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Khatra

Khatra or Khatrah in archery is a technique and style of release. It is strongly emphasized in certain traditional archery styles such as Turkish archery and Kyudo, or traditional Japanese archery. This article explores the technique of Khatra archery.

Khatra

What is Khatra in Archery?

The original word is thought to be derived from Arabic, although it is used in both the modern Turkish and Hindi languages.

Khatra describes the natural follow-through of the bow hand upon release of the arrow. The Khatra technique is typically performed in one of two ways.

Pressing the bow downwards and forward upon release.
Pressing and/or turning the bow outwards, away from the center of the body upon release.

Khatra

Purpose of Khatra & Orginal Sources

The purpose of performing Khatra is two-fold. Firstly, since traditional archery is a martial art that emphasizes the training and adaptation of the archer to the bow, Khatra encourages proper arrow trajectory and flight by moving the bow out of the way of the arrow upon release.

Most traditional archery techniques and styles, including Korean, Turkish, Arabic, and Japanese, utilize a thumb draw, which places the arrow on the right-hand side of the bow for a right-handed shooter. Turning the bow downwards, outwards, or a combination of these two movements allows for the arrow to clear the bow, therefore reducing any deflection that is caused by the arrow contacting the bow.

khatra

One of the earliest complete manuscripts of archery was written around 1368 by Taybugha Al-Ashrafi Al-Baklamishi Al-Yunani. The book is known today as Saracen Archery. We know little of the author, except that he describes himself as a Mamluk, who were a class of warrior slaves employed in the Arabic world during the middle ages. After their training and service, they were given their freedom. It is believed that the book was written after his freedom and retirement were granted to him.

Taybugha explains “what the archer should do is to dip the bow sharply from the grip in such a way that at the moment the string is loosed he would appear to give his arrow a push with the string. The action must be strongly executed and come from the wrist-joint like the punch of a man in anger” (Latham & Paterson 1970, Sarcean Archery, 68). Clearly, Tayabugha is describing the Khatra!

Taybugha mentions that “the movement increases both cast and range”.

What Archery Styles Use Khatra?

As mentioned, several archery styles and schools teach and emphasize Khatra in their shot execution. Some of the most prominent include:

Traditional Turkish archery mainly emphasizes a downward movement while Korean and Japanese employ the method whereby the bow is torqued away from the body towards the side.