The composite bows, made from horn, wood and sinew, are still covered by the mist of mystery in the “traditional” archery network in our country. According to misbeliefs, these bows shoot unbelievably far, they simply cannot be drawn, according to others, their lifespan is only 1-2 years. However, they all agree on their being priceless. More...
The bow works with the principles of accumulating a certain energy and transferring it to the arrow. In principle, the outer surface of a material subject to bending tries to elongate and the inner surface tries to compress. In simple wooden bows, the resistance to these forces is limited by the properties of the wood used. In composite bows such as the Ottoman bow, the limited capabilities of wood have found the opportunity to be further developed by using other materials. More...
Four of seven models of Şimşek was tested by Tirendâz crew. The test results have been presented in thre videos and this is the last one of the series: Evaluation of the models Hybrid, Hybrid Plus, Sipahi, Sipahi Plus and Junior. More...
Qualitative and quantitative evaluation results of two of the 7 models of the Şimşek bows we tested, Long Crimean Tatar (Çağan) and Short Crimean Tatar.. More...
We are testing 7 models of Şimşek. Our results will be released as several videos. The first part is the introduction of all these models and how we assessed them. The video is bilinugual, so be patient and watch it all. All plans have narrative in both Turkish and English. More...
In the Istanbul Military Museum that I visited hundreds of times, I once witnessed three German guys speaking in front of a window in the Archery Section. In the window “darb” targets were on exhibition, hard objects pierced with arrows. “Darb” was a custom in Turkish archery that is based on piercing hard objects, usually performed as a demonstration of skill, a sort of public show, and undoubtedly a practice for acquiring the ability of piercing the enemy’s armor. These guys who were impressed by seeing m.. More...
The request from my French archery friends about writing about Turkish archery and my role in reviving this unique culture has been an occasion for a pleasant contemplation and a precise retrospective evaluation of my past 17 years. All started with a decision of buying a recurve bow in 2002, a few months after I shot a few arrows in a holiday resort in Marmaris Turkey. I have been interested in archery since I was 14 years old, but I didn’t find the occasion to start archer.. More...
Fred Bear was a famous American outdoor man and bowhunter of the 20th century. The quotation is impressive; the impact of bow and arrow on humans’ development is undisputable. History starts with the invention of script, roughly 5,500 years ago however, bow and arrow have been around at least for 20,000 years, if not longer. Some older stone-heads are thought to have associated with other weapons. The history of humankind began much earlier than it learned writing, 300,000 years ago, as solid eviden.. More...
A survivor in a jungle with a multi-purpose knife in the hand is a good-looking Hollywood-cliché. The industry makes it look good: Great make-up, excellent costumes, “magical” survival tools! In 1990s knives with bowie-blade with a saw-edge were introduced as the “ultimate survival tool”, especially because of the wind created by “First Blood” by Sylvester Stallone.. More...
It was more than three decades ago when a book about survival by a Turkish author was published and attracted great attention. Among a lot of useful information about building shelter, navigation, finding water and food, there are methods of hunting and trapping too. I remember how I eagerly read about making a self-bow from a fallen dead tree. Many years after I read his book I started archery and somehow it became a lifestyle for me.. More...
Piercing hard object with bow and arrow was called “darb” by Ottomans. Glass object were among darb targets and it required high skill to pierce those without shattering. It is about controlling the initial arrow oscillation and it must’ve been a skill as we see some examples of such accomplisments that are saved and displayed in museums.. More...
The term "anchor point" refers to the spot that the string of the bow is pulled before it is released. Although this is a term of western archery literature, Eastern literature also mentions how far and on which level the string should be pulled. In Persian sources there are 5 levels of anchor that are distinguished. In the Ottoman archery literature there is only one anchor point, the earlobe, that is advocated. But there is evidence that.. More...
Kepaz(d)e bows were weaker bows that have been used in pulling exercises to acquire the muscle memory and good shooting form as well as maintaining this muscle memory. An old Ottoman phrase says "If you leave pulling a bow for one day archery leaves you for ten days". Similar recommendations can be found in other arts in the Turkish world, like caligraphy, for instance.. More...
Strength training is a very important part of the training regimen of any athlete no matter at which sports he or she is specialized. It is not too much different in archery. In modern archery weight training is meant to increase the stamina and flexibility rather than pure strength. However, in traditional archery there may be some other concerns. In general, the health benefits of strength training... More...
The renowned Hungarian bowyer Csaba Grozer has sent three of his bows for testing. Two of these bows are labeled “Turkish biocomposite” and “Turkish Laminated” and the third one is named “Crimean Tatar L2”. All the test bows revealed an excellent finish both in workmanship and the materials used. While Turkish laminated and Crimean Tatar are not... More...
Turkish archery is a school within Asian & Middle Eastern archery. Short, recurved composite bows are shot with thumb release. Despite the popularity of Ottoman flight archery among archery-and history enthusiasts, Turks were brilliant target shooters too. In the Archery field in Istanbul archers used to shoot a target called "puta"... More...
Here you find a short review of a “short Crimean Tatar bow” made by the Hungarian bowyer Zsolt Csermak. Being shorter than most of the Crimean Tatar bows, reportedly it is based on an original and similar in length, has a design that is not too.... More...
All-resin bows are not famous with their high efficiencies but there are quite good traditional bow replicas made by using this technique. A Hungarian bowyer Zsolt Csermak is making all-resin trad bows and we had tested a Crimean Tatar prototype before. This video is about the testing and results of his new Ottoman-Turkish bow replica of which we recently had a 41- and a 49 pounder.... More...
Thumb release (Mongolian release) is a sophisticated shooting technique that has ben developed in a geography where the armies consisted of professional soldiers employed full-time. That’s why many eastern martial arts, especially archery, have techniques that are difficult to master and.... More...
“Malikler Oturushu” is the typical eastern style of sitting, with legs crossed. In old Mamluk archery treatised this style of sitting was called as “malikler oturushu” referring to the formal sitting position of sultans and.... More...
We follow the authentic training methodology described in Ottoman archery treatises with some slight modifications. Know-how about the mililtary use of Turkish-Middle Eastern archery we harvested from Mameluk treatises are also included in our training method. Here is a brief explanation how we do teaching and practicing in our group.... More...
Turkish archery is a school within Asian & Middle Eastern archery. Short, recurved composite bows are shot with thumb release. Despite the popularity of Ottoman flight archery among archery-and history enthusiasts, Turks were brilliant target shooters too. In the Archery field in Istanbul archers used to shoot a target called "puta"... More...
I think they like me here! Why do I think that? Because Mick jumps with joy from his chair when he sees me and shouts "Oh, its Adnan!", while Wally shakes my hand with "Good to see you, brother..." and Richard keeps trying to involve me more and more in the archery scene of the UK. Thanks to Richard I am now a member of the Longbow Heritage Club headed by Carol as well... More...
Readers of our site will know what an important historical site Okmeydanı and its "Archers Lodge" is for Turkish Archery. A literal English translation of Okmeydanı would mean "place of archery/arrows", "shooting range" or "archery yard". It was first appropriated for the use of archers right after the conquest of Istanbul by Mehmet II, when he commissioned a guild...
More...
Several videos made during our training sessions using GoPro equipment. Some shots were made with the camera attached to the archer's head. Moving targets were shot at from 7-21 metres. Actual speed was mixed with slow motion in the final cut. More...
On the 21st of December, a publicity event was organised at the Istanbul Military Museum with the collaboration of the museum management and TÜRSAB(Turkey Travel Agencies Association). With the aim to promote the museum to the tourism professionals, a guided tour by experts was followed by a cocktail at the Ahmet Muhtar Paşa Hall. At the start of the event... More...
This video is another lecture & demonstration about Turkish traditional archery in one of the universities in Istanbul. Dr. Murat Ozveri made a speech about the meaning of bow and other archery tackle as hunting tool, as weapon of war, as political as well as military symbols in medieval Turkish world, as a holy object from a mystic/esoteric point of view; of which influence on modern... More...
Bow has been a part of the human history for at least 15.000 years. Within all these millenia bow has been shot with various pull-and-release techniques, that appearently varied from one culture to another. Thumb release is a general term that is preferred by contemporary authors. It defines a pull-and-release technique at which the major work is done by the thumb and the other fingers of the hand are also involved in... More...
On the 28th of July 2012, a Longbow and Traditional Archery Day took place at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Being a member of the distinguished Tirendaz Archers, I was invited to this event a few months earlier by SPTA founder Hilary Greenland, to talk to visitors and enthusiasts about Turkish Archery. In spite of the weather forecasts - on a sunny saturday morning... More...
As some of you know, I am living in London for some time now. Since I was already in the UK, I thought I would go and attend the St. George’s Shoot. We had long been wanting to go as a group (Tirendaz), but either due to scheduling conflicts or financial issues, we were never able to. The shoot was held in a village called Stoodleigh, eight miles from Tiverton. After an early morning meeting on Friday, I went back to my place... More...
In Ottoman era sportive archery existed as early as 15th century. In the earliest capital cities Bursa and Edirne there were special archery fields called "okmeydani". After the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 Sultan Mehmed II "the Conqueror" established an okmeydani for archers in the newly named city Istanbul. Flight archery has always been... More...
The Hungarian National Archery Federation (Nemzeti Íjászszövetség) is the final result of the revival movement of traditional archery in this pioneering country, which started there in the 1970' s . Based on knowledge and experience accumalated over decades, the federation is the product of an systematic effort of thirty five years. Thanks to warm relations we have built with Hungarian traditional archers, a co-operation agreement has been signed with between... More...
Throughout the history of mankind, archery has emerged in different periods as well as different cultures and has become an inevitable part of those cultures. The need for their emergence however, was more or less the same: Man’s struggle with nature and his quest for survival! Archery has affected different aspects of each culture it has emerged in and has also gained spiritual meanings, despite its primary practical value as a weapon and sports tool. There are examples such as Ottoman archery, with its links to Islamic mysticism or like Japanese archery (Kyudo), which has connections to Far-Eastern mystic schools such as Zen Budhism.... More...
Nine members of Tirendaz Archers took part in the Bornemissza Cup that was held in the Hungarian city of Eger (25th of April 2011). The competition with over one hundred participants was held in Eger Castle, a location which has great historical importance for both Turks and Hungarians......... More...
Tirendâz archers Murat Özveri, Adnan Akgün and Mehmet Gölhan were guests on a TV show called “Love for Sport” for the Turkish NTV Sport Channel. In the timeslot reserved for them, they addressed the audience regarding Turkish Traditional Archery as a sportive and cultural value as well as demonstrating shooting techniques. A traditional Ottoman target (puta) was used for the shooting demos.
