Though I've never looked at it that hard, from what I can recall reading up on it the thumb ring draw uses the opposite side from the Mediterranean draw as well. Just to be clear on terminology, I assume a Mediterranean draw is the standard 3 finger, one above 2 below?
I might've been looking at a pinch draw when I thought I was looking at a thumb ring draw though. This was in the late 80s/early 90s, pre-Internet for me.
I spent a lot of time looking at release technique when I used to shoot a compound. I wound up drawing with 3 fingers, then dropping to only holding it with my middle finger after the weight slackened at full draw. It worked awfully well. Then I switched to traditional and never looked back.
What he's doing there is slightly intriguing to me, but I don't have access to a right side shelf bow.
Wiley.
Yes, Mediterranean is generally one finger above, two below. It can also be one above/one below, or all three below, and there are various anchor points used (top finger at corner of mouth, middle finger at corner of mouth etc.).
With the Med draw, the draw usually starts with the string in or near the first crease of the fingers, but at anchor the string is usually a bit further out (about half way between the crease and the finger tip). This has the effect of rolling the string a bit during the draw. For a right-handed archer, the roll of the string is clockwise as viewed from above, so with the arrow placed on the left side of the bow the roll will have the effect of "holding" the arrow against the bow. If you placed it on the right side of the bow though, it would have the effect of pulling the arrow away from the bow, causing it to fall off of the shelf. Of course, with the arrow on the left, and the roll of the string working as it should, you can still make the arrow fall off of the shelf if you have errors with the draw (generally, I'll see "cupping" of the string hand, or too much tension in that hand, etc...).
With a thumb draw though, the roll/rotation of the string is reversed. For a right-handed shooter (holding the bow in the left hand) the rotation of the string is counter-clockwise as viewed from above. Placing the arrow on the left side of the bow will cause the arrow to fall of of the shelf, but placing it on the right will cause the rotation to hold the arrow against the shelf.
So, a right-handed shooter would place the arrow on the left with a Med draw, or on the right with a thumb draw.
However, a thumb ring changes things again. Being as smooth as it is, and "hooking" the string, it doesn't impart the rotation to the string the same way. Generally it doesn't twist the string much at all, so the arrow could be placed on either side and held in place with a slight cant (tilt) of the bow.
This shooter shown is holding multiple arrows in his right hand at the same time, and he never crosses the arrow over the upper limb to place it on the left side. he's placing the arrows against the right side. This leads me to believe he's probably using a thumb draw, and I suspect without a thumb ring.
I started out shooting traditional as a kid, but mostly with recurves. I then "progressed to shooting compounds, and was even an archery instructor for a few years. Eventually, I went back to traditional, and went to longbows instead. My primary interest is in native american archery. I hand-craft my own arrows, leather equipment, and even knap arrowheads now and again (but they're illegal to hunt with here). I've made my own bows too; wooden self bows as well as laminated wood or wood and fiberglass bows.
