Training four different archery styles. It is not in the style but in the archer.

Training four different archery styles.

There is always that ongoing debate on the archery forums on the internet about which style of shooting is better, or why everybody else is doing it wrong, you are a moron or an idiot to shoot a bow like this.. etc. etc.
Ataelus is an inquisitive mind, and he happens to shoot not only one, but four different archery styles.

I shoot Asian Thumb style- hooking with the thumb - over the right hand side of the bow- the thumb knuckle-

I shoot Western longbow mediterranean- three fingers draw - over the left hand side of the bow- the index knuckle

I shoot Assyrian/ Sassanid- secudary release draw- over the right hand side of the bow- the thumb knuckle

I shoot Tribal hunter- Amazonian draw- secundary release draw- over the left hand side of the bow- the index finger of the bowhand grips the arrowshaft during the draw, and you let it slip off during the release of the bowstring.

Having four different archery styles in your archery repertoire , the two most dominant styles in the world: Western Mediterranean and Eastern Thumb style, and two historical correct ones that are very old but quite unknown in the civilized archery world: Assyrian Sassanid, and Tribal Hunter/Amazonian, that gives you the opportunity to compare. Does it really matter which style you shoot when you want to hit your target ? Are there superior and inferior archery styles, like so many fundamentalists and self proclaimed experts on archery forums on the internet and on facebook proclaim?
I do recall how archery fundamentalism and narrow mindedness showed its ugly head when Lars Andersen became viral with his stunningly fast and spectacular  saracen speedshooting technique video. I spent many nights debating and defending the man. Putting things into perspective, and patiently explaining to the Western style oriented vehement critics how things work in a different archery style. From the asian point of view, archerywise most of what Lars Andersen does makes perfectly sense to me, although one can have doubts about the historical pedigree of his style and his claims.

So here is my own little stick in the henhouse. The experiment.
Shoot four different archery styles in a row, and train on that archery routine, switching from right hand side to left hand side each shot with a different technique. First shot Thumb, second shot Western Mediterranean, third shot Assyrian and fourth shot Amazonian.
Every technique has its own peculiarities in aiming, and I discovered that I rely more on visual targetting with my western and Amazonian left hand side of the bow styles, and shoot more instinctive with my right hand side of the bow styles, the thumb draw and the Assyrian.

But does it all matter in accuracy? Is there any of my four archery styles superior or inferior?

The answer is NO! 

I hit the target with my first shot just as many times as with my fourth shot. I cannot find any substantial difference in accuracy. It simply is all in the Archer! 

Now let that put an end to all of this archery fundamentalism. 

 Post scriptum.

Of course every one of my four styles have their pro's and their con's. I can shoot every one of them to about 120lbs in draw weight, but my western mediterranean with the three fingers still hauls the biggest weights. That might be because I started out as a Western English Warbow archer, so that still feels the most comfortable. To me the eastern style right hand side of the bow draws are the most versatile when shooting in dynamic conditions, like shooting from horseback or running, ducking and skyrmishing.  However don't underestimate the Tribal hunter/Amazonian style in this respect. The roll-off index finger grip on the arrowshaft allows for stable shooting in dynamic conditions as well. I have seen a video of amazonian tribal hunting in which the hunter shoots an arrow at full sprint and brings down a deer. And Lajos Kassai incorporated that tribal roll-off into his own western style oriented horseback archery method as well. You can have doubts about the historical pedigree of his horseback archery method, but it is one that works- due to the old finger roll-off gadget from the tribal archery style. And if you like all of the benefits of shooting right hand side of the bow, but don't like using the thumb, but your your fingers to shoot, you might just like the Assyrian approach. And you can do all of the Ottoman style trickshots like the Jarmaki, shooting lying down or running,  and the Khatra technique just as well- but with your fingers. My Assyrian technique also allows for easier and faster speedloading compared to shooting with a thumb ring.  But the thumb ring allows for the shots with the highest arrowspeed because its release is snappier.  So to me it makes perfectly sense to use multiple archery styles...So why is everybody archerywise still almost exclusively in his own box.?  Must be a cultural thing I think...But wouldn't there have been archers in the past that took the same practical approach just like me ? Shoot the style that works best in the given conditions?  You can be so much more versatile when you have multiple styles up your sleeve. 

I use the Assyrian for the fastest shots in a row, The mediterranean for the heaviest shots, the Thumb for the longest shots, and the Amazonian when i want to aim more visual in wobbly conditions.