SHOWER SHOOTING AND
THE "SLAVIC RELEASE"
The Shower Shooting is a traditional archery method in which the archer are grasping more arrows in his right hand in order to increase the rate of fire.
Obviously, this technique is working properly if the arrow is running on the right side of the bow.
Other condition, (specially on horseback), is to have the reserve arrows under control all the time, avoiding the possible interactions with the shooting or riding.
Keeping more arrows in the drawing hand is limiting the possibilities of locking the string with the fingers of the right hand (also the release technique), depending by the method of grasping the reserve arrows.
The most known variations of this technique, are described in the mediaeval Middle East military treatises.
The arrows can be placed one by one between the index, middle, ring and little fingers or can be grasped together in the fist, with the tips out of the hand, pointing forward or downward-sideway.
This methods are suitable mostly for the thumb release and the rate of fire is limited in this cases to 1,5-1,6 seconds (between two successive shots).
There is an other Shower Shooting method, which seems to be the oldest, (dated back in the Ancient Egypt, 20th century BC), and also the fastest.
One fresco from a Middle Kingdom's tomb (situated in Beni Hassan, Egypt), shows one war lord from the 12th dynasty, Khmenhotep II, during a bow hunt in desert, together with his sons.
The archers are drawing their bows while keeping more reserve arrows between their right thumb and index finger, grasped (more or less), near the nocks.
The great archery performance of the warrior Pharaoh Amenhotep II (1424-1398 BC), described on his stele from Karnak-Egypt, is based probably on the same technique variation.
He was able to shoot, from his war chariot at full speed, four arrows, (which he grasped previously together in his right hand), with high power and precision, in less than four seconds.
The video proves that, this very high rate of fire, (around 1,3 seconds between two successive shots), can be performed also by the horseback archers of our days.
The ancient Egyptian method of Shower Shooting, with the reserve arrows held between the thumb and the index finger, with the nocks supported inside the right hand, is not allowing the archer to use the thumb draw technique, (while the thumb is needed for keeping the reserve arrows in the right hand).
The only one reasonable solution for drawing the bow in this case is to keep the arrow on the right side of the bow with the index finger stretched along the shaft, and place the three lower fingers on the string.
In order to have an effective, powerful and safe drawing, at the end of the nocking operation the tip of the thumb is pressed gently on the second phalanx of the middle finger, separating the actual arrow to be shot from the others, keeping all the arrows under control, and giving more power to the drawing hook formed by the fist fingers. This arrangement of the fingers correspond with a later description of the "Slavic release" in the Mamluke and Moroccan archery treatises.
The "Sassanid release", (with the middle and ring fingers on the string and the pointer stretched along the arrow), it seems to be also less effective in performing the Egyptian Shower Shooting technique.
The tip of the thumb being placed behind the string in tis case, is more difficult to assure the control of the reserve arrows, comparing with the Slavic release.
(Since this drawing methods were used with many centuries before the Mamluke archery treatises to be written, the names "Slavic release" or "Persian release" are not historical accurate.
The majority of the horseback archers are using this terms because were inspired more or less reading books like Saracen Archery or Arab Archery, developing different opinions about the various techniques described there...
At the end, just the practice can provide the authenticity of the different traditional archery techniques.) -Mihai Cozmei