Keep, between the two joints of the thumb and the grip, just enough space for the arrowhead to clear its rest (1). Disengage the arrow from the string by rubbing it loose—your thumb beneath the nock and your index finger above—taking care that neither thumb nor index ever touches the nock itself. Steady the arrow, and at the very moment of release open the middle finger together with the index finger and thumb in a single motion; this is the cornerstone of a proper release and gives the arrow the smoothest—or fastest (2)—flight, and a deadlier bite than releasing with only the thumb and index, or by flinging all five fingers open at once.
Section on Nakaayah (Wounding Power)
Al-Ṭabarī (3) said: “ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Fazārī told me, ‘The whole purpose of shooting is nakaayah (effective injury); whoever cannot achieve nakaayah is, in the view of the early masters and experts of this craft, no archer at all.
“Once they had reached the highest level of skill, superiority among them rested on two things:
- the twang of the string and the purity of its sound after release, and
- the force of its nakaayah.
“Whoever produced a clear string-sound and the stronger nakaayah was deemed superior. If they were equal in the twang of the string, the clarity of its tone, the nakaayah, the speed, and the accuracy, then none of them retained any advantage over his companions (4) except for a single point, namely