and every extremity of his arms receives a portion of strength, so that it is as though he were reinforcing his shoulders and arms with his chest. (1)
al-Tabari said: “When the archer perfects all of this, leaving nothing out, he becomes a consummate marksman; there is no coat of mail (jawshan) (2), helmet, or iron gate he shoots at but that he will pierce it.”
Section: A summary of the secrets of archery cited by al-Tabari in his book
They are twenty in number: three ‘straight’, three ‘crooked’, three ‘supple’, three ‘forceful’, and eight distributed (3) throughout the rest of the body.
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The three ‘straight’ elements: the tip of the bow, the zajj—that is, the arrow-head—and the elbow.
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The three ‘crooked’ elements: the dashtān-leg when stringing the bow, and the foreparts of the feet when one stands (4) to shoot.
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The three ‘supple’ elements: the sixty-three grip, the left-hand handle, and the left elbow.