Hi everyone, how’s the shooting going?
I thought I’d give you a bit of a clue what’s to come before we dive in. I’ll let you know how things are going with me – I have some bow upgrade work planned soon of which I’ll keep you informed, it should be quite exciting. However, I also want to share some thoughts and ideas which have helped me become a better archer over the past 8 months. If I come across something really useful I’ll pass it on. Who knows? It might just be the key you were looking for…
Technique is obviously a big thing to bear in mind, equipment is another. I’m probably not best-placed to comment on these but I doubt that’ll stop me and I hope someone will correct me if I’m wrong!
Then comes the psychology of archery which is perhaps something I can comment on. This is probably one of the most difficult hurdles, especially if you shoot in one of the busy sessions. Tricky keeping your calm rhythm when someone behind is poking you with their short-rod!
However, one can’t expect to always be in a zen-like atmosphere at every shoot. I imagine competition is far from it, not to mention the added pressure of graded performance. It’s up to you alone to create the perfect conditions for shooting and this can all be done from the comfort of your own head.
The beauty of archery is that it’s changed very little since the Dark Ages. The function may have evolved but the raw fundamentals remain intact. This is handy as we can safely draw on references from right the way through history and apply them to the present day. For instance, did you know that the first recurve bows were shot by the Assyrians around 1000BC? That’s not even the oldest form of archery. Have a look at some of the early archery manuals here:
The object may be different but the rest isn’t. Nice to know we don’t exist in a vacuum.
To all the new archers out there: welcome to the forefront of a sweeping tide of history! Glad you could join us…
