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Traditional and historical bows: what research has measured

The studies of traditional archers, and of bows nobody shoots any more: forty pounds in two small groups of today's experienced archers, war bows estimated at around a hundred, composites that outshoot wood because of their materials rather than their shape, a thumb on the string that asks slightly less of the muscles than the fingers. And small samples from a handful of schools: on technique and draw weight, never more than ten archers in a study.

Studies in the registry
24
Years
1983-2026

Who counts as a traditional archer in the studies

Research files very different things under "traditional": Malaysian archers using the Mamluk technique, Turkish teams with the composite bow, a Polish club, a world champion in horseback archery, Indian students with their national bow, and then bows nobody shoots any more, rebuilt in the laboratory or calculated by a model. The registry holds twenty-four studies, with samples ranging from one person to a hundred and sixty. Kyudo has a literature of its own and a page of its own, so it is left out here.

What archers draw today, and what war bows drew

The figure that goes round traditional archery groups, forty pounds for an adult with a few years behind them, now has two measurements behind it, both from 2024: ten elite Malaysian archers draw 41.5 pounds on average, ten Turkish archers with about six years of practice 42.25, with bows between 38 and 55. That experienced archers shoot around forty pounds is therefore reported: the two groups agree, but they are small. In kyudo, university students sit at 12.6 kilograms, about 28 pounds, so forty pounds does not hold for every tradition.

For war bows there is no archer left to measure, and the firmest figure is an estimate from 1997. A mathematical model of ancient bows, checked against replicas, calculates that the 60-gram war arrow used at Agincourt could have been shot from bows of over 450 newtons, about a hundred pounds, and gives 465 newtons for the yew longbow of the Mary Rose, the ship that sank in 1545. The wood of those bows is too degraded for their draw weight to be measured, and a 2018 paper reports from secondary sources an average of 30 kilograms, about 66 pounds. The claim that medieval longbows were far heavier than people imagine therefore stays transferred: it rests on a model, not on bows that were measured.

What makes one bow faster than another

On the bows themselves, most of the direct measurements compare composite and wood. In 1988 one archer shot six replicas of historical bows through two measuring screens, and a 27-kilogram composite sent a 50-gram arrow off at the same speed as a 36-kilogram yew longbow. In 2020 two bows of similar shape, both at 34 pounds, were mounted on a mechanical shooter: with the same arrow the elm bow was about 14% slower than the one with a wooden core between two strips of fibreglass. That a composite outshoots a wooden bow of the same draw weight is reported, with one limit: the tests compare a single bow of each type.

The models show where the advantage lies. At equal draw weight, draw length and limb mass, six types of bow, from the ancient straight bow to the modern recurve, launch the arrow at almost the same speed; what matters is the material, because sinew and horn store 2,500 and 1,500 newton metres per kilogram against 1,100 for yew, so a composite reaches the same draw weight with shorter, lighter limbs. At the other end sits a replica Apache bow in yew with a 9.7-gram cane arrow, which leaves the bow at between 33.5 and 39.2 metres per second and has a useful range well under 20 metres.

Wood has been studied in tables of properties, not in bows. Across 431 samples from 326 species, Osage orange and the two yews, regarded as the best woods for self bows, cluster where the ratio of bending strength to stiffness is highest, while most Australian species fall a long way from that zone. For aiming without a sight there is only a calculation, which works out where to draw marks on the limb for each distance: at 70 metres, misjudging how fast the arrow slows down moves the hit by 35 to 38 centimetres, and no archer has tried it.

The thumb, the string and the bow hand

The thumb release is the technique of many Asian traditions and of the Mamluk school. In 1990 nine international-level archers, used to three fingers, tried four grips with electromyography on the string arm. With the thumb the average activity was the lowest, 53.4% of maximal contraction against 59.3 with three fingers, but muscle by muscle the trapezius, finger extensor, biceps and deltoid did not change significantly, and all nine found the thumb the hardest grip. That a thumb grip is less tiring is reported, on a handful of arrows and with grips only just learnt.

On the bow arm there is a single person, a horseback archery world champion with a 45-pound bow and the khatrah release: at the release the flexor carpi radialis produces 176 newtons on the bow side against 132 on the string side. This is where the idea comes from that with the thumb the bow arm works harder than the string arm, but the forces are estimated and there is no comparison with three fingers.

In ten national-level archers, rapid shooting keeps the technique of the single shot in the bow arm, with joint-angle curves correlating between 0.95 and 0.97. In four archers who tried the grips described in an old treatise, none did best with the one the treatise assigns to their height, and the idea that the grip should follow the archer's height is contradicted by a pilot study with six arrows per grip.

The bodies of traditional archers

Turkish traditional archery has the largest samples. Sixty-five competitive archers and sixty-five sport science students have the same maximal elbow-flexion strength, but at 50% of that strength the archers hold it steadier, with a coefficient of variation of 6.17% against 7.20. In forty-five club archers grip strength is not linked to score, though the score comes from five arrows, and in twenty-four university archers eight weeks of elastic-band work raise strength without the two groups' scores coming apart.

In twenty Polish traditional archers, after a hundred arrows, the infraspinatus of the string arm drops in amplitude and median frequency while the deltoids and upper trapezius raise their activation, and the posterior deltoid moves in the opposite direction to fatigue: the idea that beyond a hundred arrows the shoulder fatigues stays contested. At the 2014 Indian inter-university championships the 62 archers shooting the Indian bow averaged 160.5 centimetres against 176.7 for the recurve archers, with no statistical test, and the difference in build between bow types is contested. Finally, in 81 tenth-century Hungarian skeletons the muscle-load marks of those buried with a bow appear for the most part in those buried without weapons too, and those marks are not enough to identify an archer.

Where the research is thin

Almost everything comes from small samples, regional journals and a handful of schools. What is missing above all is a survey of draw weights split by school and type of bow, a comparison of thumb and three fingers in archers each trained in their own grip, and tests on more than one bow of each type. For how the styles differ there is the article on instinctive, Olympic recurve and compound, and for draw weight the one on choosing a draw weight.

How we came to know it: Traditional and historical bows, from models to archers

  1. 1983OriginKooi 1983 On the mechanics of the bow and arrowA doctoral thesis studies the bow with mathematical models and no archers: a bow with rigid ears is not in itself better than a long straight one, while wood, horn and sinew skilfully combined store more energy per unit of mass than wood alone.
  2. 1988ExtensionBergman et al. 1988 Experimental archery: projectile velocities and comparison of bow performancesSpeeds measured with light screens on replicas of historical bows, all shot by the same archer: a 27.2 kg Crimean Tartar composite sends the 50 g arrow off at 51 metres per second, a 36.2 kg yew longbow at 53, and the composite carries it more than 90 metres further. Each bow is represented by its best shot, not an average.
  3. 1990ExtensionClarys et al. 1990 Muscular Activity of Different Shooting Distances, Different Release Techniques, and Different Performance Levels, with and without Stabilizers, in Target ArcheryThe thumb draw tried by nine international archers used only to three fingers: with the thumb the average activity of the string-arm muscles is the lowest of the four grips, 53.40% of maximum contraction against 59.26% with three fingers. After a quarter of an hour of practice without a target, the three-arrow group shrinks from 175.7 cm to 42.0 cm over three ends, against 14.1 cm with three fingers in the third.
  4. 1997ExtensionKooi et al. 1997 An approach to the study of ancient archery using mathematical modellingThe model moves on to ancient bows and is checked on replicas: at equal draw weight, draw length and limb mass, Egyptian, Persian and Turkish bows launch the arrow at almost the same speed as the modern recurve, and the composite's advantage lies in its materials. The same calculations give the more than 450 newtons, around a hundred pounds, estimated for the war bows at Agincourt.
  5. 2015ExtensionThakare 2015 Questionable venue Comparative study of peak expiratory flow rate of archery players participated in all India inter university archery competitionAt the 2014 Indian inter-university championships a large group shoots the national traditional bow: the 62 archers with the Indian bow average 160.5 cm in height against 176.7 cm for the 56 recurve archers. There is no statistical test, and the study was measuring something else, peak expiratory flow.
  6. 2015ExtensionTihanyi et al. 2015 Investigation of Hungarian Conquest Period (10th c. AD) archery on the basis of activity-induced stress markers on the skeleton – preliminary resultsThe research turns to bones: in 81 tenth-century Hungarian skeletons, from the age of the mounted archers, the muscle-load markers of the 49 buried with bow, arrows or quiver appear at almost the same sites in the 32 men buried without weapons. No marker sets the archers apart, and the authors present the results as preliminary.
  7. 2016ExtensionŠmit 2016 Archery by the Apaches – implications of using the bow and arrow in hunter-gatherer communitiesA replica Apache bow in yew, about 18 kg at 70 cm but shot at about 16 kg, with a 9.7 g reed arrow: launch speeds calculated at between 33.5 and 39.2 metres per second and a useful range estimated at well under 20 metres. One arrow and six shots, timed by hand.
  8. 2018ExtensionAriffin et al. 2018 Wrist muscle activity of khatrah approach in Mameluke technique using traditional bow archeryThe Mamluk technique enters the laboratory with a single archer, a world horseback archery champion, a 45 lb bow and five arrows shot with the khatrah release: at release the flexor carpi radialis develops an estimated 176 newtons on the bow side against 132 on the string side.
  9. 2018ExtensionButnariu et al. 2018 An Interactive Haptic System for Experiencing Traditional ArcheryA force-feedback simulator designed for museums is set up on replicas that the authors put at about a third of the originals. For the English longbow it reports from secondary sources an average of 30 kg, about 66 lb, well below the 1997 estimate.
  10. 2020ExtensionAriffin 2020 Questionable venue Upper Extremity Muscle Force for Traditional Archery using Khatrah TechniqueThe same data from the same world champion, read across ten muscles of the arms and trunk: on the bow arm the deltoid rises to an estimated 800 newtons at release, 98% of the theoretical maximum the method allows, a value that casts doubt on the reference contraction.
  11. 2020ExtensionLepers et al. 2020 The important role of bow choice and arrow fletching in projectile experimentation. A ballistic approachTwo bows of similar shape at 34 lb mounted on a mechanical device: the elm bow sends the arrow off between 13.90% and 14.25% slower than the fibreglass laminate, with about 26% less energy. One bow of each type, with no inferential statistics.
  12. 2021ContradictionKamarudin et al. 2021 The Influence of Saracen Archery Grasping Techniques and Forearm Muscles Activation on Shooting Performance in Traditional Archery: A Pilot StudyFour Malaysian traditional archers try the grips of a Mamluk treatise from 1386, which assigns them by stature: for none of the four is the best grip the one prescribed for their height. Six arrows per grip, at 5 metres.
  13. 2022ExtensionKulunkoglu et al. 2022 Geleneksel Okçuluk Eğitimi Alan Bireylerde Stabilizasyon Egzersizlerinin Core Kas Fonksiyonu ve Denge Üzerine Etkisinin Karşılaştırılması: Pilot ÇalışmaFifteen sedentary adults taking up traditional archery, randomly allocated to seven weeks of shooting alone or shooting plus trunk exercises: at the end the two groups differ on no measure. It is a pilot, nine people against six.
  14. 2023MethodJihad 2023 Physics Application in Traditional Archery: Sight-lines Method for Aiming Using a Traditional BowA calculation for aiming without a sight using lines drawn on the limb, one per distance, never tried by an archer: at 70 metres, misjudging how fast the arrow slows moves the shot by 35 to 38 cm, and an error of 3 metres per second in launch speed by 69 to 80 cm.
  15. 2024ExtensionAriffin et al. 2024 Kinematic Comparison for Single Shooting and Fast Shooting in Traditional ArcheryTen elite Malaysian archers of the Mamluk school, with bows averaging 41.5 lb: in rapid shooting the joint-angle curves of the bow arm correlate with those of single shooting at between 0.95 and 0.97. The comparison is between average curves, at 6 metres and with no score.
  16. 2024ExtensionÖdek 2024 Factors Affecting Shooting Skill in Turkish Archery The Relation between Final Pull Distance and Logarithmic Dimensionless JerkTen Turkish archers with their own composites, averaging 42.25 lb, measured with accelerometers during the final pull of their school: the smoothest movement comes from stopping at 98% or 96% of full draw, with differences of 0.00 to 0.05 index units and shots from a metre and a half. Together with the Malaysian study, that makes two groups of experienced archers at around forty pounds.
  17. 2024ExtensionGeorge 2024 Is Australian Flora Unsuitable for the Bow-and-Arrow?The wood of self bows is studied from tables of properties: across 431 samples of 326 species, Osage orange and the yews sit where the ratio of breaking strength to stiffness is high, and almost all of the 106 Australian species fall well away from that zone. No bow was built.
  18. 2024ExtensionNaderza et al. 2024 Analyzing the Impact of Accumulated Training Shots on Electromyography Parameters in Trained Archery Athletes: Exploring Fatigue and Its Association with Training PracticesTwenty Polish traditional archers shoot a hundred arrows: between the fiftieth and the hundredth, the infraspinatus of the string arm falls in amplitude and median frequency, while the middle deltoid and upper trapezius raise their activation and the posterior deltoid moves in the opposite direction to fatigue. The paper's abstract describes a uniform decline that the data do not show.
  19. 2024MethodBüyükcura et al. 2024 Investigation of Aerodynamics Behaviors, Shape of Feathers on Traditional Turkish ArcheryA computer simulation of nine fletchings for the traditional Turkish arrow, three profiles in three lengths: no arrow was shot and no speed measured, and the conclusion names as best a different profile from the one the text gives as fastest.
  20. 2025ExtensionÇilli et al. 2025 Geleneksel okçular ve okçu olmayan bireylerin kuvvette kararlılık özelliklerinin karşılaştırılmasıSixty-five Turkish traditional archers and sixty-five sport science students have the same maximum elbow flexor strength, 71.2 and 71.5 kg, but at 50% of that force the archers hold it steadier, with a coefficient of variation of 6.17% against 7.20%.
  21. 2025ExtensionEyibil et al. 2025 The Effects of Physical Fitness and Physiological Variables on Archery Performance in Traditional Turkish ArchersForty-five Turkish club archers with less than two years of practice on average: grip strength is not linked to score in either sex, while average heart rate during shooting is, with a negative sign (r = -0.877 in women, -0.552 in men). The score is a single end of five arrows at 18 metres.
  22. 2026ExtensionKul et al. 2026 The Effect of Postural Mobility Exercises on the Athletic Performance Success, Proprioceptive Sense and Various Strength Parameters of Traditional ArchersTwenty-four Turkish university archers in two groups: eight weeks of resistance bands raise grip, thumb and back-and-leg strength compared with shooting alone, but the two groups' scores cannot be told apart (p = 0.221), and the group that only shoots improves its score too (p = 0.002).

The studies

Related claims

Claims in the registry with at least one of these studies among their evidence.

91 claims · 70% with evidence on archers

Articles

Research lines

Cite
APA

Campagna, M. (2026). Traditional and historical bows: what research has measured. In Research. matteocampagna.com. Retrieved 16 October 2026, from https://matteocampagna.com/en/research/populations/traditional-and-historical-bows

BibTeX
@misc{campagna2026_enresearchpopulationstraditionalandhisto,
  author = {Campagna, Matteo},
  title = {Traditional and historical bows: what research has measured},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Research, matteocampagna.com},
  url = {https://matteocampagna.com/en/research/populations/traditional-and-historical-bows},
  note = {accessed 2026-10-16}
}