Turkish Flight Archery

Archery Strength training in the Topkapi Palace

2021-12-20T04:32:00.004-08:00

The following text was written by Albert Bobovius (or his Turkish name: 'Santuri Ali Ufki Bey', or Wojciech in Polish) in about 1665. He was a Polish man born in 1610 in the city of Lviv (in today's East Ukraine). His life changed when he was abducted by Crimean Tatars and brought to Istanbul. He became Muslim, learned Turkish, spent 8 years in the Edirne palace and 19 years in the Topkapi palace (from which the Ottoman Empire was ruled). He completed his education in the famous 'Enderun' school in Topkapi palace. I am copying the archery related part and I will add some thoughts at the end. I hope this will give some insights on strength training. Enjoy!

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These strong 'icoglan' (people who were brought to the palace as kids to be educated) deal with mostly with archery and they master it by going through all the training stages. To achieve this, the first tool they use is a pulley attached to a wall. There is a bag, filled with stones weighing 10 okka (= about 12,83 kg = 113 lbs) attached to a cord. The cord, which goes through the pulley, is pulled with their right hand as much as their strength allows. The left hand is held against the wall. When they gain strength in this way they add more stones to the bag every day. In the end the weight of the bag can be 40 okka (about 51 kg). After they trained enough in this manner and their arms have developed, they are given soft and easy to bend bows, but with chains instead of a bowstring. They don’t use this bow to shoot, but to develop their arms at each training by pulling it with their right and left arms until their arms are tired. After that, softer or harder bows are given to each according to their level. These they use without shooting, just pulling the arrow, until the tip touches the grip (full draw). They make bets on who pulls the bow more times without a break. Many of them are strong enough to do this 200 times. They train their arms with this training such, that some are given the title ‘kemankes’, which is only given to people who can pull iron bows. Actually this bow is not made from iron, but from such a strong horn, that an untrained person, can’t pull the bow as much, so that a coin would fall out, which was put under the string and string bridge. They make shots with this strong bow as a strength or mastership demonstration e.g. either pierce a horse shoe, or put an arrow through glass, without cracking or breaking it, just making a hole as big as the arrow. They shoot at glass with slim arrows from reed without arrow tips. In terms of marksmanship, they hit a coin between their friend’s 2 fingers. About these brave archers I heard fairytale-like, hard to believe things. They told me there were people strong enough to pierce a 3 finger thick copper plate.

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First thing you notice is that they did not care about the different FD curves between a real bow and the pulley (- the pulley has a flat FD curve vs a gradually increasing weight of the bow). I tried this a lot in the past and found it challenging and reverted to elastic bands attached to the wall, to replicate the bows FD curve.
Increasing the weight by small increments (putting extra stones every day in the bag) will get you quicker to your goal and reduce risk of injury. One of the biggest problems these days for heavy bow archers is the limited number of bows you have (as they are expensive), so you have to jump e.g. from 80 lbs to 100lbs, which might cause injury. Imagine it like 'benchpress' in the gym, where you can add or remove small weights to fit your training.
40 okka is about 51 kg/113 lbs (assuming the conversion is right (1 okka = 1,283 kg)).
1665, the year this was written seems 'late' for archery. One might have thought during those years, archery might have lost it's importance in the battlefield due to gun powder advancements. Yet it is nice to see such professional training description, which means, archery was not dead at all during that time.
Interesting to read they pull the bow with an arrow nocked until the tip touches the grip (=full draw). This creates also muscle memory to achieve full draw. Without the arrow e.g. with Kepaze training or with elastic bands, it is harder.
And here again you see that they trained both arms, which is often mentioned in other sources.
This is one glimpse of how they were training in the palace. There is different Ottoman historic texts with different methods. It is good to know the context. E.g. they might have trained differently in the Okmeydani (for flight archery) vs in the Timars (counties that needed to provide warriors at any time for the Sultan)

Suleiman the Magnificent's Culus (Enthronement) Ceremony in the Topkapi Palace by Matrakci Nasuh

Albert Bobovius / Wojciech / Santuri Ali Ufki Bey

Busbecq about Ottoman horses

2021-07-06T03:57:00.001-07:00

The horse was highly important for the Turks, it was one of the main pillars of their warfare. the ancient proverb goes: 'The horse is the Turks' wings'. What the longboat and axe was to the Vikings, it was the horse and bow to the Turks. You can imagine that everything around this topic was highly developed and perfected over the centuries (horsemanship, breeding, tack etc).

Here we have an amazing eye witness source which will give you more information about horses/horsemanship in the Ottoman Empire: 'The Turkish Letters Of Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq'. Busbecq was a Western ambassador in the Ottoman Empire from 1554 to 1562 and wrote about various things he has seen. For me it is fascinating, it is like a time machine basically. Below I want to compile everything horse/cavalry related from his letters. Also, as usual, don't forget the 'critical thinking', this is only the 'impression' 'he' got.

Sultan Suleyman the magnificent on his horse

Page 6

I set out escorted by the Sanjak-Bey with all his household and the cavalry which he commanded, though I did my best to dissuade him from paying me this honour. The cavalry, when they had passed through the gates, galloped hither and tither and amused themselves by throwing a ball to the ground and then, after urging their horses to full speed, catching it on the point of their spears, and indulging in other similar sports.

Page 7

I was taken to lodge at the house of an Hungarian, where more attention was paid to my baggage and carriages and horses than to myself. The first concern of the Turks is to secure the safety of the horses, carriages, and luggage ; for human beings they think they have taken enough trouble if they protect them from the severity of the weather.

Page 25

About half-way between Adrianople and Constantinople is the little town of Tchorlu (Çorlu), famous as the scene of the battle between Selim and his father Bajazet, whence Selim, thanks to his horse Carabuluk (Black Cloud) (comment: should be 'Kara bulut'), escaped in safety to his father-in-law, the King of the Crim-Tatars.

Page 62

On our departure from that part of the field, we saw another very pleasing sight, namely, the Sultan's bodyguard returning home mounted on horses, which were not only very fine and tall but splendidly groomed and caparisoned.

Page 99

one night, however, it (Busbecq's tame stag) broke loose and created a great panic among the horses, who, according to the usual Turkish practice, were left out at night in the open air of the courtyard.

Page 105

I have a number of thoroughbred horses, Syrian, Cilician, Arabian, and Cappadocian, also baggage-camels, and everything else ready for my return journey. [...] I take great pleasure in watching my horses, specially in the summer months, when, in the evening, they all are brought out of their stable and picketed in the court, to enjoy the night breezes and rest more at their ease. They come out and show their delight by prancing and throwing up their heads and tossing their manes, so that they seem conscious that they are being watched. Their fore feet are hobbled, and one of their hind legs is attached by a rope to a stake (köstek in Turkish). No horses are tamer than the Turkish or so readily recognise their master and the groom who looks after them; so kind is the treatment bestowed on them while they are being trained. On my journey to Cappadocia through the region of Pontus and the part of Bithynia (Black Sea coast) which is called from its conditions Axylus (woodless), I noticed what care the peasants bestowed on the colts while they were young and tender, how they petted them and admitted them to their houses and almost to their tables, and stroked and caressed them; you might say that they almost counted them among their children. They all wear round their necks a kind of collar, consisting of rows of amulets against the evil eye, which is greatly dreaded. The grooms who are in charge of them are equally kind to them, winning their affection by constantly patting them and never venting their rage upon them with a stick unless absolutely compelled to do so. The results is that they become most affectionate towards man, while you will never come across a horse which kicks or bites or is refractory, viciousness of this kind being exceedingly rare. By heaven, how different are our methods ! Our stable men think that no effect is produced unless they are always bawling at their horses and continually belabouring their flanks ; with the results that the horses tremble all over with fear, whenever the grooms enter the stable and equally loathe and fear them. The Turks like to train their horses to kneel down at the word of command and allow their master to mount and to pick up a walking stick, cudgel, or sword in their teeth from the ground and give it to the rider on their back. When they have learnt these accomplishments, they place silver rings in their nostrils as a mark of distinction and a proof that they are properly trained. I have noticed horses who stood quite still when their master had been thrown from the saddle ; others who would circle round their groom, who stood at a distance, and halt at his command ; and others who, while their master was dining with me in an upper room, stood with their ears pricked listening for his voice and whinnying when they heard it. It is a peculiar characteristic of Turkish hoses that they always come to a standstill with their necks stretched stiffly out and cannot stop or turn in a narrow space ; this is the fault, if I may so call it, of the bit, which everywhere in Turkey is of the same kind and shape, and is not made tighter or looser, as with us, to suit the horse's mouth. Turkish horses are shod with shoes which are not so open in the middle as ours, but are almost continuous and solid, so that their feet are less likely to be damaged by stumbling. They live considerably longer than with us, and one sees twenty-year-old horses as spirited and strong as our eight-year-olds ; some, whose services have won them their keep for the rest of their lives in the Sultan's stables, are said to have lived to fifty years or even longer. On summer nights, when the heat is intense, they do not keep the horses under cover, but expose them, as I have said, to the night breezes, covering them with horse-rugs and giving them a litter of dry dung. For this purpose they collect the horse droppings all through the year and dry them in the sun and break them up and reduce them to powder. They use it for the horses' bedding, and indeed know of no other kind. Of straw they make no use, not even for food ; but they give them a little hay and a moderate quantity of barley, which nourishes rather than fattens them ; for they like their animals to be rather thin, considering that they are thus fitter for long journeys and labour of every kind. They horse-cloth which I mentioned are put on in summer just as in winter, but they vary them according to the weather. They consider that to keep them covered both conduces to sleekness of coat and is necessary protection against the cold, since they are sensitive to chill, and, in particular, suffer from exposure to bad weather. As I have already remarked, I take pleasure in watching my horses towards sunset when they are picketed each in its proper place in the court, and when I call them by name - 'Arab' or 'Caraman' or whatever they are called - they reply by whinnying and look towards me. For I make a practice of going down to them from time to time and distributing melon skins amongst them with my own hands ; hence the notice which they take of me.

Page 110

..and this is particularly true of the cavalry - take a horse on a leading-rein loaded with many of the necessities of life.

Page 111

I may add that men whose horses have died, when the Sultan moves his camp, stand in the long row on the road by which he is to pass with their harness or saddles on their heads, as a sign that they have lost their horses, and implore his help to purchase others. The Sultan then assists them with whatever gift he thinks fit.

Page 137

There is one point about Turkish military manoeuvres which I must not omit, namely, the old custom which goes back to the Parthians of pretending to flee on horseback and then shooting with their arms at the enemy when he rashly pursues. They practise the rapid execution of this device in the following manner. They fix a brazen ball on the top of a very high pole, or mast, erected on level ground, and urge their horses at full speed towards the mast ; and then, when they have almost passed it, they suddenly turn round and, leaning back, discharge an arrow at the ball, while the horse continues its course. By frequent practice they become able without any difficulty to hit their enemy unawares by shooting backwards as they fly.

Page 145

I was delighted with the view of this splendid army. The Ghourebas and Ouloufedjis rode in pairs, the Silihdars and Spahis in a single file. These are the names given to the household cavalry, each forming a separate body and having its own quarters. Their total number is said to be about 6000 men. [...] The Turkish horseman presents a very elegant spectacle, mounted on a horse of Cappadocian or Syrian or some other good breed, with trappings and horse cloth of silver spangled with gold and precious stones. He is resplendent in raiment of cloth of gold and silver, or else of silk or satin, or at any rate of the finest scarlet, or violet, or dark green cloth. At either side is a fine sheath, one to hold the bow, the other full of bright-coloured arrows, both of wonderful Babylonian workmanship, as also is the ornamented shiled which is attached to the left arm and which is only suited to ward of arrows and the blows dealt by a club or sword. His right hand is encumbered by a light spear, usually painted green, unless he prefers to keep that hand free ; and he is girt with a scimitar studded with gems, while a steel club hangs from his horse cloth or saddle. 'Why so many weapons?' you will ask. My answer is that he is practised in the use of all of them. 'But how' you ask 'can any one use both a bow and a spear? Will he seize his bow only when he has thrown or broken his spear?' No: he keeps his spear in his possession as long as possible, and, when circumstances demand the use of the bow in its turn, he puts the spear, which is light and therefore easily handled, between the saddle and his thigh, in such a position that the point projects a long way behind and the pressure of the knee holds it firm as long as he thinks fit. When circumstances make it necessary for him to fight with the spear, he puts the bow into the quiver or else fixes it across the shield on his left arm.

Page 229

It was my wish to take back with me some fine horses, and so I instructed my servants to attend the market frequently in hopes of finding what I required. Hearing of this, Ali himself had a splendid thoroughbred of his own exposed in the market as though for sale. My men hurried to the spot and bid for it, and, when 120 ducates was asked, offered eighty, not knowing who the owner was ; but the ment in charge of the horse would not sell it at that price. A day or two afterwards, the same horse, with two others equally well bred, was sent me by Ali Pasha as a git. One of them was a beautiful Arab riding horse. When I thanked him for this gift, the Pasha asked wether I did not think wether the horse that the horse, which my men had wished to buy in the market for 80 ducats, was worth a good deal more. 'Much more,' I replied, 'but they had been instructed by me not to exceed that price, for fear lest I might lose heavily (as sometimes happens) by their purchasing, without knowing it, a horse which had hidden defects.' He then advised me about the feeding of the Turkish horses at the beginning of a journey, namely that they ought to be kept on small rations at first, and that I ought to travel by short stages until they had become accustomed to the work ' and he recommended me to spread the journey to Adrianople (Edirne) over nine or ten days instead of the usual five. (comment: the distance Istanbul-Edirne is about 240 km. So the usual 5 days would be 48km per day. Ten days would be 24km per day.)

Page 231

He (Ali Pasha) expressed a wish for certain gifts from me in return : a coat of mail of a size to fit his tall and stout frame, a sturdy charger to which he could trust himself without fear of a fall (for he has difficulty in finding a horse which is equal to his great weight), ...[...]

Page 232

When we came to a village it amused us to see Ibrahim, who was following us with great dignity on horseback with his Turkish escort, dash up to us and entreat us by all we held dearest to mount again into our carriages, and not to disgrace the party by allowing men of our high rank to be seen journeying on foot, which the Turks regard as highly undignified.

Page 239

Soleiman stands before us with all the terror inspired by his own successes and those of his ancestors ; he overruns the plain of Hungary with 200,000 horsemen ; ... [...]

Page 241

I also brought with me several very fine thoroughbred horses - it is the first time any one has done so - and six female camels.

Sultan Osman II (1618-1622)

Archery strength exercise

2021-05-28T07:18:00.006-07:00

ARCHERY STRENGTH EXERCISE: DRAWING SEVERAL BOWS

Historic anecdote:

''Famous Ottoman Archer: Cullu Feruh

He was a strong and big archer and one of Veziriazam Albanian Ahmed Pasha's servants (Ahmed Pasha, who was executed by Sultan Suleyman the magnificient (Reign: 1520-1566)). When drawing the bow, he was superior to his peers/fellow archers.

One day on the meydan (archery field), there was a discussion going on wether or not one could draw a few bows (gez yayi? Target bow?). Some were saying it was possible, some saying impossible. Cullu Feruh took his bow in his hand and the ones of kemankesh Ali Bali captain and Vezir Ali Pasha and famous pehlivan (strong athlete) Sigir Pervane’s bow (One of Vezir Ali Pasa’s servants). And said: ‘if I pull these 3 bows together, will you give me your bows as a prize?’. The owners of the bows said yes.

Cullu Feruh pulled all 3 bows together. Then he said ‘I forgive and give you these bows back’ and gave the bows back. The others around said ‘wow pehlivan, strength to your arms’.''

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Some thoughts:

Maybe these were lighter 'target' bows, yet even if the bows were e.g. 50lbs Cullu Feruh would have pulled 150lbs.
I tried the same, see pics below from 2008. I 'only' ended up with 105 lbs. 60lbs + 45lbs.

Turkish Sabre: Karabela

2018-05-12T12:47:00.000-07:00

My second important sabre in my collection just finished recently. I already have a 16th cc replica, this time I wanted to have a later time, 17th-18th cc. It is of the Ottoman 'karabela' type. It was custom made by the famous swordsmith Osman Baskurt.

Weight 730 gr
Balance is at 17 cm from crossguard
Lenght 93 cm
Width 3.4 at c.guard and 3.5 at spur (mahmuz)
Thickness of spine starts from 8 mm tapers to 6 mm at spur
1070 steel
Steel folded to 324 layers

I was also very interested in the making of the sabre, so here is the swordsmith's comments and step by step pictures. This sabre is forged by an old technique similar to the japanese one. 1070 steel started from 12 layers and folded until 324 layers there are some patterns but they are not contrast of nickel or carbon but contrast of layer connection due same steel folded on each other and steel polished to mirror finish like in old times.

The Crossguard is made from mildsteel and hilt made out of cherry wood and given an antique look to it. Scabbard covered with brown sheep leather and repousse work has done and all the design on fittings taken from an original example

The Turkish Horse

2018-03-31T03:43:00.000-07:00

Summary: 'Recently a genetic study was published confirming that a lot of horse breeds around the world have Turkish horse DNA, especially the English Thoroughbred'

Here is the link to the study: http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)30694-2

Dear friends, an old Polish saying goes like this:

Horse Turkish,

servant Mazurish;

Hat Magyarian,

saber Hungarian.

The English Thoroughbred (ETB) is the worlds fastest horse and maybe the most known. It is the horse breed that you see in the horse races and it is widespread throughout the world in horse riding clubs, polo/Polocrosse clubs, etc. It is maybe the first horse that comes to your mind if you think about horses. It is among the most valued as well with top foals sold at prices over 1 million USD.

English Thoroughbred horse (ETB)

There is a lot of discussion about the provenance though. It all starts with my ancestors, the Ottoman Turkish army loosing the battle of Buda (Hungary) in 1686. In this battle, European forces capture a Turkish Warhorse and bring it back to England, calling it the 'Byerley Turk' named after Lord Byerley who was in the possession of the horse. Recognising the qualities of the horse, they started a breeding program. Together with a second (Darley Arabian) and third (Godolphin Arabian) foundation Sire, these 3 horses were the basis for the English Thoroughbred. (It is to note that European horses were no match in battle against Turkish horses in terms of speed and stamina (see: The European destrier horse))

So far so good, the discussion is around which breed's genes were dominant as they are different breeds involved. It was widely accepted that the main ancestor of the ETB is the Arabian horse (also due to a strong Arabian horse lobby).

You could say that there are some points against this view:

1. The original Arabian horse looks very different from the ETB. It is smaller (14-15 hands vs 16hands)

2. Dished face of Arabians in many lines vs the straight long face of the ETB

3. A different confirmation and muscle/body shape

4. The speed - The ETB is much faster than the Arabian horse.

4. Even the mentality of the horse differs, Arabs being more spooky and difficult to handle by nature

5. The speed and endurance were unseen in Europe before, so they bought further Turkish horses and used them in the breeding of the ETB:

Darcy White Turk
Edward Hale's bayTurk
Belgrade Turk mare
Helmsley Turk
Darcy Yellow Turk
Place's white Turk
Akaster Turk
Carlisle Turk

(Source: http://www.tbheritage.com/HistoricSires/FoundationSires/FoundSiresChron.html)

Unfortunately, today, the old Turkish breed is extinct in Turkey, but the closest relative lives on in Iran and Turkmenistan, the Akhal Teke. Just looking at the horse you will see that it resembles the ETB much more than the Arabian horse. These horses have top speeds similar to the ETB and are also amazing in long distance riding. This breed is a true war horse. For example, in 1935 a 2600 mile race from Ashgabat to Moscow was held with Akhal Tekes!

Gokmen

Akhal Teke horse

In contrast, here is an Arabian horse:

Arabian horse

Ottoman Turkish War arrow replicas

2018-02-18T08:41:00.001-08:00

I built Ottoman Turkish arrows in the past and with each time I learned new things. This is my passion for the last years.
Archery is the art of repetition. You are constantly trying to keep every factor the same with each shot - bow arm angle, pulling arm angle, draw length, anchor point, aiming point, release etc in order to increase accuracy. If everything is the same, then theoretically you will hit your target each time. In reality it is not so easy e.g. you can't guarantee aiming at the same spot, especially if you are shooting instinctive (without any aiming device, scope). One of these factors is the arrow. Your arrows need to be as uniform/standard as possible. If one weighs 3 gram more, is slightly shorter, is differently tapered, you will not hit the target with your next shot even if you aimed at the same spot or managed to keep all the other factors the same.

(Some past work:)
Ottoman war arrows with broad heads with sinew wrapping

Ottoman target arrows

Ottoman war arrows with armour piercing heads, sinew wrapped

Now I tried a new set of 20 Ottoman war arrows, again it is maybe better than my last sets but it is only an iteration to build the arrow masterpieces in the museums. I feel it is impossible to get close to the craftsmanship of the old arrow masters.

The first challenge I faced was the arrow length, which is correlated to the weight, which is the second challenge. Our ancestors in the 16th-17th cc were smaller than us, thus their arrows were shorter (typically 68-72cm total length). If you replicate a museum arrow 1:1, you will not be able to shoot it. Yet how will you make it bigger? and how heavy should it be?

First of all, the typical anchor point for Ottoman war archery is just below the chin, similar to today's olympic archery. With this anchor point, my draw length is 27.5 inch.

I found different arrow information in catalogues, books, online and collected the weight and length information in an excel table. Then I created a graph in which you can see the ratio length to weight. I included Ottoman and also Tatar war arrows. Slowly you could see clusters of typical arrow length and weight. I also included an average line each. (if you find any more arrow specs, let me know I will include it).

As my draw length is 27.5'', I reckoned with a total arrow length of 74cm (including arrow point and nock). For that length, I assumed the arrow weight will be around 27 gram according to the above graph.
The above is good reference. I see a lot of Turkish colleagues drawing until the ear (and breaking those Grozer Turkish bows). Drawing to the ear is rather Tatar archery and you need a Tatar bow which has a longer draw.

Second challenge is the tapering (called endam in Turkish). Turkish arrows are always tapered which makes the arrow more aerodynamic, thus increases speed. It is thinner at both ends and thicker in the middle. But how thin?

Below are measurements for a Turkish war arrow from a museum (blue). Thickness is measured in mm starting from the base of the shaft right after the arrow head. This way you can 'visualize' the taper. This original arrow was shorter than the arrow I wanted to make. So I tried to estimate values for a slightly longer arrow. The result is the red graph. You will see how far more superior the old masters are! If you pay close attention you will see that the blue graph resembles a cross section of an airplane wing.

Anyway, my arrows are not as perfect as the old Turks' arrow but still they fly very well.
Some extra information:

The arrow points are handforged steel with hardened tips, 3.6 gram.
Added bone washers so the arrows survive the impact on armour
Total arrow length: 74cm
Total arrow weight: 26.5 gram

Gokmen Altinkulp

Feathers in preparation (without quill)

Shafts after painting

Arrow heads: hand forged armour piercing heads with bone washers

Turkish Sabre: Kilic

2016-12-24T15:26:00.000-08:00

I want to share the most recent addition to my collection, a 16th cc Turkish kilic based on a kilic in the military museum Istanbul. The swordsmith of this excellent piece of art is Kayahan Horoz (www.facebook.com/CEBEHANE)

I am researching the equipment of a16th century Turkish/Ottoman Knight (Sipahi), and no knight would be complete without a sword. The Turks had sabres, called kilic (kılıç). Together with the bow and arrows, the kilic was the primary weapon of the Sipahi.

A lot is being said about the famous Japanese Katana, yet I believe some other swords in the world are not less useful or beautiful. The kilic has been developed in the steppes of Central Asia over many centuries and had much opportunity to be fine-tuned and perfected in design due to constant use in battle.

Kilic and sheat (kilic and kin)

How it feels in the hand: compared to European swords of the time it is much lighter and the weight is more at the tip. It is very much suited to circling moves. Once it is moving it is very easy to go on and a lot of force can be created. Imagine you hold a 90cm rope with a stone attached to the end. Through quick circling moves, you can create a lot of energy. Same principle with the kilic, immense cutting power is unleashed with circling moves. Yet thrusts are also possible with a kilic, contrary to popular belief. Also, in the 16th cc the kilics are not as curved as the kilics from later centuries.

Sultan Suleyman the Magnificient's kilic (16th cc) Military Museum Istanbul in Harbiye

The swordsmith Kayahan Horoz had access to this kilic and could measure it in detail. The hilt is a later addition, probably 19th cc.

This blade is a precise replica of Suleyman the Magnificient's kilic at the Military Museum in Istanbul. Overall this kilic is 94 centimeters and 723 grams. The blade is forged from 5160 steel and differentially heat treated to give 60 HRc on the edge with a soft spine. The handle and the scabbard are made of wood, covered with goat leather. The crossguard, pommel cap, and all the metal parts on the 325-gram scabbard are made of German silver, decorated with repoussé. What's so special about this blade is that if you look carefully you can even see a hamon.

Balcak(cross guard) and hilt (kabza)

The hilt is based on a 16th cc kilic in the Royal Armouries Leeds.

Yalman (part with double edge). You see the fuller (groove) nicely here.

The kilic has more cutting area but is yet lighter due to its genius construction of the fuller (oluk). It has a 'mahmuz', a hammer-like weight at the start of the yalman, which makes this sabre a much better cutter. Imagine you cut cheese with a knife and help it by pushing the tip of the knife with your thumb - same principle. The best point on the blade to cut an object is therefore the area under the 'mahmuz'. The weight of the mahmuz and the curvature of the yalman enforce the cutting. In this way you can see in historic miniatures how someone can cut somebody vertically from the head right to the belly including a steel helmet. Note the sipahi at the bottom of the picture cutting through the armoured knight:

Battle of Mohács 1526, Ottoman miniature

Here are the names of the different parts of the Turkish Kilic:

Saladin's army

2015-02-13T15:29:00.000-08:00

If the crusades are mentioned people think immediately of the eternal fight of the Arabs and Christians and of course Saladin. Presumably the present map of the Middle East with all the Arab states and of course Hollywood create this thinking.
What fosters this as well is that in all films about Saladin or the Crusades, Saladin and his army are portrayed like Arabs, with turbans, Arabic culture etc.

So was this really an eternal battle between Arabs and the West? Who did the crusaders have to fight? Who were the men in Saladin Ayyubi's armies?
Let's have a look at literature instead of movies.
Anne-Marie Edde has researched the biographies of 122 of the emirs of the time and has written an academic article: ''Kurds and Turks in the army of North Syria''. The first page is below:

I translate freely:
"The ethnic composition of the Ayyubid soldiers is much debated topic. For a long time people have thought the Ayyubid armies had a large number of Kurdes because of the origin of the dynasty. David Ayalon has shown especially starting from the Egyptian examples that the army of Saladin and the successor armies were in fact Turkish. Even more, he confirms that the Kurds made up only a limited power in the army and some were even discriminated under Saladin. So for D Ayalon there is a number of similarities and a continuity between the Ayyubid and Mamluk armies. I found it interesting to analyse the situation of the Ayyoubid army of North Syria which has always recognised the suzerainity of Cairo.[...]"
(David Ayalon was a renowned historian specializing in Middle Eastern dynasties especially the Mamluks)
Another source mentions that the majority of Saladin's army consisted of Turks (Carl F. Petry "The Cambridge History of Egypt" p. 226)

So not only is there no mention of Arabs, but the research shows that Saladin's army was a mixed Turkish / Kurdish army with the majority being of Turkish origin. So why is this important?
By knowing the ethnic composition of the army we will be able to have a better idea of their military equipment, weapons, their fighting style, what language they spoke and even how they looked like (which may surprise many).

The below picture gives us an idea of how the Turks looked like at that time. Some would say "Chinese" or Asian, which will be a big surprise to many to imagine Asian people fight against the crusaders. The Turks of the time spoke a Kipchak dialect of Turkish, the same language as the famous Golden Horde would have spoken. And it is written that Saladin spoke Turkish with his commanders (John France: "The Crusades and their Sources" p.84).

Varqa and Gulshah, 13. century Seljuk / Turkish

The Turks had a totally different fighting style than the Arabs. The latter relied traditionally on lances, straight swords and fought on camels. The Arabs preferred shock tactics with frontal lance attacks. The Turks were horse archers instead. Their main weapon was the Central Asian composite bow which they mastered formidably. They had light and fast sabres instead of a straight swords. They rode strong, tall, fast and enduring horses brought from Central Asia. The Asian Bactrian Camel was merely used to carry supplies. The special horses enabled them to use Central Asian style strategies like e.g. hit and run tactics, feigned retreat. The Turk's armour consisted of light but reliable lamellar armour. Instead of Arabian style clothing, the Turks preferred Asian, Kimono-style outfits. Instead of Arab/Bedouin style turbans, the Turks preferred Central Asian style hats e.g. felt hats called "Börk" or other hats called "Serpus" / "Tarbush".

The main force the Crusaders had to face were the Turkish horse archers. Based on historical accounts, they poured down arrows on the Crusaders for hours and days inflicting heavy casualties. When the Crusaders decided to confront the attackers with a cavalry attack, the Turks retreated with their faster horses, The Crusaders never caught them with their slower horses (only at the end of the 17th century will the West capture some Turkish war horses, breed them and "create" the fast English Thoroughbred horse and use the blood in the breeding of countless other breeds.) The pursuit lasted hours, sometimes days and at the end the retreating exhausted Crusader army was defeated easily. Alternatively the retreating Turkish army lured the pursuers into a trap with a larger Turkish army waiting e.g. behind a hill.

Seljuk bowl, 12.-13. century

Ottoman Training arrows

2015-02-13T14:27:00.000-08:00

I made a new set of Ottoman Turkish training arrows based on museum pieces and miniature paintings.

The tips are tips for carbon arrows. I grinded down the base so the tip is needled
The shafts are pine wood
The feathers are Ottoman style
The arrows are barrelled (thin at the tip and end, thicker in the middle)
The weight of the arrows is about 22 gram

Ottoman Hornbow

2015-01-28T15:01:00.000-08:00

Finally I got my hornbow from Lukas Novotny (Saluki bows : www.salukibow.com)

It is a 16th-17th century Ottoman / Turkish Warbow.
Length 44",
draw weight 82lbs at 28".

I have a recommendation for anyone who considers buying a hornbow: it should be at least 75lbs. For draw weight below 70, non-horn bows may perform the same as hornbows. Besides historic draw weights were 80lbs and higher. Anything lower was considered for children or the elderly. Furthermore, these draw weights were required to have any effect on armour.
For the decoration I chose a bow in the Turkish Chamber museum in Dresden.

Comparison to bow in Dresden museum:

The "Bash" section

The "Kabza" (Grip)

Polished water buffalo horn

Back of the Kabza with the "Celik" (bone insert) in the middle

Back of "Kasan" part with string bridge and master signature

Arrow pass (Tir gecimi)

Kabza

Archery shots with an original Turkish bow

2014-04-24T09:33:00.001-07:00

Have you ever asked yourself how a Turkish / Ottoman bow from the museum looks strung?
Imagine somebody shooting a real Turkish bow..

In the footage below from 1934 you see Ingo Simon, a Turkish archery enthusiast attending an archery contest in the UK!
About Ingo Simon: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingo_Simon
Ingo Simon bought and used original bows from the Ottoman Empire.
The commentator describes it as ''a rather peculiar bow'' :)

If well looked after, a hornbow's lifespan could be up to 200 years.
In 1910 Ingo shot a Turkish bow achieving 434 meters, it may be well the one you see in the video.
The draw weight of the bow in the video doesn't seem to be high. Ingo probably didn't know how to season the bow to maximise it's power.

http://youtu.be/TgpuAz3HYQE
http://www.britishpathe.com/video/the-quivering-arow/query/archery

Making Turkish Coffee

2013-11-20T05:41:00.005-08:00

Turkish Coffee

In the last 12 month I did less Flight archery but concentrated more on Horses and Turkish war archery so I will not write so much about Flight archery anymore. Since this is my only English blog I will re-purpose it for Turkish war archery, Turkish horsemanship and also Turkish culture.

This post is about Turkish coffee, no other drink is so deeply rooted in Turkish culture.
Turkish coffee usually goes together with nice conversations and relaxation time.

The Turkish way of making coffee became quite popular and is still used in many ex-Ottoman empire regions, from the Balkans, Greece. and also nations who traded with the Ottomans e.g. Poland.
After the unsuccessful siege of Vienna, the first coffee houses opened in the city and coffee spread from there to the whole of Europe.

Traditionally it was made in an open fireplace called ''Mangal'' as seen below.

Even if the making and drinking does not have rigid steps as in the Japanese tea drinking ceremony for example, there is still some rules and traditions to consider.

How to make Turkish coffee
First of all you need the coffee. Turkish coffee is ground very finely. There is different brands today, a famous one is Mehmet Efendi's:

Depending on your taste, there is 3 versions:

Without sugar
With 1 sugar cube (orta şekerli), most people drink this
With 2 sugar cubes

For the brewing you need a container called 'cezve'. It always has a broader bottom and a narrower top. There is different sizes of cezves, choose the cezve according to how many cups you want to make in one go.

The cups called 'fincan' are similar to espresso cups, maybe slightly smaller. Sugar cubes create more foam than normal sugar, so use cube sugar.

Let's say you want to make 2 cups of the Orta Şekerli taste:

Put 2 sugar cubes into the cezve
Put two heaped tea spoons of coffee into the cezve
Add 2 coffee cups of cold water into the cezve
Stir
Put the cezve on the fire with the lowest level. The slower it cooks the more flavour is released.
After maybe about 2-3 mins the coffee will start to expand before it boils
After the first boiling serve half of the first cup and half of the second, make sure each cup gets an equal amount of foam. The foam is the most important part here. There is different ways to preserve the foam. You can use a spoon to allocate evenly directly from the cezve or experienced people pour it directly equally to all cups. If you boil too much the foam will disappear. If there is no foam then you basically screwed it, and you have to start over again :)

How to drink Turkish coffee

You drink Turkish coffee very hot and take only a small sip
If you wait too long, the foam may disappear
Turkish coffee can be drunk at any time, but it is especially custom to drink it after a meal or if you have guests.
It is usually drunk on its own to experience its full flavour. Or if there is cake, food etc Turkish coffee is drunk at the end of everything.
A cup of water is always served with the coffee
A funny mistake foreigners do is to drink the telve at the bottom of the cup- so please leave the bottom!
You may want to try your skills in coffee cup reading as well. Put the plate on the coffee, turn it, put your wedding ring on it to make it cool faster, circle the cup 3 times and wait for it to cool down..

Also...

When serving you start with the eldest person in the room, then the second eldest etc.
The cup with the most foam is given to the eldest, then the second eldest etc.
When you let people wait on their coffee they may say 'Did you bring it from Yemen?'
The saying is 'one cup of coffee is worth 40 years of gratitude'
'Kahvealtı' which is the Turkish word for breakfast actually means 'between coffee'.

The Thumb draw / Thumb lock in Archery

2013-05-06T04:33:00.003-07:00

I see that in most discussions about 3 finger vs thumb draw, thumb draw is regarded inferior e.g. you can't draw as high draw weights as with 3 finger and 3 finger seems faster.
This is not really the case, the problem is that the majority doesnt use the correct technique.

Everything will have existed once in history but the Turco-Mongolian style thumbdraw described below was widely adapted and formed the last step in the evolution due to its advantages.

The majority of the cultures who relied on horsearchery as a main combat form adapted this thumb lock version e.g. Safavid Persians, Ottoman Turks, Mongols, Mughals
It is the form you see in miniatures of the mentioned cultures
The thumb lock described below is described in different historical archery books
It is described as the correct form in the traditional Asian archery forum Atarn
It is the best to use for heavy bows (unless you use e.g. a Manchu thumbring, which requires a totally different technique)
Lukas Novotny teaches it the same way. Please have a look at his thumb draw FAQ pictures:
Lukas Novotny thumb lock gallery

Thumb lock description

You press your pinky, ring and middle finger hard like making a fist. This is important, it will give the whole forearm more stability as it activates all muscles in the forearm.
You put the tip of the thumb onto the side of the first knuckle of the middle finger and press firmly against it. It should not slip over it
You close your index finger over the thumb. This creates the lock (mandal in Turkish). The first knuckle of the index finger should come over the tip of the thumb. The nail of the thumb should still be seen partially.
The whole hand should be like a tight fist when looked from the side, there should be no fingers sticking out.
Grasping the string, all fingers should be on the right side of the string, only the thumb should be on the left side.
You release by loosening the index finger and throwing your draw arm backwards quickly to reduce friction
With the release no part of your hand should touch the string.

Common mistakes

Index finger or other fingers go on the left side of string, which means they touch the string with the release. The thumb draw is superiour because it touches only one point on the thumbring and with the release it touches nothing else. This way it becomes like a compound bow release.
Index and middle finger go apart
Thumb can be seen between index and middle finger
Tip of index finger is put on thumb. (The lock will not be strong enough for war bows)
In competitions I see people pulling with the thumb and 3 finger
Thumbring doesnt fit and hurts
Somehow a lot of horsearchers adapted a thumb lock form where pinky, ring and middle fingers are either loose or go over the string, the tip of the index finger goes over the thumb. This is nice for 30-40lbs bows but very difficult to pull historical draw weights of war bows.

Ottoman Turkish archery bow drawing technique

2013-02-16T14:49:00.001-08:00

What is the technique to draw an Ottoman Turkish bow?
In fact, the principles are general archery principles, valid for all types of archery, not just Turkish archery.

Ottoman Sultan practicing mounted archery on a hunt

The (common) wrong technique (A)
I will start with a common mistake which one sees a lot among beginners and today's horsearchers.
While pulling the bow, the ellbow is often kept low or horizontal.
This has many implications:

You cannot use your back muscles properly
You have to use mostly the wrong muscle - the biceps
No anchor point possible. In order to anchor near the face e.g. chin, ear etc you would have to use your biceps, but this will be extremely difficult.
The arrow is less aligned with your bow arm and eyes

Imagine a vector/line of power like in the drawing below. The two end points are your bow hand and the tip of your elbow. Your draw hand has to be on this vector as only in this position you do not need to use your biceps. This is the reason why a lot of people cannot come to their anchor point as they struggle to position their draw hand near the face, as this is a deviation from the vector.
This is also the main reason why full grown men struggle with 50lbs and higher while in Ottoman times 70+ lbs was the norm (only children, beginners and elderly would use below 70lbs bows). Why use your biceps and struggle with 50lbs if you could use the correct technique and back muscles and go easily beyond 70lbs?

The correct archery technique (B)

Start drawing your bow
Keep your elbow high at the earliest stage
''Roll your shoulder'' as the English longbow archers would say
Come to an anchor point, press your draw hand against the tip/edge of your chin for an Ottoman anchor point. The elbow should point upwards
Release- with the released energy, the elbow goes back vertically in a quick move but stops abruptly above shoulder height. Do not activate muscles to throw your arm back but use muscles to stop the backwards move.
Upper and lower arm end in a vertical position in an approximate 90 degree angle. If the draw was correct, the position of the shoulder blades will be correct and with the release the backwards moving arm will be vertical too.

The anchor point depends on the archery culture and occasion e.g. it is mostly the chin for Ottoman battle archery whereas it is the earlobe for Ottoman flight archery. Seljuks, Persian Safevids, Mughals, Mongols and Tatars had a longer draw and their anchor point ranged from under the ear to above the shoulder of the draw arm.

Comparison to modern archery
In modern archery it is exactly the same principle, if you want to learn more about Asian style historic archery, I recommend looking at the technique of top class recurve or compound archers:

Modern Compound bow technique

Last example:
Below you see a group of Mongols shooting arrows in battle, two are in full draw and two in the release position.

Historic Mongol archery

Ottoman Turkish hornbow drawing technique

upon request I am adding a video with a sideview of the drawing technique. Note that the elbow never drops and the bow is drawn purely with the back muscles. Excuse the outfit, this was on a horsearchery competition in Jordan where I tested a hornbow of a famous bowmaker :)

Drawing ''in the bow''

2012-10-25T06:04:00.001-07:00

Drawing ''in the bow''

I admire the English Longbow archers in many ways. They are one of the few groups within the archery world who do archery as historically accurate as possible. This includes arrows, hand forged historic arrow heads, shafts, fletchings, nocks, the bows, bow design, bow length and also historic draw weights and the technique to pull and release.

These are some websites I really like and recommend:
English Warbow Society: http://www.englishwarbowsociety.com/
Dutch Warbow Society: http://www.oorlogsboog.nl/

The draw weights they use are typically from 100lbs to 160lbs with some individuals shooting even more powerful bows.
One thing they always say is the "Drawing in the bow".

What does "Drawing in the bow" that mean?
Imagine a heavy metal door with 2 sides sliding sideways to open. You can stand at arms length and try to pull them apart, but you will not be successful. Go half a step forward, arms are bent now, you will have more power to slide the doors apart. If you continue this example you will see that you can transfer energy most if you are really close to the door, basically ıf your chest touches it.
Same way with a bow, the closer you come between bow and string, the easier it will get, the better you are going to be able to use your back muscles.

Why is it important?
Because this is the only way to pull a bow with historically authentic drawweight. This is archery.
There is no other way.

Why are the English longbow archers the only ones telling this?
Because they are the only ones using historic draw weights. For bows lower than 50 lbs you can use any technique. And that's what you see mostly e.g. in traditional shoots or horsearchery tournaments, people pull their 30 lbs bow not with their proper back muscles but often just with their wrist, or pull it in front of their faces calling it "floating anchor". This is not historic and you can only do it with low poundage bows.

What is the sequence of the pull?
When you start pulling you put your string arm elbow high and while pulling you bring your chest (or rather the line between your 2 shoulders) as close as possible to the bow. Almost as if you are "stepping into the bow". It is important to do this as early as possible in the draw. This way you will "roll your shoulder" as the English longbow archers say.

Why am I telling you all this?
It is exactly the same in Ottoman/Turkish flight archery. High drawweights in order to shoot farther, the only way to pull these bows is to use a proper technique where you use the correct muscles. The English call it "Shooting or Drawing in the bow", others might call it differently but for certain this is the way to do it.

Longbow pull

Ottoman Turkish Hornbow pull

Gokmen

Making Ottoman Shalvar Trousers

2012-08-01T15:05:00.000-07:00

Ok, not really a Turkish Archery article but many friends reenact Turkish archery or mounted archery and it seems there is a need to clarify ''How to make a shalvar''. Shalvar are the historic trousers of the Ottomans (those baggy pants). I just found out that they are fashion again and called ''Harem Trousers''..
One thing we all did wrong in the past was to make veeery big trousers and put an elastic band around the waist. This was good for Halloween parties at best but not for Hstorical Reenactments

A brief look at the shalvars in the Topkapi Palace collection in Istanbul reveals that shalvars were not just oversized trousers but had a certain cut and shape. The cut is made so intelligently that the waist is not too big but it gets loose around the legs which guarantees a good airconditioning in a hot climate (and a certain room for movement).

Let's have a look at a few museum pieces:

In historic miniatures the colour of Ottoman shalvar trousers is mostly red but other colours can be seen as well. Gold, silver and coloured embroidery may have been used. Also don't forget, the shalvars in the Topkapi Palace museum will have mostly belonged to the Sultans or high officials so they may be more expensive, more embroidered and more golden. Also the fabric will most probably be silk. Ottoman Shalvars were very wide, this can be seen from miniatures but there is also historic accounts from foreigners on how wide the trousers were.

I made a shalvar replica according to approximate shalvar measurements and cuts:

This is the folded version and can be used as a template. You can cut 4 of these and stitch them together. I say 24cm at the waist in the folded version; I recommend a bit wider just in case, but not too wide. You can measure it easily. Measure your waist and add 5cm for the seam and 5cm for the belt. Divide the number by 4 and you will get the measurement which you will have to cut out as above. Once opened the shalvar looks like this:

You can turn over the top, stitch it and make a place inside for the belt (the belt should not be fixed to the shalvar). One thing I noticed in my last visit to the Topkapi Palace, some shalvars have a strip attached at the bottom to go under the foot. I assume this was the Shalvar to prevent from sliding upwards when riding.
Alright this is me wearing my shalvar, compared to the miniatures it looks similar:

Some more museum pieces to give you an idea:

What is Turkish archery?

2011-12-15T09:09:00.000-08:00

What is Turkish/Ottoman archery?
Let's think a bit...
Is it using a thumbring? Is it shooting with modern material bows which resemble the Ottoman bow form? Is it shooting off a horse? Is it shooting with shouting 'Ya Hakk'? And the arrows? Is it shooting carbon arrows or European modern style wooden arrows with a thumbring? Or does it count to be Turkish archery if just a Turk does archery?

Turkish/Ottoman archery drew the attention of many European researchers and travellers e.g. Busbeq or Payne Gallwey. It was perceived as superior to the archery of other cultures. The Mughals, Mamluks, Chinese/Manchu etc all can be classified in the Asian archery school, but the Ottomans developed this the furthest. So what is so superior to archery of other cultures? What did the Ottomans succeed with?

Below on the left I listed characteristics of Turkish/Ottoman archery. It is possible to summarize them to 4 factors: thumbdraw, arrow, bow and the archer.

Factors:

1. Thumbdraw
Thumbdraw, Thumbring use

2. Arrow
Tapered shafts, Light arrows, Flat feathers, High spine arrows

3. Bow
Short bow, Composite bow, Light bow arms, 100 lbs+ drawweights

4. Archer
Shooting technique

All these factors have a common characteristic, they increase the arrow speed. The standard measurement for archery is feet per second (FPS). The biggest distinguishment of Turkish archery is that the arrow is propelled with far greater speed.

a) Low trajectory
(=lower=straighter flight path of the arrow). With a lower arrow trajectory you dont need to aim so high for targets that are further away. This also has many advantages. It will be easier to aim at targets at different distances, the elevation of the bow arm to hit a target at 20m and at 50 m will be minimised. This is a big advantage on the battlefield which will increase the hit rate dramatically. The theoretical exaggerated example would be an arrow flying as straight as a laser, then you could hit a target at 20m and at 200 with the same elevation in the bow arm. Also hitting targets from the horse will be easier. Imagine that your opponents might be (most likely) cavalry as well. On the horse when you shoot to the left, usually you would (instinctively) aim a bit to the left of the target considering the speed of the horse. With a high arrow speed and low arrow trajectory, this parallel aiming would be also reduced to a minimum.

b) Greater maximum range
This is especially important for flight shooting. According to Adam Karpowicz's research, the record shot of Tozkoparan Iskender (845 meters) was done with a 140-150 lbs bow and an arrow speed way over 350 fps. On the other hand, the max range in battle should not be disregarded completely. Armour was expensive, not every soldier could afford it and even less people could afford armour for their horse. Increasing the maximum range of war arrows on the battlefield against unarmoured opponents is an important advantage.

c) Greater armour piercing range
This is also an important point, of course it depends on the quality of the armour, but let's assume the max range for piercing a certain quality of armour was 30m, maybe with Ottoman style archery this effective armour piercing range was increased to 50m..

d) Higher armour piercing capability
Higher armour piercing ability means you can pierce thicker and better quality armour. A good example of a miniature showing pierced armour of a European knight:

Lets have a look at Newton's second law:
F=m*a (F=Force, m=mass, a=acceleration)
That means: force = arrow weight * arrow speed

This model is a very very basic approach disregarding many other factors but still it helps to understand.
To increase the arrows (armour piercing) force you can either increase the mass of the arrow, or the speed of the arrow. The Manchu and English went a different path with their long bows, long drawlength and heavy arrows. Increasing the weight of the arrow is easier. In this way the arrows will have greater armour piercing abilities too. The Ottomans however went a step further, the highest point in the evolution of archery - speed. (For example arrow speeds of Ottoman war, target and flight bows see Adam Karpowicz's tests.)

The Ottomans have increased the arrow speed by optimising and improving the bow and the equipment. Even if we assume as a theoretical example that the armour piercing ability of Manchu/English and Ottoman war archery styles was the same, the Ottomans would have gained important advantages on the battlefield (lower trajectory and greater max range as explained above).

Gokmen Altinkulp

Archery for all - Keeping you on target

2011-08-19T06:11:00.000-07:00

In Feb 2011 Jehad Shamis invited me kindly to take part in his archery classes, meet his students and share some knowledge. Here is a short video:

Arrow and Bow: The Revival of Turkish Archery from Mansoor Suleman on Vimeo.

With powerpoint presentations I first gave a bit of theoretical and historical insight. The topics were mainly the different disciplines and equipment of the Turkish/Ottoman archery style. And of course afterwards we practiced all together.

Jehad is teaching and promoting archery and thumbring archery in the London area and beyond. He is not tied to one training location but rather flexible and teaching also in schools for example. But I am absolutely thrilled by the number of students he is teaching and their skills. I visited 4 groups on 2 days and was astonished how many students he has. He has more students than any of the thumbring archery groups in Turkey! Besides he dedicates all his time to this, he is a full time archery instructor. And he does all this silently, patiently and stays down to earth.

If anybody in England wants to join his groups or just wants to have a chat about archery and thumbring archery in particular, here are the contact details:
Jehad Shamis
''Archery for all - Keeping you on target''
Phone number: 07915934732

Gokmen Altinkulp

How to string a Turkish bow

2011-08-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

How to string a Turkish bow?

The old Turks write that there is 120 ways to string a bow. Ottoman bows are strung the safest with a device called ''kemend''. This is especially important for high poundage, extremely reflex and delicate bows.
Otherwise if these bows are strung normally e.g. with the step through method, the bow arms might turn and twist and might destroy the bow or hurt you. Because with this system the leg muscles are used, every bow can be strung. In this video I string and unstring my 110 lbs Kassai Hungarian bow:

Making a kemend

The material for a kemend must be very strong, otherwise it can tear and your bow might be damaged or might get hurt. The kemend in the Topkapi collection is made of 'ibrishim' meaning raw silk thread. According to Taybogha a kemend should be 3 fingers wide. Mustafa Kani writes in his book, less than 3 fingers wide and the length according to the person using it. According to Unsal Yucel there is a kemend in the Topkapi palace museum. It is 4cm wide and 255cm long (see pic. below). The loop on one side is small, the other loop is wider, you can even adjust it with a knot. The second loop is bigger as the string has to go through it while stringing.

I used a band which the bed/couch makers use. For my second kemend (the orange one) I used an industry band to pull heavy loads. The latter is 5cm wide and 240cm long. The reason for the width is firstly durability but secondly so it will not hurt your back.

Another way, if you dont have a sewing machine (nor the patience) you can make a kemend in a very easy way. Just make a know at each end of the band. This method has another advantage, you may not find your optimal length immediately, if there is a knot you can open it and adjust it easily.

Stringing the bow with your kemend
You put the kemend around your back as if a belt and cross the two ends in front of you. You prepare the bow in front of you. You place the string loop in one of the bow nocks. Then you place the small loop of the kemend into the same nock and place the big kemend loop in the other nock. In a sitting position you place both feet on each side next to the bow grip. Now you hold the 'bash' section of the bow with your hands and start pushing gently with your legs. During this movement it is very important to control the bow with your hands/feet so it doesnt turn and twist. After a certain point when you think you pulled enough to string the bow you let your hands go. You guide the string through the big kemend loop and place the string on the nock. The length of the kemend has to fit you exactly. When you stretch your legs you just have to have enough room to string the bow. When you want to unstring the bow you do all the steps again but backwards, so first push the bow with your legs and hold with the kemend so that you can unstring it. Then hold again with your hands and gently go back with your legs.

The loops of my orange kemend are big, of course they dont fit the nocks but it is very handy also with this type. Instead of the nocks, you place the kemend loops between the kasan and the bash sections and string the bow the same way.

A small but important tip: while you are sitting, wrap the kemend low rather than placing it at belt height. This way you can use the forces better and the kemend will not hurt your back.

Gokmen

Gokmen Altinkulp

Favourite Turkish archery quotes

2011-03-16T10:21:00.000-07:00

As archery had a big place in Turkish society, many proverbs and expressions are archery related. These are my top favourites:

1. Archery is a trouble, only the one who endures it knows.

(Okçuluk bir beladır, onu çeken bilir)

2. It is not the wind, the bow nor the archer, it is only God, who brings your arrow to its target/distance.

(Ne hava ne keman, ve ne kemankeş, ancak erdiren menziline tiri nida-yı Ya Hak)

3. If you leave archery one day, it will leave you 10 days

(Sen okçuluğu bir gün bırakırsan o seni 10 gün bırakır)

4. A hungry wrestler is more desirable/successful, but an archer with a full stomach is more desirable/successful

(Pehlivanın açı, kemankeşin toku makbuldur)

5. Who shoot arrows shoots gold

(Ok atan altın atar)

6. A flight record is not shot by force, it is shot by art/skill/ability

(Menzil zor ile atılmaz, sanat ile atılır)

7. The worst thing is to try to shoot as well as your previous shot

Some Islamic ones:

1. Due to an arrow 3 people will go to heaven. The one who makes the arrow, the one who shoots it, and the one who gives the arrow to the shooter

(Bir ok sebebiyle üç kişi cennete girer: Biri ok yapan, biri ok atan, biri de oku atanın eline veren)

2. All games are unreasoned, only shooting arrows with a bow, training the horse and spend good time with your wife are not.

(Tüm oyunlar batıldır, ancak yay ile ok atmak, atı terbiye etmek ve hanımıyla oynaşmak günah değildir)

Some more proverbs which are used today, either about archery or about horses:
1. A good horse is called bay/chestnut, a good man is called courageous
(Atın iyisine doru, yiğidin iyisine deli derler)

2. A bird without wings, a Turk without a horse
(Kuş kanatsız, Türk atsız)

3. The horse for the one who can ride, the sword for the one, who can use it
(At binenin, kılıç kuşananın)

4. When the horse dies the arena stays, when the courageous person dies the fame/glory stays
(At ölür meydan kalır, yiğit ölür şan kalır)

5. The horse needs a saddle, the saddle needs a hero/brave man
(Ata eyer gerek, eyere yiğit gerek)

Gokmen Altinkulp

Visit to Turkish hornbow bowyer Cem Donmez Sept. 2010

2010-11-30T06:09:00.000-08:00

In September 2010 I visited Turkey's famous bowyer Cem Donmez, who lives in Izmir. We planned this shoot all year so I was really excited to shoot his bows and try my flight arrows. When you enter his workshop you see loads of buffalo horn, wood cut or uncut, sinew and hornbows finished or unfinished in various stages, hung to dry for example.

We talked, brainstormed and shot the whole day. It is such a pleasure to be under enthusiasts with the same/similar interest. The day is not enough and at the end you think ''but there was so much more we wanted to talk about..''
Below you will see some pictures from the shoot, also a picture from 2 flight arrows, one tarzı has, one şem endam. The şem endam's flight was very good, very straight and fast. Cem also made a copy of his own historical flight arrow, this one had a perfect flight as well. This time I didnt use a typical mushamma but used the cloth I use to wax my arrows. I could 'sculpt' it better around the grip and in my palm. Cem has prepared a new puta bow, he measured it a week before and it was more than 100 lbs at 28''. He also had another bow at around 75lbs. Note that these arent flight bows.

We made similar experiences as last year. Correct arrows are very important. We have seen that 3 arrows out of 8 go straight without the slightest visible fishtailing, other arrows' flight were not stable. Also sometimes I didnt raise the arrow/bow high enough it seems. Also on some shots I didnt pull the arrow far enough in the siper. What I did though was this 'English longbow style' pushing the bow forward while shooting. I am not sure if it helps that much or if it is historically correct in the Ottoman style of flight shooting. I couldnt find any sources for this in the literature. (more information on the Turkish overdraw ''siper'')

Cem strung the strong bow a week beforehand and when I arrived it lost already power. I guess the hot weather contributed to that as well. In the end the strong bow was only about 75 pounds. Regarding the distance we could not exceed 310m even with the siper. Still it was very valuable for both of us, as I could shoot hornbows with siper and flight arrows and Cem could see the performance and characteristics of his bows when used.

Gokmen Altinkulp

gokmenaltinkulp@gmail.com

twitter.com/gokmenaltinkulp

Cem Donmez's workshop

Hornbow with 'tepelik' getting ready to be strung

Turkish flight arrows replica

Checking the position of the overdraw with the Turkish bow

Tribute to Necmeddin Okyay

2010-11-09T05:52:00.000-08:00

Necmeddin Okyay, (1883-1976) was was born in Uskudar/Istanbul died at the age of 93, may he rest in peace. He is a role model for me and many others not only for his deeds in Turkish archery but also with his character. He earns big respect as a true Ottoman.

He was one of the last famous Turkish bowyers/archers. He took the name 'Okyay'. Ok means arrow, yay means bow in Turkish. Imagine his devotion to archery. He learned archery from Seyfeddin Efendi, the archery teacher of Sultan Abdul Aziz (reigned 1861-1876). Later he was even allowed to use and repair the archery equipment in the Military Museum Istanbul.

Necmettin Okyay inspecting a Turkish bow

Necmeddin Okyay with a Turkish bow

Famous picture where he demonstrates the full draw with a siper and according grip

He spent much time and effort to teach and promote this wonderful style of archery and our heritage. So today our group is not even the first group to revive Turkish archery. The first was founded in the 1930ies and fostered and encouraged by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and was called 'Okspor'. Necmeddin Okyay had students and taught them a lot of things about Ottoman archery and Turkish bows. Today no student lives anymore and it seems nobody of these passed their knowledge on. So sadly the line was broken and today we can only research books.

Okspor picture (Name of archer: Betul Or)

Necmeddin Okyay with fellow archers

What distinguishes Necmeddin particularly is that he researched, practiced and taught the old Turkish arts like calligraphy, rose cultivating, ebru (Turkish paper marbling), archery and some more. That is why he earned the title 'Hezarfen= person of 1000 sciences. For every art or science he had the best teachers of the Ottomans and he never stopped learning.

Not only was he of utmost importance for the archers but also many other groups e.g. The Ebru makers. He has been an ''ebru'' master (Turkish paper marbling- http://www.muslimheritage.com/topics/default.cfm?ArticleID=530). He developed a new style and technique which gained huge popularity.

Floral Ebru by Necmettin Okyay

Necmeddin Okyay showing Ottoman Calligraphy

He grew roses as well. He had about 400 species of roses in his garden of which he knew all the latin names.

Last year archer friends in Turkey tried to find his house in Istanbul/Uskudar in Toygar Street, which is said to contain many many bows and archery treasures. Unfortunately our friends discovered that the original Ottoman house was demolished and a new apartment was build at its place.

You might think what has ebru, calligraphy, rose cultivation, poetry and archery in common. Looking closely at Ottoman museum bows gives us an idea. Such a deadly weapon, but on it you can see floral designs in lively colours with gold applications. Beauty and power goes hand in hand, and both aspects are perfect and complement each other..

Gokmen
gokmenaltinkulp@gmail.com
http://twitter.com/GokmenAltinkulp

Making a thumbring that fits

2010-10-13T01:29:00.000-07:00

The thumbring has been an integral piece of equipment of the Central Asian archery school. It is called 'zehgir' (Persian), 'shast' or 'okçu yüzüğü' (Turkish). Among others, horsearchers and archers of these cultures used it in various forms: Ottoman Turks, Seljuk Turks, Mongols, Persians, Tatars, Mameluks, Mughals, Romans, Koreans and Chinese.

Iranian thumbring 17-18 cc, jade

Advantages

The reasons are evident. As a first reason usually the fingerpinch is stated, which occurs with small bows the horsearchers use. Why did the Chinese/Manchu, for example, use the thumbdraw and thumbring? Their bows are relatively big. And what about the Japanese thumbdraw and their Yumi?

A release with the thumbdraw technique and the thumbring is cleaner, smoother and faster than a 2 or 3 finger European release. When done properly, the release can be compared to a modern mechanical compound bow release. Sir Ralph Payne Gallwey describes the advantages of a thumbdraw and thumbring in a similar way in his treatise which he wrote more than 100 years ago.
These thumbrings could be highly decorated as seen in these pictures and they could be permanently worn to distinguish oneself in Ottoman society as an elite archer. Note the ring on the thumb of Fatih Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror of Istanbul.

Fatih Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror

Ottoman thumbrings in Vienna,17th cc, jade

Tests show us that the same archer achieves more speed with the arrow if the archer uses a thumbring and thumb release compared to a 3 finger release. I see that a lot of European archers are very interested in this technique and the thumbring but they lack the knowledge to make one. You can buy some online but I have seen that these are more decoration than a functional thumbring. The best way to obtain a thumbring is to make one yourself. It has to fit perfectly, otherwise it will hurt you like a shoe that does not fit. You wouldn't order a shoe online would you?

So let me describe step by step how to make one. Be patient though, the first ones will be for the bin but will give you precious experience. This article will be about Ottoman thumbrings. This form of thumbring seems quite successful in history as the Persian, Mughal and Mongol thumbrings are very similar in shape. But even Ottoman thumbrings can differ in shape and size as you will see below.

Materials for a thumbring
The best materials for thumbrings are ivory, jade, agate, bone, or walruss ivory. Horn is inferior as the material is softer and the thumbring can deform after a while. Metals such as bronze or silver were used as well and once you have a good original it is easy to copy it. I do not advise antler.

Historic bronze thumbring and replica silver thumbrings

Nowadays it is hard to obtain ivory. For bows with drawweights of less than 70 lbs plexiglass can be used as well. We have had positive experience with a material called kestamid, which is a kind of polyamide. I lost my kestamid thumbring once and drove over it accidentally with the car; nothing happened, just minor scratches. I can use it for heavy bows of 90+ lbs draw weights. For an Ottoman type thumbring get a block with at least 4,5 x 3 x 2 cm (1,8 x 1,2 x 0,8 inch). This full block should be good quality.

Kestamid block

Making of a thumbring
First of all my special thanks and respect to Yıldırım Ekmekciler, a true thumbring master, who showed me patiently how to craft them. He made most of the thumbrings for the Turkish archery group in Turkey.

With a pen you can draw the simple outlines of the thumbring on the top and the sides. We will cut these parts to save time, rather than starting to file down the whole block. When you cut it, it should look similar to this.

Roughly cut kestamid block

Now you can drill a hole in the middle using a rather big drill bit. You can use the sides of the bit to make the hole a bit bigger but for now you can leave it small like in the picture.

Now use a tool like "Dremel". Use a rough bit that will let you give a more typical thumbring shape. You could use a normal file as well. Make the hole bigger now though be careful, leave it still much smaller than it would fit your thumb. The tricky part is now to make a fitting hole for your thumb. The hole is oval, it is not round. The ovalness is very slight though. In the end you should put it on, turn it 90 degrees and it should lock and fit comfortably. The thickness of the sides and back can be 2-5mm depending on the material and the style. The sides are not straight, they go a bit apart to fit the shape of the thumb, see picture.

Thumbring form

Work in turns a bit from the inside making the whole bigger, and a bit from the outside.

When you have done this, you can use a finer bit to give the final shape. Gradually use finer files/bits. When you are happy with the final shape you can polish it with another dremel bit and polishing paste until it is nice and shiny. Alternatively you can rub in on a carpet in circular movements, this takes a bit longer.

There is no notch by the way, the string rests on top of the ring as seen in the picture below. The thumbring should not be too tight.Otherwise the string will not have enough space to sit on the edge of the ring and will go off without control.

Position of string on the thumbring

Compare the two different Ottoman thumbring forms below. It is not really two types but two extremes and it shows how the angles can differ. The closer it is to type A the easier it can be to hold the lock in full draw. With type B the release can be cleaner as the string doesn't touch the ring again. With this type precious stones could be inserted as well as seen above without interfering with the string. An experienced archer can shoot both types with a clean release.

A B

Leather piece
To save the thumb when using heavy drawweights, an additional piece of leather could be glued to the inside of the thumbring as seen below on a museum thumbring. The leather is not used between the string and ring as stated wrongly in some literature. Instead it is placed between the string and thumb.

The size of your thumb changes according to weather conditions. In winter your thumbring might be too loose, in summer too tight. I recommend having at least 2 thumbrings e.g. one for winter, one for summer. An alternative solution is using a trapezoid or triangular piece of leather. You can pull the thinner side through the thumbring on your thumb until the thumbring fits tightly, as a secondary benefit the leather will protect you from the string like the conventional leather piece above.

As I warned you the first ones will be for the bin so start with cheap material. Rather than making a few at a time, make one and shoot with it for at least a week to see how it fits and if there is any mistakes. Making a thumbring will take 2-10 hours depending on experience, material and tools. Feel free to contact me if you need help or advice.

Gokmen
gokmenaltinkulp@gmail.com
http://turkishflightarchery.blogspot.com

Archery Exercises

2010-03-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

Why archery exercises?
Different archery cultures like the Ottoman, Iranian or Chinese
describe archery exercises. Main reasons are:
-To prevent injuries,
-To pull your bow easier,
-Being able to use heavier bows,
-Being able to hold your bow steadier when aiming
-To create muscle memory to pull the bow always in the same manner to
the same anchor point with the same technique automatically
And besides it is great satisfaction after a successful training when
you sit down and drink your ‘keyif’ (relaxation) Turkish coffee.

Warming up
Warming up is very very important because what good is it if you
injure your muscle and stop all training for 6 months? Main pressure
points=injury points are the sinew at the ellbow and shoulders.
First warm up your whole body by e.g. jogging, skipping ropes, (or
shadderboxing) or gymnastics. Then you have to warm up and pump up
your relevant archery muscles. Like a butterfly that just left the
cocoon that is pumping air in its wings to make them stable you have
to allow your blood to flow in the relevant muscles. This will take a
while but it will make your whole body more stable and stronger.
You can start pulling a low poundage bow, do a few repetitions pause
for 2 mins then do a lot of repetitions. You see I do not give
numbers, everybody has to assess for him/herself what is low, medium,
a lot and maximum repetitions. The same with the term heavy bow and
low poundage bow.
Do a few sets of these until your muscles are burning. At this stage I
pull the string with my whole hand. You can use a piece of leather or
a sock to protect your hand.

Then continue with the heavy bow. Pull the bow 1/3rd a few times,
pause for a minute, pull it half way a few times and pause again
(leave the blood enough time to travel up to your shoulders), then
pull successively until full drawlength. The technique has to be
right, you pull with your back muscles supported by the triceps of the
bow arm and by both shoulders. You do NOT use the biceps of your
pulling arm. I still see ‘experienced’ archers doing this mistake
pulling with the biceps. A friend can test this by touching your
biceps with a finger while you pull; it should be soft.
I advise to stand in front of a mirror so you can see and correct your
technique and positions. Keep your ellbows high. Now you should be warm.

The best is to have several bows in dfferent poundages, you can
meet up as well with fellow archers as described in an Ottoman
training article. If you don't have other bows available you can bind
elastic band around the bow as seen in the picture below. The draw
weight is controlled by how many times you wrap the elastic around the bow.

1. Exercises with the bow
Basic pulling directions:

1. basic pulling to the left side horizontally
2. Pulling to the back horizontally (as far as possible)
3. Pulling to the right side horizontally (as far as possible)
4. Pulling to the front
5. bend upper body forward parallel to floor twist upper body up and
pull upwards (training for kabak shooting)
6. bend upper body forward parallel to floor and pull to the side
7. put the left fist on your left foot, keep your legs straight and
pull the bow downwards
8. Turn back and pull the bow down
9. Pull with other hand
10. Jarmaki pull

1. basic pulling to the side horizontally

2. Pulling to the back horizontally (as far as possible)

3. Pulling to the right side horizontally (as far as possible)

4. Pulling to the front

5. bend upper body forward parallel to floor twist upper body up and
pull upwards (training for kabak shooting)

6. bend upper body forward parallel to floor and pull to the side.

7. put the left fist on your left foot, keep your legs straight and
pull the bow downwards

8. Turn back and pull the bow down

9. Pull with other hand

10. Jarmaki pull

Variations:
a) Pull the bow very slowly (variaton: pull it in 7 times and back in 7 times)
b) Pull the bow as quickly as possible one after the other
c) Pull the bow with the other hand (horsearchers used to be able to
shoot with right and left arm)
d) In order to simulate horseback riding, jump from one foot to the
other quickly doing the exercises or run while pulling if you have
space
e) while pulling go from one position/direction to the other e.g.
start pulling backwards then slowly turn after each pull and continue
pulling to the front then right

Horsearchers need to shoot in every direction, thus the different
directions above. Flightarchers just need a certain angle and dont
really need to shoot e.g.backwards or downwards.
Remember the bend should come from the hip, the ‘T’-position (=angle
between spine and shoulders) should be maintained at all times.

After a few sets doing 50% of your maximum repetitions start pulling
until exhaustion, have a longer pause e.g. 5 mins and continue
pulling until exhaustion. Do as many sets as you can/wish, the heavy
poundage-exhaustion sets should be at least 4. Be careful though as
your muscles get more tired the risk of injury increases.

At the shooting yard, you can do similar exercises (I would recommend
to do them at the end of the training):
-While the arrow is nocked, draw the bow 10 times before you shoot and
aim each time at the target
-The arrow nocked, pull the bow 15cm pause pull another 15 cm etc
until full drawlength then shoot.
-Pull the bow directly to full drawlenght and hold e.g. 10, 20 seconds
before you release the arrow (dont break the bow)

Training your thumb
You should train your thumb too as you will see that after a certain
poundage it will get more difficult to keep the thumb lock. You can do
the pulling exercises described above with a thumbring. Pulling the
string with a thumbring without a nocked arrow is not advised as the
dryfire risk is too high and the lock might slip on the string. The
old Turks used to have a special arrow with a hole near the nock. They
would put the string through the hole and then string the bow, so that
the arrow is locked with the string. In case the thumb lock releases
accidentally there wont be dryfire.
Instead of this method you can stand in front of a target with a
normal arrow nocked doing the same exercises.

2. Exercises without the bow
You can do additional weight training to train these muscles:
Deltoid (rear shoulder)
Trapezius (upper back)
Infraspinatus
Latissimus
Triceps
Neck

Do a second sport next to archery, many archery athletes in the
Ottoman Empire were wrestlers at the same time or e.g. went swimming
often.
Don't neglect your leg muscles, they are important to have a stable
position while aiming and of course for horseriding. Do sports that
will let you sweat so you won't get too stiff with all the muscle
training e.g. jogging, boxing, swimming, wrestling.

Diet
Of course you need proteins to build muscles, so low fat meat like
chicken, turkey, fish is fine. Dont forget the carbonhydrates though
and a lot of fresh vegetables and fruits and drink a lot.
Mixing honey and olive oil as a food supplement is advised in the old texts.

I tried it as well but my personal favourite is the Turkish ''Helva'', it is made
of sesame and is very rich (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halva).
The exercises described above are not comparable to standard bodybuilding
in the gym; while doing few pulls with very high poundages, you also
pull medium to lower poundages until exhaustion. A historic
(horse)archer would need to use his muscles maybe for hours in the
battlefield. A Turkish flight archer would not shoot many arrows but still

they describe exercises with a lot of repetitions.

A typical training week
You should not use heavy bows and train until exhaustion every day but
only every second or even third day as it is hard training and your
body needs to recover. Monday Wednesday Friday can be the hard days
and the other days can be days where you do normal (horse)archery or
do other sports or train with low poundage bows with a lot of
repetitions. Even resting and doing nothing for a day is good
sometimes. But beware, you need to train regularly and disciplined; it
is written that the old Turkish archers said: if you leave archery one
day, archery will leave you 10 days. With proper training good results
can be achieved in a short time, but if the break is too long the drop
in performance will be huge and the risk of injury will increase.

Last tips at the end
Keep your muscles warm at all times, day and
night. Be careful when you are sleeping, don't sleep on your shoulder

or arm. A famous Turkish flight archer champion had guards standing

at his bed at night time just to prevent him from sleeping on his arm.

Gokmen
gokmenaltinkulp@gmail.com

Flight archery training with overdraw siper

2009-08-10T00:26:00.000-07:00

Siper ile menzil atışı antrenmanı - Flight archery training with overdraw siper

The siper (Turkish overdraw) is used to draw the flight arrow behind the grip which allows to shoot shorter and lighter arrows which travel further of course...
Typical flight arrows can weigh about 11, 12, 13 gram and can be e.g. 61, 62, 63 cm long. The grip is not held in the typical Turkish form, usually a cloth with wax is wrapped around the grip of the flight bow and the ''cengi bazi' grip is applied.
The difficulty is to hold the thumbring in the right angle and not to put too much pressure on the arrow with your index finger, because with the lightest pressure the arrow will come out of the siper and you will shoot the grip. So it is very dangerous. The real challenge is to do this with 120 + pound flight bows... What you see here is just training with a 45 lbs bow.
Feel free to comment or ask questions.

Shooting Turkish style

Here you can see some museum pictures of historic sipers: