughā’s method. Also, we are told “that a combatant enters the fray with his left side because
it enables him to shoot the enemy from under his shield without exposing himself to the foe.” This reinforces the
point of keeping the Grasping arm mostly extended because the shield was worn on the left arm. Bringing both
hands to waist level would lower the shield and expose the warrior to injury. Elsewhere, while discussing how to
modify the Draw for different physiques he very clearly describes extending and lining up the left arm with the
target and locking its joints in a straight line then executing the Draw “from this position.” From these
supporting points, I assert the Draw technique of the Mameluke was such that the Grasping arm was kept
elevated and outstretched. It was then fully extended moments after Nocking, while the Drawing hand (and arm
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and back muscles) did the bulk of the work in bringing the arrow to full Draw. Forgive me for giving the topic
short shrift because I know the subject of “proper” Draw is as deep as it can be controversial and variations do
work well for different archers, but I want to focus only on Ṭaybughā’s methods here.

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Step 3: Nocking and Drawing
“When he has succeeded in this, he should, for some days, nock an arrow and bring it to full draw
without shooting.” – Ṭaybughā

The next fundamental was also critical to the Mameluke’s phenomenal abilities.
Understanding the tactical value of never taking your eyes off your enemy, the Mameluke
trained at Nocking arrows at blinding speed and bringing them to full Draw without ever
looking at the arrows or taking their eyes off their target.

Now that we finally need arrows, let’s talk about how to choose or make them. One of the
critical factors, stiffness of the arrow, is easy to sort out. Take the draw weight of your bow
and add 15 pounds. Keep that number in mind. The second factor, arrow length (measured
from the depth of the nock to base of the arrowhead), is going to take some figuring.

The easiest way is to head to your local archery shop with your bow and ask for help. They
should have on hand a draw-length-indicator arrow. Nock it opposite your Grasp hand so the
arrow is perpendicular to the string. Lock on it as you just learned, then Draw until your index
finger reaches your ear lobe. Have your helper verify your limbs are all properly aligned and
your index finger reached the right spot, then they can read the measurement. Add 1″ to that
and you have your optimal arrow shaft length.

Now that you’ve got your arrow length and stiffness, get a dozen arrows together that have
lightweight field points and no feathers.

Video guide on getting your first set of practice arrows.

It should be mentioned here that so far no quiver has been needed, and still isn’t yet, even
though we are now nocking arrows. The warrior’s clothing of the day generally featured a belt
over the tunic that could be tightened when it was their turn at the archery range line and
Saracen Archery specifically describes this practice. A simple belt can hold a good number of
arrows when cleverly employed. This was done by sliding the arrowheads under the belt on
the Draw side with the nock facing the elbow. This would cause the arrowheads to point
toward the archer’s midsection then gravity would cause them to lay at a very convenient
angle for picking up.

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Only one arrow is needed at this stage, but forming the habit is good. Either a cinching belt or
one with holes is fine. I’ve tried both, and I’ve tried them through belt loops and over
clothing. See image below.

One unfletched arrow is all you need right now, but this shows the concept.

Nocking an arrow

Correct Nocking starts with picking up the arrow. Use the index, middle finger, and thumb of
the Draw hand to pull an arrow from your belt by gripping it at the point 2/3 back from the
arrowhead. Bring your Draw hand up to your extended Grasp hand and KEEP THE
ARROW ON SAME SIDE OF THE BOW AS YOUR DRAW HAND. (This is in all caps
to save some struggle for folks familiar with Western archery. [footnote]) Use the index finger
and thumb of your Grasp hand to hold the arrow lightly against the grip (now you see the
reason those two digits shouldn’t be held firmly). Slide your Draw hand down the shaft until
your fingers reach the nock, {{optional: Quickly spin the arrow to the correct orientation so
the cock feather is pointed away from the bow,}} then hold the nock between the pad of the
thumb tip and the middle phalanx of the index finger.

{The reason for the brackets above is I’m not certain the Mamelukes used the concept of cock
feathers. I couldn’t find any evidence of them in Saracen Archery. They may have nocked the
arrow in either orientation, which would have been much faster, then relied on their unique
follow-through to prevent damage to the fletching as the arrow passed the grip.}

Next, execute the Nocking motion diagrammed in Fig. 21 as follows: pull your Grasp hand
back toward yourself a little while pushing your Draw hand toward the bow and letting the
string slip under your thumb. Then push your Grasp hand forward and pull your Draw hand
back. This should Nock the arrow quite quickly.

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Since your Draw hand is already in the correct orientation and location, simply complete the
Lock such that the thumb is under the arrow and the part just above the first knuckle of the
index finger is pressing lightly against it.

If your Lock is correct, you should have just enough pressure from the index finger against
the arrow that you could rotate your hands 90 degrees inward (or really at any arbitrary angle)
and the arrow should not fall away from the grip/arrow pass. This light pressure in the Lock is
very important because it enabled the Mameluke to hold the arrow steady against the grip
even while riding a horse at full gallop. Refer to the image below. [Special note here: If you
find the nock slipping up and down the bow string and you are struggling to get the arrow
Locked, your string’s serving is too thin for your arrow’s nock. Correct this issue and it will
work much better.]

While I used a fletched arrow for this image, I actually practice this step with un-fletched arrows.
You’ll see why on the Loosing II page.

If the Nock and Lock are done smoothly, there should be no visible demarcation between
completing the Nock and extending to full Draw. In fact, the entire act of bringing an arrow to
the grip, Nocking it and achieving full Draw should appear to be one continuous motion.

While at full Draw, quickly check that you aligned your hands, elbows, and shoulders
correctly, then relax the Draw without loosing the arrow. Put the arrow back in your belt, then
repeat: pick up the arrow, bring it to the grip, Nock, Lock, Draw, relax. Repeat these steps
“for some days” until you can blind-nock arrows and Draw them at lightning speed, all while

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never taking your eyes off an imaginary mark some distance before you. Try practicing on
alternating sides.

You’ll note both this and the previous step involved taking the bow to full Draw and every
following step also requires it. This is likely because “there are ten points to effective
shooting, of which nine lie in the attainment of maximum draught by a properly completed
draw and only one in the archer.” The importance of achieving a perfect Draw before ever
loosing an arrow cannot be understated.

Footnote:

I just want to say again there are many excellent and fascinating ways to use a bow and arrow
and I happen to love them all (including modern Olympic and compound hunting styles!). It is
possible to use a thumb draw and have the arrow on the “Western” side of the bow and
several cultural styles do exactly that. This guide is meant to exclusively showcase the
Mameluke techniques taught in Saracen Archery and isn’t meant to imply this is the only
“right way.”

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Step 4: Loosing I (release)
The Release (or farkah)
“He should then lock on the string without an arrow and loose an uncharged string, practicing this for a
time until he can release correctly.” – Ṭaybughā

This step will surely raise controversy. For myself, and most others, the idea one should
“loose an uncharged string” or “dry-fire” a bow is anathema. It makes my eye twitch. Having
said that, it may be what Ṭaybughā meant is for the string to be “uncharged” in both the sense
of not having an arrow on it and it not being at full draw. It doesn’t take much thought to
realize that if you loose an empty string from full Draw, regardless of what happens to the
bow, you will slap your Grasp hand incredibly hard.

Having said that, the release is so critical a skill it was believed worth learning in near-total
isolation of other fundamentals. Let’s presume I’m right about “uncharged” meaning an
empty string not brought to full Draw. We will practice this skill with correct Grasp and Lock,
but only Draw a few inches.

The correct Release, or farkah, is a lightning-quick sequence of opening the index finger then
opening the thumb, rotating the Draw hand so that the palm faces out, and very slightly
pulling the Draw hand away from the bow. The middle finger may be relaxed at this point (to
be available to help pick up another arrow), but the ring and little fingers should remain
closed against the palm. This sounds dead simple but takes practice to consistently execute on
a bowstring under tension. A good Release is quick, crisp, makes a very clear sound off the
string, and at no point should you feel the string contact the index finger or thumb (assuming
you are wearing thumb protection). A slow Release results in abrasion of the index finger and
thumb tip, strain on the distal thumb joint, and a very obvious “flubbing” sound from the
string, not to mention how it ruins the shot.

Repeat the sequence of Locking, Drawing a few inches, and Releasing “for a time” until it is
completely rote.

Side Note: When performed with an arrow at full Draw, the farkah will result in the Draw
hand’s index finger coming to rest just below the ear lobe, palm facing out, and the index
finger and thumb will make a shape resembling a crescent. Loosing II talks more about this.

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Step 5: Loosing II (follow-through)
The Follow-through or khaṭrah
“In his next stage he should nock [an] unfletched arrow and draw and release it at a practice drum. He
should do this for quite a time…” – Ṭaybughā
The Arrows

Why unfletched? Practice arrows were only ever going to be shot at short range so there was
no need to waste good feathers on arrows that weren’t going far. More importantly, this stage
of Loosing is actually about learning the correct follow-through. Mistakes while learning
would cause fletching to hit and/or cut your Grasping hand. Remember, the Mamelukes didn’t
wear any protection on their Grasping arm and they got away with it because of both the
thumb lock and this follow-through. Most critically, unfletched arrows tell you more about
your technique because feathers hide flaws.

The Practice Drum

What was a “practice drum”? It was a short, but wide, sand-filled barrel with cow hide
stretched across one side and set up on a stand to hold it at chest height. It was turned so the
“top” faced the archer and was fired into at close range, like 2 to 4 yards at most. For the
modern archer, you have a few choices for getting your own. Of course, if you make one as
described in the book that would be amazing and I would love to see it!

One thing to try, if it’s allowed in your area and you have access, is to stack up some hay
bales outside. A great option for urban- and suburbanites, and what I did for myself, is a
simple burlap sack. I found one that is about 3′ x 2′ and I stuffed it with shredded paper and
recycled plastic packing film and bags. I was able to contact a local big-box retailer and ask
them to hold their used plastic wrapping so that worked out great. I packed it until it was
about 1.5′ thick and somewhat firm. I tested it with a 25# and 40# bow with both light and
heavy arrows and it seemed to stop them just fine. All the same, consider putting a large sheet
of inexpensive plywood behind it as a back stop. Altogether that will run you about $18 US.
One advantage of this type of bale is that, more often that not, the strands of burlap are pushed
aside by the arrow rather than cut so the bale can be used many, many times. Even when it
does wear out, just flip it around to use the other side. When that’s no longer an option, get
another bag for $5 and re-use your stuffing. Pretty flexible! The greatest advantage of this
bale is that the loose material will stop your arrows but not so abruptly that your shafts will
break. It still holds the entry angle reasonably well, which is important for evaluating your
technique.

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 Stuffed practice bale with large ruler

Finished practice bale in living room

If you don’t want the DIY route, get a modern foam target, but use caution. Even light bows
used to send arrows from full draw have a very high risk of breaking. You must be careful
here and check your shafts after every shot. Best practice is to start close, like two yards, and
at half Draw, then increase your Draw and distance only as you improve. Watch the video
below for a better explanation.

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No matter what bale or backstop you use, no targets or marks are allowed yet! Resist the
temptation. If you bought a pre-made target, cover its markings with paper.

The Follow-through

The correct Mameluke follow-through is called the khaṭrah. It is a clear and quick forward
and outward rotation of the Grasping wrist completed at the precise moment of the Loose. It
results in the bow string ending near a 45 degree angle. The lower siyah may come to rest just
under the Grasping arm’s pit (and Ṭaybughā even says many archers tap their shoulder blade).
Remember, though, the bow should snap back to position by the time the Draw hand makes it
back with a new arrow.

The reasons for the khaṭrah are to impart slightly more force to the arrow, to drop the Grasp
hand very slightly out of the way of the passing arrow, to allow arrows of varying weight to
be accurately loosed from the same bow, and to reduce the effect of the Archer’s Paradox.
Performing it correctly will also allow your arrow to fly with less deflection off the grip so it
strikes its target straighter. Timing of the action is critical for if done too soon you will foul
your aim, done too late and the arrow deflects off the bow badly. If done by dropping the
whole arm instead of only rotating the wrist, you will have accuracy problems later.

For the Draw hand, you are meant to perform the farkah AND slightly jerk your arm back as
if to tap someone behind you with your elbow. The idea is pulling the Draw hand farther from
the bow at the moment of Loose prevents you from instead accidentally creeping the hand
forward, which saps energy from the arrow by shortening the Draw. See Fig. 46 below for the
general idea (but note it shows three faults Ṭaybughā would not approve of [Footnote 3]).

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Tuck an arrow in your belt. It’s finally time to loose your first! Remember to start around 2
yards from the bale. Pick it up, Nock it, Draw it, and then Loose! It will likely strike and stick
out at an odd angle. Not to worry, the cleaner your release and follow-through get, the
straighter your arrows fly. This will take a lot of practice, on the order of hundreds of arrows
over weeks or months. Since you are so close, just grab the arrow and try again. Once they are
all straight, move back to three yards, grab two more arrows to tuck in your belt and try again.
Really practice a long time at this distance until you develop an instinctive feel for where the
arrow will strike and until each arrow is pointed straight back at you. A well-loosed arrow
will fly straight, strike straight, and wobble very little upon contact. When you are excellent at
three yards, move to four and start over. It really is eye-opening how moving only one yard
will show just how much you still need to work on your technique. Don’t go beyond four
yards, though. The lack of fletching has its limits. Even in the next step we aren’t going for
accuracy so increasing distance does us no good.

PRO TIP: ALWAYS keep both eyes open when loosing the arrow. It’s an important habit to
get into and you’ll see why later.

Key points are to give the novice tremendous repetition at Locking, Drawing, and Loosing
without any concern yet over Sighting. Your first few arrows may hit your practice bale far to
one side or very low and that’s fine. Don’t get distracted trying to aim. You should be doing
this at close range, anyway. Just make what feels like a natural adjustment and keep going.
The more arrows you loose, the more intuitive those adjustments become. The goal here is
perfection of the form then acceleration of the mechanics. We are not yet working on aim.

For learning this fundamental, hundreds if not thousands of arrows should be loosed over
“quite a time” until both hand motions are rock solid. Nocking needs to be quick and fluid and
indistinguishable from Drawing, the draw length and anchor points must be flawless, the
Loose must be clean and sharp, and now, critically, the release and follow-through will be in
place.

How long “quite a time” should be is anyone’s guess, but I’d say at least until the above
fundamentals could be done practically blindfolded and the arrow would be sticking straight
out of the practice drum every time.

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Footnote 3:

The three faults are: 1) the Draw hand and elbow are too high, remember everything should be in one plane. 2) The Grasping
thumb is up high relative to the wrist indicating incorrect position of the index finger and thumb, remember we are instructed
that the bones of the thumb should be parallel to the forearm and on the same level as the thumb’s base. 3) the Draw hand
moves too far back when completing the release and it does not rotate, remember we are told for a correct farkah the index
fingernail should come to rest just below the ear lobe and the palm should face out as shown below.

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Step 6: Loosing III (increase weight)
“…and, once able to shoot correctly, progress to a bow a little more powerful than the one he has been
shooting and again shoot at the practice drum for some days. Every few days he should take a more
powerful bow until he has worked through five successive bows, each stronger than the one before,
and the fifth most powerful of all.” – Ṭaybughā

Not much to add here except to say this could be the longest step in the learning process
because of the step-wise increase in draw weight and it is focused on building the novice’s
physique in addition to further cementing the fundamentals. This is how the Mamelukes built
the upper body strength to deftly wield bows beyond what the modern archer considers a
reasonable draw weight.

At this point, you should give some thought to what your goal final draw weight will be. I
have settled on 50# as mine. The reason for this is Saracen Archery has a whole section
(Chapter 19) devoted to Flight Archery, which is a sport I had never head of before reading
the book. Modern flight archery associations (like US Flight Archery) have divisions based on
bow style and draw weight. For primitive bows, the current divisions are 35#, 50# and 70#. I
think 50# sounds like a happy middle ground for me. I also want to be able to comfortably
wield a 50# bow for the sake of someday passing Ṭaybughā’s Tests of the Archer, which I’ll
cover at the end of the guide.

As for how to achieve your goal, there are a few ways. Of course, you can buy lots of bows,
but I personally can’t afford to buy a bow of every draw weight between 20# and 50#.
Instead, I looked around for an archery exerciser and found one for around $45 US online. It
can be drawn to various weights and seems compatible with the Thumb Lock so that’s what
I’ll be doing for a while. Look around for a solution that works for you!

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Step 7: Loosing IV (max weight)
“Once he has acquired control and developed a natural proficiency in shooting, he should begin to bend
powerful bows that are as strong as he can possibly handle and continue shooting at the practice drum
night and day with different bows.” – Ṭaybughā

Now it’s getting serious. I have found articles online suggesting many military-grade bows
were rated from 70-100#. Other reports show even more powerful bows than this in routine
use throughout historical warfare (fans of the English longbow will attest to this). The other
point of note here is the requirement the archer practice with a variety of bows. This seems to
imply preparing the warrior to be able to pick up and be lethal with any bow they came
across.

Realistically, I view Steps Six and Seven somewhat optional to the modern archer. First,
that’s potentially a lot of bows to buy in order to step-wise increase your strength and you
would need even more “powerful bows” to be able to practice with a variety of them. Unless
you have access to an armory, that just isn’t practical. It’s up to you what you want your
ultimate draw weight to be and how many step-wise increased draw weight bows you are
willing to buy/beg/borrow to help you get there. You can see though how it is actually
realistic, through this type of training regimen, that a novice could build incredible strength
and dexterity over their training. We could still reach the levels of our predecessors if we
committed to attaining them, regardless of whether they are practical by modern standards.

I, for one, am happy with my goal draw weight of 50# for now.

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Step 8: Loosing V (arrow flight intro)
“When he can shoot correctly and his limbs are steady and firm, he can then go out into the field and
shoot at the butt for some days without using any mark, all the time watching where his arrows fall.” –
Ṭaybughā

You should be at your goal draw weight before you start this step. It also stands to reason that
you should now switch to fletched arrows.

It’s time to increase the distance and change from the practice drum to shooting “at the butt.”
The term “butt” can be a bit ambiguous because some will take it as a free-standing object
designed to hold archery targets and others will take it as a raised area of earth at the back of
an archery field meant to prevent arrows from passing (targets were set in front of it and the
butt acted as a backstop). I suggest Ṭaybughā intended the latter meaning because he truly
intended the archer to be now shooting at longer ranges but still not yet worrying about
accuracy. The goal here is “watching where his arrows fall” or becoming accustomed to
watching the arrow throughout its flight to see both how it moves through the air and at the
same time develop a consistency of Loosing technique that will naturally lead to tighter
grouping of arrows later.

My recommendation is, if you are at a developed range, start shooting into the backstop
without a target on it. This is typically 20 yards for indoor ranges and it’s a comfortable
distance to start working on observing how the arrows fly. If you are outdoors and have the
opportunity, by all means shoot longer and longer distances without a target and get in the
habit of following your arrows to where they fall. Outdoor ranges typically had multiple
“butts” at different distances.

In a subtle way this is introducing the concept of “grouping” but it’s really more about getting
the novice archer in the habit of things like estimating range, checking how wind affects
arrow flight, etc. It gives the opportunity for correction of defects in form.

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Step 9: Loosing VI (flight refinement)
“Once he can do correctly all that he has set out to do, he should next go out into the desert and shoot
into the great void, again without any mark, all the time watching the flight of his arrows through the
air.” – Ṭaybughā

This step sounds like amazing fun. The archer gets to shoot very long distances in order to
have more time to check arrow flight characteristics. Loosing arrows “into the great void” and
watching them fly has got to be a blast, especially with a higher draw weight bow.

Sound technique will mean smooth arrow flight whereas faults will cause “gadding” or
“flirting” or other odd behavior. Remember, the Mamelukes were lethal even at long distances
and they engaged enemies from horseback. Steady arrow flight was critical. Now is the time
to re-evaluate your fundamentals and make corrections as needed.

I haven’t yet sorted out a place to try this myself, but I imagine two things will be essential:
nearly unlimited safe range, and a way to find your arrows once loosed. The current men’s
Flight Archery record for a primitive Turkish bow was set in 2014 and is 430 yards. If you
think that’s impressive, the primitive complex composite (unlimited draw weight) record is
619 yards! Check the USA Flight Archery website for the full list of current records. It’s
pretty unreal stuff and I can’t wait to try it…

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Step 10: Sighting
“…he should, after mastering all this, shoot at a mark on his own and persevere until he attains a high
proportion of accurate shots.” – Ṭaybughā

FINALLY! We talk about Sighting (aiming). This is a vastly complex topic tackled by a great
many authors through the years that we will only just scratch the surface of here. Even
Ṭaybughā discusses several ways to accomplish it and different ways to train the eyes, but
since there is one method he recommends above all others that will be the one featured here.

Remember that by this point you will have loosed hundreds if not thousands of arrows with
both eyes open so you’ll already have an instinctive sense of sending arrows to a reasonably
consistent place in that way. The focus now of Sighting is to arm you with tools to hone and
refine those instincts in order to develop aim and accuracy. A key reason we recommended
very early on that you keep both eyes open while Loosing is because depth perception is
necessary for quickly estimating range and properly leading moving targets. The second and
most critical reason is because Ṭaybughā’s “excellent method [that is] most accurate and the
least confusing” absolutely depends on it.

Let’s get to it. Stand at the line before a marked target set at 20 yards. Gather a number of
arrows and tuck them into your belt. Grasp and raise your bow using both eyes to align the
knuckles of your Grasping hand roughly with the midline of your target. Pick up an arrow and
Nock it. If you are Nocking and Locking properly, your Grasping hand is already nearly fully
extended before you. You will have a sight picture very similar to the image below.

This is for a left Grasp hand and right Draw hand. Reverse the side descriptors below as needed.
Hopefully you’ve been training both sides as mentioned in the videos!

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Note how the target is aligned to the left of the grip. This is called “aiming outside the bow”
meaning the mark lies outside a space demarcated by the body of the bow and its string. The
reason for this is due to the offset between the left eye and the anchor point of the Draw hand.

To Sight correctly, lock both eyes on the mark and focus on getting the left eye to line the
arrowhead up on your target as shown. The view of the right eye may be partially obscured by
the limb of the bow and that is OK (this will depend on the distance to the mark).

Begin your Draw. While Drawing, keep the left eye focused on the target. When about 2/3
Draw is reached, the arrowhead will disappear from view behind the grip. Keep your Grasp
arm steady. Use your right eye to watch for the arrowhead to reappear on the right side of the
arrow pass. Once the arrow is at full Draw, let it fly. Follow your arrow to the mark and make
adjustments as needed.

Practice at different distances and learn how atmospheric conditions affect the flight and
accuracy of your arrows. “Persevere” as Ṭaybughā’s urges. If you have gone through the
guide step-wise, Sighting should feel almost intuitive since your body mechanics are so solid
and steady by this point that adding a target seems almost trivial.

As long as this journey may have been so far, for Mamelukes, hitting their mark was only the
beginning! Continue on to the Summary for a taste of where this adventure can take you…

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Summary and Tests of the Archer
“All that we have said so far depends for success on a steady hand, a firm hold on the grip, locking,
alignment of both arms, correct sighting, presence of mind, a sound draw with the elbow in the
appropriate position, a clean release with tension in both elbows and, above all—for on this hinges
everything else—imperturbability.” – Ṭaybughā

If you followed Ṭaybughā’s proscription thus far, you will have learned to take up your bow,
nock, draw and loose exceptionally steady and accurate arrows at a variety of ranges under
different conditions. Your ability to wield a bow and arrow approaches the feeling of the
implements being an extension of your own body. You will have developed the strength and
steadiness to wield weapons of war at draw weights and speeds unimaginable to most modern
archers. The Mamelukes were reputed to be “skilled shots who could hit the pupil of an eye.”

Impressive as you may be by now, you will not yet, in Ṭaybughā’s estimation, be deserving of
the title “Archer.” There is an incredible variety of techniques and technology the warrior was
expected to be proficient in. I haven’t even touched on the myriad arrowheads or shooting
devices described in Saracen Archery. There was also a stringent set of tests the warrior had
to pass in order to be considered battle ready. Read on for a sampling of the feats expected,
not just of the exceptional or master but, of all Mameluke archers.

On Ensuring a Low Trajectory

A low flight path means a faster arrow. Faster arrows are more forgiving of mistakes in
estimating range or leading targets. They also have more kinetic energy meaning they are
typically more lethal.

For this test, stand at the line before a “five span” (38 inch) object set at “sixty bows’ distance
” (75 yards) where halfway to the object, there are two poles 8 feet tall and 10 feet apart with
a rope between their tops. Loose an arrow from the line. If you hit the target AND the arrow
passed under the rope, your bow is strong enough and your arrow fast enough. The math
works out to arrows traveling at upwards of 180 feet per second and this was the absolute
minimum standard.

On the Assessment of Grouping

At the line again before the same 38″ object set at 75 yards, now loose a number of arrows. If
each one hits the mark, your “grouping is good.” To help understand this, a 1 yard object set
at 75 yards would appear to be about a half inch in height and you were expected to land
every arrow on it.

On Determining Dexterity

This is the truly mind-boggling test of an archer’s worthiness. I will let Ṭaybughā’s standard
speak for itself:

“Quickness and ease in using your hands are a commendable asset in battle. If you wish to
determine your dexterity and rate of shooting, you take three arrows and stand and shoot over
sixty bows’ distance. If you can shoot the third and only see the dust of the first after that third
arrow has already left your hand, you are fast enough. If you can’t, you must practice holding

35
the arrows all together between your fingers and shoot in this way. You keep on practicing
until you achieve your goal.”

Presuming the arrows loosed are expected to meet the low trajectory standard (since the
distance of the two tests were the same), this test translates to the ability to loose three arrows
in roughly 1.5 seconds. How an archer could go about accomplishing this staggering feat with
a war-worthy bow is an article in itself. Suffice it to say that this is blindingly fast and one
author of the time remarked “The Saracen cavalry…began to shoot thicker and faster than one
could believe possible.”

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Conclusion
I acknowledge that my treatment of Saracen Archery and Ṭaybughā’s instruction has been
wholly inadequate and does not do the source material justice. I doubly admit that I have no
standing to speak as an expert on the subject and wanted only to condense and summarize the
amazing knowledge contained in the book. My aim has been only to distill his knowledge into
a practical and applicable guide in hopes of inspiring novices and experienced Western
archers alike to dive into the world of medieval Middle Eastern archery.

We have barely scratched the surface of the absolute wealth of knowledge contained in the
book. No space at all was given to what was a lynch-pin of the Mameluke’s battle
effectiveness: the horse. There are entire chapters and sections devoted to shooting from
horseback and some of the mounted archery sports of the time. There are myriad principles,
variations, and adaptations of the archery fundamentals to different physiques and
circumstances. There is even discussion of a Draw technique that involves pulling the Draw
hand over and behind the head which enables the mounted archer to hit an enemy who is
rushing close to their horse. Saracen Archery is a treasure trove of fascinating archery history
and it is just as applicable to the art today as it was then. Thanks for reading my guide. I hope
you got a lot out of it.

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