İ s ta nb u l

TURKISH ARCHERY
HANDBOOK
 TRADITIONAL
TURKISH ARCHERY
Arrows and bows have been used as war tools since prehistoric times, and they are seen by many as
symbols of power. Although it was used in different forms and areas in Egypt, Assyrian, Hittite and Chinese
civilizations, it reached its most developed state with Central Asian steppe tribes. Certainly, the characteris-
tics of the Turks were influential in the formation of this situation, and the Turks came to the forefront in the
art of warfare and war strategy and techniques, just as the Egyptians built the pyramids and the Venetians
had the abilities of shipping and maritime trade. As a matter of fact, political and military achievements have
been the clearest indication of this situation. Turkish Archery had been in progress in many ways with the
Scythians, the Huns, the Gokturks and the Seljuks; however, after Ottomans inherited this heritage, Turkish
Archery started to live its golden ages. As a matter of fact, both range archery and its institutions have beco-
me the most important indicators of this situation.

Archery maintained its two functions in terms of military and sport activities from the establishment
of the Ottoman State to the end of the 17th century; and then it continued to exist as a sporting event.
However, meanings of arrows and bows in Turkish-Islamic Civilizations with Ottoman period Turkish archery
and its Okmeydanı Archers Lodge involve much more in terms of its existence as a war and sports tool. In
social life, these instruments, which constitute a part of life, have revealed themselves in so many fields such
as literature, poetry and proverbs which are the reflections of our historical and cultural memory. We, the pre-
sent representatives of this great heritage as Okçular Vakfı, have been working for the embracement of our
ancestor sports and of archery in particular, with their national, histori-
cal, sportive, artistic, cultural and educational qualities. We are making
efforts to endear all ancestor sports, especially archery to today’s
and tomorrow’s generations, in order to train sportsmen, sup-
port materially and morally, build education and sport fa-
cilities and revive facilities and fields inherited from our
ancestors. In this regard, first of all, we have a desire to
revive Okçular school, which has lost its significance like
other institutions offering services for years with charity
culture in Okmeydanı, in order to sustain values we in-
herit from all aspects of our civilization, train spiritually
and physically healthy generations, make our sportsmen
prepared for national and international competitions, and
represent our country and to make contributions on
wildlife protection.

In brief, we have created this syllabus

in expectation of performing this ancestor
sport, which is inherited to us, in present, and
properly and according to traditions and cor-
rectly with the principle of no rule, no acces-
sion, and with the bona fides and purposes
briefly mentioned above. This rules sequen-
ce, which we put forward briefly, constitutes
the basic principles of the traditional Turkish
archery and has a value as a guidance for fu-
ture archers to perform Turkish archery pro-
perly.
4

PARTS OF ARROW AND BOW

nock
Bow aşı)
K a s an B String Groove
(
Belly of Bow (Kiriş Yatağı)
(Kasan)

INTERNAL PART
Limb
(Sal)
Grip (Kabza)

EXTERNAL PART

Fletching Softhood Hardwood Arrow Head

(Baş) (Göğüs) (Baldır) (Ayak)
Nock Po i nt
(Gez) (Soya)

Neck Shaft
(Boyun) (Göbek)

String (Çile)
The attachment made of nerves or camel
skin in general, connects the two sides of
bow, and it is called string. The required
String (Çile)
specifications of a string are strength and
not getting shortened or stretched due to
heat. Ottomans used “çile” for their bows at
that time; and it was made of multilayered
thrown silk.

Nocking Point (Dügül)

Nocking Point (Dügül)

A colorful thrown silk band is wrapped whe-
re you nock the arrow on çile.
Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 5

SAFETY

Field Safety

It is important to be aware of the fact that archery sport is a war sport, and arrows and
bows were one of the most fatal weapons used in wars by the time firearms were started
being used commonly. That’s why; first of all, it is necessary to secure the field on which we
do practice and shooting.

It is also crucial to ensure that there is no residential area or passageway for living beings
behind targets. Also, there has to be an adequate safety distance behind targets, and this
distance must be maintained. If possible, a safety net must be installed behind targets.

Shooting Safety

· Don’t aim at anybody or draw the bow even if an arrow is not placed.

· By any means, don’t aim with the arrow or don’t nock it unless you are on the determined
shooting line.

· You should absolutely check if there is a fracture or crack on the arrow before shooting.

· After nocking the arrow, you absolutely shouldn’t turn the bow anywhere else other than
the target.

· For whatever reason, don’t leave the shooting line without taking the arrow out of the
string if you decide not to shoot.

· After you finish your shooting, don’t go to the target immediately, and wait for other
shooters to finish their shootings and then go to target all together.

· While taking arrows out of target, check if there is anyone behind you.

· Be careful not to stay behind someone else while taking arrows out of target.
6

POSITION

The position of the archery cannot be limited with

only one posture because Turkish archery is a war
sport. That’s why, various shootings can be made by
standing up or squatting on knee while the left shoul-
der is directed to target, the body is directed to target
or the back is directed to target.

Even though there are various shooting postures as

mentioned above, the best way to start shooting is
by modeling the basic posture. In this posture, your
left shoulder points target with a 90 degrees angle,
and your feet must be placed shoulder-width apart,
parallel to each other.

Both arms must be placed shoulder-length, and your

body must stand in a “T” form. Your head must point
at the target and your hand holding the grip must
remain stable while your arm drawing string is bent in
the elbow and your hand is up to your chin.
Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 7

POSITION

While drawing, the elbow of

the drawing arm shouldn’t
be downwards; it should be
on a straight line parallel to
the ground.

Arm holding the grip should

push from the shoulder
straightly and the shoulder
must be up.
8

SETTING UP THE BOW

01
First, one end of the string
(çile) must be attached
(while nocking point stays
above) to underneath the
string notch.

02
Then, the external part
of its lower limb must be
placed on the ankle.

Other foot must stand

between the bow and
string.
Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 9

SETTING UP THE BOW

03
Then, the grip of the bow
should be attached to other
string notch by drawing
the upper limb to the string
while the grip is leaning to
the back of the leg.
10

HOLDING THE GRIP

In the matter of holding the grip, the physical structure of the bow held is very important. There are various
bow grips, and physical structure of every archer’s hand is different from one another. That’s why you should
prefer a bow with a useful grip for your hand, or wrap an oil cloth around the grip to adapt it for your hand if
possible.

While holding the grip, your upper Grip must be positioned under
hand must be positioned one-finger the palms of the hand, and your
below the arrow rest (so as the inner thumb should press the
caliber of the arrow). back of the grip.

You should close all your fingers tight.

Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 11

HOLDING THE GRIP

While holding the grip, your

lower hand shouldn’t press
the grip.

The grip of the bow shouldn’t

be pressed tightly in puta
shootings. However, the grip
shouldn’t move in the hand.
Archers must redress this
balance in time by practicing. In
the same way, the bow should
be squeezed enough to keep
in the hand. Another aspect to
highlight is avoiding squeezing
the thumb while holding.
12
TRAINING BOW (KEPAZE) SHOOTINGS
While drawing the kepaze bow, the
elbow of your drawing arm shouldn’t
be bent towards the floor; it should
be parallel to the ground straightly.
Loose bows which are used
to train beginners are called
kepade/kepaze bows in Tur-
kish archery. These bows are
used for holding and drawing
exercises.
Before reaching the level of
harder shooting bows, sho-
otings should be limited to
some daily certain amounts
(at least 66 times a day) not
to push you so hard, and sho-
oting frequency should be
increased later through expe-
rience.
Your arm holding the
grip must be in a straight
pushing position in
shoulder-length; your
shoulder shouldn’t be
upward.
Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 13

THUMB RING (ZIHGIR) USAGE

Thumb ring (zihgir) is a shooting ring which is worn on thumbs of left/right hands. It is attached to the
string, and it enables you to draw the string easily and prevents your thumb root from getting injured. Its
long side on the thumb is called damak or kaş, and its internal side used to attach string is called eşik.

How to wear a thumb ring step by step:

01 02

03 04

05 06 07
14

THUMB RING (ZIHGIR) USAGE

How to attach a thumb ring to string properly

How not to attach a thumb ring to a string

Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 15

NOCKING THE ARROW / ATTACHING IT TO STRING

Notchy part of the arrow to attach it to the string is called “nock”. Fitting an arrow on a bow string is called
“to nock an arrow”.

Arrow is attached to
the nocking point in the
middle of the string.
16

HOLDING AND PINNING THE STRING

01
Place your thumb under
the arrow when the string
is placed in a 90 degrees
angle to the internal “eşik”
side of the thumb ring.

02
Close your little finger,
ring finger and middle
finger tightly.

03
Press the head of your thumb to the
middle knuckle of your middle finger,
and lock the middle knuckle of your
index finger to the point where your
thumb and nail-skin junction unite.
While doing these, the angle of the
thumb ring with the string shouldn’t
change.
Geleneksel Türk Okçuluğu Müfredatı 17

DRAWING

Start your drawing

while your both hands
are on your head-level,
arm holding the bow is
standing ahead and your
hand wearing the thumb
ring is positioned over
your head.

Push your hand

holding the grip
towards the target
while drawing your
hand holding the
string on ear level.
18

RELEASING / SHOOTING

Shoot by relaxing your thumb and index

finger at the same time swiftly.

Another important point to pay attention during

releasing/shooting is not to deflect your hand
sideways or downwards while releasing.
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