Technically, archery uses the 'Mediterranean style,' in which the arrow is fixed on the left side of the bow (as viewed from the body) and the string is drawn with the index, middle and third fingers of the right hand, while Kyudo uses the 'Menggu (Mongol) style,' in which the arrow is fixed on the right side of the bow and torikake (gripping of the bowstring with the right hand) is maintained by hooking the string with the base of the right thumb (see the comparison with archery of foreign countries in Kyujutsu).
技術的には、アーチェリーは矢を（身体から見て）弓の左に番え、弦は右手人差し指、中指、薬指で引く「地中海式」をとるのに対し、弓道は矢を弓の右に番え、取り掛けは右手親指根で弦を引っ掛けるようにして保持する「蒙古式（モンゴル式）」をとる（弓術諸外国弓術との比較）。