Medieval Byzantine Archery: 2 Finger Technique

Syrianus Magister (Anonymus Byzantinus) wrote a large, wide-ranging military compendium employing Aelians and Onosander and to a lesser extent Arrian. Although traditionally considered a 6th century source, recently this is considered a 9th century source by scholars. The military manual describes a draw that "presses the thumb upon the index finger." However this technique is considered peculiar and not the norm.
The constituent parts of the compendium were traditionally dated to the sixth century, but the evidence is weak and all recent studies have identified features incompatible with late antiquity or more congruent with a date of composition in the ninth century. This ninth-century dating has been widely accepted in recent scholarship on the genre.
Από ένα στρατιωτικό εγχειρίδιο του 9ου αιώνα περιγράφεται ως ένα σχέδιο που «πιέζει τον αντίχειρα στον δείκτη».
Special thanks to KZbinr Bucellarius for the inspiration

[@paulhomsy2751]

Excellent form even with a 100 lbs bow !! You're knowledgeable and walk the walk.

[@HistoricalWeapons]

Thanks for watching! I appreciate that!

[@timothylollathin9371]

10/10 the best archery content creator out there

[@MarcRitzMD]

I believe with the Scythian draw, the elbow is a bit higher. I wonder if that makes aiming at a downward angle somewhat easier and if that had relevance on horseback and close distance shooting. Or in general, whether it could be a somewhat beneficial draw on horseback at all

[@jakemarsh8967]

Idk, I like to keep my elbow at a more even angle so how my fingers naturally move don't influence the release of the bow string. Obviously tradition and personal preference can be just as influential as efficiency, I mean just look at native and African tribes and their bow draw techniques. It would be interesting to talk to different tradional archers around the world and see how their techniques effect the release and angle.

[@HistoricalWeapons]

First one feels more natural to me cuz it’s closer to med draw. also thanks to KZbinr Bucellarius for the inspiration, i probably butchered ur name

[@arciere9986]

Have you tried a flipped med draw? Your palm facing away from your face, index finger under the arrow with middle and ring fing on top of the nocked arrow, bow cant personally recommend to not snap your wrist

[@HistoricalWeapons]

@@arciere9986 similar to the method shown on second half of this video

[@James_Haskin]

I really like how condensed and to the point your shorts are.

[@HistoricalWeapons]

@@James_Haskin they have been a success compared to my long format

[@James_Haskin]

@@HistoricalWeapons I think your subject matter is niche such that long format requires either being a nerd who happens to like deep-dives or an archer/historian who could directly apply your content. I’d imagine your shorts will help convert normies into archers or even bowers.

[@mrnice752]

Always been curious about the reverse hand draw. Thanks for sharing, your channel is awesome.

[@Chibodian]

The 2nd hand hold looks so cool

[@Fuckyoutube-n8m]

It's basically like holding your gun sideways

[@geogemini8528]

Very cool! I've never even heard of those two draws before. Finally have my first horse bow in the main and planing on practicing thumb draw soon as it gets here.

[@nikolasmunro6359]

Back muscles are strong bro. 💪🏽💪🏽 The history of soldiers and their techniques are so cool.

[@timothylollathin9371]

The beauty with which you draw these high power bows is straight divine. It leaves me in awe each time without fail. Im hoping to be able to use my warbow someday if i can stay consistent with my draws and eating. I get the spicy sadness and makes it hard to eat enough to keep my mass, for explanation to those curious.

[@aechevarria6]

I'm so happy you are so into archery 💯 I want to get back into archery myself

[@Truthloveliberty]

HOW TF you drawing with no hand protection my fingers would be RAW

[@HistoricalWeapons]

Practice

[@Truthloveliberty]

@@HistoricalWeapons I don’t understand how that’s going to make a difference my middle finger and my index finger are still numb probably destroyed nerves lol from like a week ago

[@IrishCaesar]

​@@Truthloveliberty gotta build up to it. I've had fingers go numb before, what you really want to avoid is blistering. If you blister under a callous on your fingers theres no space for the blister to grow, so it sits directly on your bone and can be very painful. Nothing wrong with building up from 30lbs step by step

[@Truthloveliberty]

@@IrishCaesar I’m pretty confident I’ve destroyed nerve endings lol I shoot three under and my middle finger Tip and ring finger tip are numb lol

[@spoot9947]

@@Truthlovelibertyover lots of time, definitely over a week, your fingers will develop calluses which will cushion them from injury. even i, as an artist (which is a much less physically intensive practice than archery), have a callus where my pencil sits on my middle finger

[@DeadBoyHK1]

Dang bro. Two fingers with a hundred pounder…much respect.

[@arturniedzwiecki2024]

Better than just one with thumb draw

[@luca-mariokulczynski9159]

I used two finger on a 100 pounder the other day, she liked it

[@dingleberry4234]

His lady is a lucky woman 😂

[@patrickreyes7228]

The second finger grip reminded me of the Navi from the movie Avatar they grip thier arrows like that 👌🔥

Not the main topic but, Scythians shot their arrows on the right side (the left side for you), and this reverse grip was probably applied to the Asian style, not the Mediterranean. Actually, in their original artwork you can see they use regular thumb draw as you would expect from Nomadic archers.

[@Xizario2]

My son (6yo) uses the Skythian draw, learned by himself and insist it is better than anything I try to teach him. Bow is 15 pound, 40 inch long, 19 inch draw. Son own weight about 15kg.

[@DANTHETUBEMAN]

That bow is the real deal , great shooting.

[@digitaljanus]

Wow, thanks for this! I went down a rabbit hole looking into palm-inward draw some months ago when I noticed it suddenly being used in a bunch of recent TV and film productions. But I could only find references to modern compound bow archery. Now I know about that Scythian grip. (Although I think I concluded the main reason for the palm-inward draw in TV & film was probably because it had the least chance of accidentally injuring the face, which would be very important for an actor.)

[@DaRealMikeyBruh.5o17]

I love his eye contact and voice.

[@jordanarther1301]

The Scythian draw makes perfect sense for executing the Parthian shot from horseback, the favored tactic of all Steppe nomads.

[@Errol.C-nz]

The thumb under draw uses more muscles behind the shoulder & more power to hold a draw.. do it several times & see which tires you first

[@juannicholas6571]

You passion is incredible

[@fluklein860]

Imperial bucellarii, very good tier 5 horse archer troop XD

[@AutisticJones]

Lmfao first bannerlord reference ive ever seen

[@rafaeldelavega2575]

Kneel before the Khuzaits scum

[@ArmaKing-m2b]

This killed me

[@twiddlerat9920]

They are some of the worst horse archers in the game but they're made good by the fact that you can get them in the empire, where almost all other factions around you don't have horse archers

[@BillPalmerMusic]

Which is more accurate? I assume the one you practice with most???

[@HistoricalWeapons]

Standard med draw because I practice it most

[@calebthompson550]

I was taught the Scythian method at summer camp by our archery teacher 20 something years ago

[@dennyerickson6578]

Looking Good Jack !

[@GIboy1990]

My biggest gripe about all the archery nerds who talk about mastering ancient techniques or whatever, like that short dude is that they never use a full draw bow. However you sir, have earned my respect

[@ssnnooppyy123]

Just casually shooting torpedoes out of 100lb bow

[@JUSTINthisworld828]

So have you done a comparison with different poundages. I shoot a variety of draw techniques, all in a bid to keep shooting accurately for longer. This method is also really affective for drawing around a corner or over an edge. I'm curious to know legitimate differences in the different poundages. I'm practicing with a 40 pound tartar reflex bow. And plan to move up to 60 by Christmas.

[@elmunus1]

I think it's hilarious the video just ends. Very interesting video!

[@Adam_okaay]

That second one does look bad ass though

[@sethmoberly3154]

I used to shoot the first way when in middle school. I used a short (youth-ish) longbow that was too strong for my hand and forearm muscles to hold with fingers, so I had to “lock” them with my stronger thumb. This improved accuracy through less muscular tremors and increased hold time from less muscle fatigue. I found that I could also fire more arrows than other finger holds I tried. Thumb on string and locked by index (+middle sometimes) wired for me as well, but bruised my finger after a long bout of shooting.

[@vnorm2907]

This is very interesting i like to see the different bow from different times and cultures. Would you have any from TaSeti ( the land of the bow)?

[@fixedrider5912]

Where did you get that bow? Very well done sir!

[@amn7319]

Scythian draw is faster, because you don't have to shift your hand to the other side, and can still rest your arrow on the bow. You can also hold two or three arrows in the draw hand and release one after the other in quick succession, but that requires strong fingers and training.

[@SonyAditya-oo3iu]

Beautiful Bow

[@coffeecartzach]

I was playing God of War recently and I noticed that Atreus was using this draw and now this on my feed🤯

[@lasersponge]

Love it! Thanks for sharing.

[@andysneed-f9p]

Perhaps it was a variant more for identifying troops and assailants than which was more effective than being as equilally yet difficult to untrained and or unaware the purpose.

[@beatdeath9962]

The first one is how I always grew up drawing a bow, I remember the first time I shot a bow I hit a bullseye too.

[@connorgarland113]

Could you(in theory) switch draws depending on which side of the bow you want to draw on? The string twist would anchor the arrow to the shelf correct?

[@nashbassett4120]

Keep at it, you are badass

[@solomonheppner]

I would describe it like how someone is more comfortable with their hands folded(left thumb over right and vise versa). Both work well, but whichever is trained is more common for each area. I wonder what the differences of palm out vs in would be though

[@leandrosantosfreire368]

I have seen in LotR serie and movie so many archers using the second, but what took my attention was Bard doing this with a long bow. Is it possible?

[@nickblack7910]

Loved the 9th century... good times

[@whiterice2752]

Looks like the draw used by the na’vi in the avatar movie

[@normanchilds251]

Stop rocking back and forth, I feel like I'm at sea.

[@dfox344]

I have a long bow. What arrows do you recommend for hunting. I have a 31-inch draw, and the bow has a 75 lb pull.

[@chasemishio1781]

It makes sense the first method would be better once you consider the fact that you're not twisting your arm around in such a way that you're creating discomfort and reducing your range of motion

[@The_BarQy]

Thats a beautiful bow, may I know the name of it or the brand and model

[@gcostello2075]

Where do you get your high weight composite bows? Thanks for the fun videos :)

[@marcellusbrutus3346]

He get it from internet

[@gcostello2075]

@@marcellusbrutus3346 🤣🤣

[@BibtheChib]

MR Bows, Misko Rovcanin. He is shooting the Tiron bow from MR. Best laminated Asiatic war bows you'll find.

[@BibtheChib]

Actually he might be shooting MR's Despot bow, angle is funny and it's hard to tell

[@hope4ourfallen]

How does your hand not get sliced open from the feathers and no rest? I've seen a lot of folks shoot bows with no arrow rest and always wondered how their hands weren't cut to pieces?

[@dillondavis9631]

The second one looked harder to do. I like the look of the first one.

[@christov4120]

Any tips on preventing the string from hitting your forearm after release?

[@ManjuGupta-e5e]

Bro how you can easily use your fingers without any protection?

[@awakenthegarden]

I have a question. So , the power comes from your back and not just your arms? Especially with war bows , I've noticed an " odd sway back " stance. Someone help me.

[@kano8]

I would imagine that the second one was uncomfortable. The human hand doesn't naturally rotate in that position when ending a heavy load like a 100lb draw.

[@elijahhansen669]

Thanks for sharing

[@justinfrancs193]

Do you have problems with string roll when you hold the string so deep on the fingers

[@herbthompson8937]

Did all the steppe nomads shoot bows like that???? that looked crazy

[@adampalamara]

could we get the spelling on the name of this 9th century source?

[@HistoricalWeapons]

Syrianus Magister (formerly the "Sixth-Century Byzantine Anonymous" or Anonymus Byzantinus) wrote a large, wide-ranging military compendium employing Aelians and Onosander and to a lesser extent Arrian. The constituent parts of the compendium were traditionally dated to the sixth century, but the evidence is weak and all recent studies have identified features incompatible with late antiquity or more congruent with a date of composition in the ninth century.[20] This ninth-century dating has been widely accepted in recent scholarship on the genre.

[@adampalamara]

Did my response just get censured?

[@HistoricalWeapons]

@@adampalamara I can see it no worries

[@adampalamara]

@@HistoricalWeapons funny, it does keep getting pulled by someone, either you or yotub

[@HistoricalWeapons]

@@adampalamara wow sorry

[@NoaThePineconeTaker]

Wait, is "Scythians" actually pronounced "Skythians"? I've been saying it like "Scythe", it with an "i" sound instead of Scythe's "Y" sound. Have I been saying it wrong?

[@josephhayes1148]

History is funny sometimes. *20 minute rant in excruciating detail* "...and those were the war tactics used by the ancient tribes of *blank." "Wow! Thats incredible. Where did you learn all of this?" "Just look at the cartoon painting on this old pot!"

[@billjenkins5693]

Thank you

[@santoshsir5887]

Good archery 👍👍

[@user-ol4np3yb8p]

I can see the scythian technique being useful in tighter formations and narrow spaces.

[@MyMumei]

drawing a 100 lb bow with no finger protection. My man!

[@fitzmeister87]

I use this scythian draw the most

[@HarryTheEustreptospondylus]

What's your favourite: crossbow or bow? I prefer crossbow.

[@bh24x]

I think you just accidentally proved the Navi bow draw from avatar series to be highly playsable. That strange reverse hand way of drawing you did the second time put me right in mind of that scene from the show. That movie was the only other time in my life I've seen a bow draw with hands fliped like that. As for the bow draw with 2 fingers... Didn't realize you could get by only using two with a war bow. I draw my 55lbs recurve with two fingers but would need 3 if I went back to 65 lbs ... You did you condition yourself for this or am I just weak?

[@CapriciousKitty]

My fingers got blisters from practice. Any tips fingy blisters?

[@Bhartrampf]

Thanks for the info

[@timothymadaras1613]

Where were you able to buy a 100lb recurve at? Please, do tell because I’m interested in purchasing.

[@jaminreindel4312]

Awesome video! 100# dang you're strong. Hey where can I get that same bow in about a 60-70 # range? I want that bow...but I'm nowhere near 100# strong

[@abcju]

こばしょー

[@Justaguynamedsue]

The first one looked smoother.

[@sourabhd05]

Which bow is that.....pls provide the makers name n name of the bow

[@Kick-b9m]

Bro got steel fingers

[@clovismeaux9532]

breaux no gloves you are the reincarnation of a great warrior.

[@Manishk92]

Nice bow sir from where I can get it 🔥👌

[@eatMY455]

Thats basically the apache draw minus the thumb and top finger

[@sachinpotdar7798]

Which is the bow you have used in the video

[@ИринаШирипова-к8б]

Незнаю парень откуда ,но это прототип монгольского лука ,стрелы такие были ,масивные ,с серьезным силой натежения .

[@The_BarQy]

Where can I get such a bow from please?

[@Truthloveliberty]

Dont make my mistake and just try to tough through and keep shooting becayse your fingers will regret it later, give your fingers a break if they need it

[@oackman9250]

Nice

[@TIG2MAN0]

Where did you get that bow? I need it.

[@oddthearcher7555]

What's the source for the 9th century draw? Thanks

[@ancientheart2532]

Very dang cool!

[@PRLOutdoors]

Where do you get your bows?

[@NAH1907]

Ah yes the two finger, my ppl Yupik or one of the three types of Eskimo ppl. We also use the two finger, why? I have no clue, just feel a bit more natural than the three finger or Mediterranean draw. I remembered my first time using a bow I did the pinch draw, and eventually with my bow getting more powerful I started using the two finger. Two finger feels a lot more smoother release than the three finger, but it feel a lot more painful than the three finger.

[@raccoonyobo3137]

I think the schytian version is for the horseback

[@seththegreat1760]

it just killed me when he said Scythia incorrectly

[@liquidsnail7305]

Where do you get your bows from?

[@rafaelflecha1728]

I want to Buy one Archery Bow like this how much?????????

[@Coffeesleep125]

How does the string not kill your fingers

[@phawang37]

Yes

[@aaizner847]

100lb bow, bare handed? Am I way off to not believe that?

[@lusolad]

So the Avatar/Navi draw has a basis in reality?

[@jayoppold3346]

Bare fingers!? Wow🤯💪

[@markdennis254]

Thanks

[@yuvrajwagh9362]

How much cost of this bow