Professional archers have had to spend a lot of time fine-tuning their techniques and correcting their mistakes in order to be at their level. Shooting accuracy can only be achieved through rigorous training and strict supervision by a seasoned coach.
If you're still an archery beginner, don't spare yourself and do your best to overcome your weaknesses. To make you aware of the mistakes made by some beginners in classical archery, here are a few examples. The important thing is to avoid them, which will be a good start towards your goal.
Losing sight
Like driving a manual car, concentrating on driving while changing gear is not going to be easy at first. The car tends to go left or right. This kind of error will correct itself over time, with practice and the right coaching,
In classical archery, this coordination problem is also present. In fact, if all the theories on aiming are applied, the archer will certainly succeed in pointing at the target with his eyecup at full draw. The problem arises on release, as the novice archer will generally lose the aiming point.
Focusing too much on aiming
Archery is a precision sport. Successful archery therefore requires concentration, self-control, bow control, perfect execution of the gesture, optimal physical condition, good aim, and so on. To be able to juggle all these parameters, the archer must resort to complicated and tedious physical and mental gymnastics.
Donc, si un débutant se focalise trop sur la visée, par exemple, les autres ingrédients d’une bonne flèche vont être bâclés. De plus, tirer vous demandera beaucoup plus de temps que prévu, ce qui risque d’être pénalisable en compétition.
The only way to avoid over-aiming is to train, especially in competition. So, once you're on the shooting range, just repeat what you've trained for, no more.
Incorrect shot sequence and timing
Training allows you to discover your usual timing. This is the secret of precision shooting. To make a good arrow, avoid holding a full extension for too long. Prolonged use of your muscles will affect the accuracy of your shot. This is why many top athletes spend little or no time in this position.
The real problem now will be to keep your usual timing in competition. For this, we advise you to train by setting objectives. Even if it's never going to be representative of braiding and pressure in competition, this technique will help you create enough of them than with conventional training. Otherwise, nothing beats on-the-job experience. To maintain your usual timing with every shot, take part in lots of competitions to assimilate the sensations.
Not knowing how to reverse
In windy situations, to gain precision, you need to know how to crosswind. Not mastering this technique leads novice archers to struggle against the wind. As a result, even when aiming in the red, arrows will deflect into the yellow or not even hit the target. Counter-sighting allows you to understand the movement of arrows on the blazon, taking into account the influence of the wind. In other words, it allows you to control the trajectory of your arrows in windy conditions.
Focusing too much on hardware
The bow must be an integral part of the archer. It must become an extension of the archer, so that he or she can concentrate on aiming and the pre-shot gesture. In this way, you can put all the chances on your side for a good shot.
It's all well and good to have the latest equipment, but make sure it suits the archer's particular needs. Above all, practice your technique and perfect it as much as possible before focusing on the equipment. In other words, equipment is worthless without an experienced archer to master it.
Lose back tension
The correct gesture when an archer releases the string is to slide the hand back. It's easy to say, but difficult to do.
In fact, this simple gesture requires precise shoulder movement using the strength of the muscles in the shoulder blade. What's more, for the gesture to be executed correctly, the archer must assimilate the expansion process and maintain the same movement from full extension to release, without losing tension in the back.
Avoid pushing with the bow hand
When co*cking a bow, pull the string, not push the bow. In concrete terms, avoid pulling with your back, string hand and shoulder, and pushing with your bow hand. This is a common mistake among beginner archers.
Poor clicker training.
In the world of classical archers, there is this psychological disorder that prevents archers from shooting when aiming for the middle, causes a loss of confidence and disrupts the release of the arrow as intended. This problem has many names, such as card sickness, fear of yellow, clicker sickness and so on.
We say that the clicker is the beginning of the shot, but not the end. To correctly finish the clicker gesture, the archer must focus on moving the elbow and bow hand away from each other, without slackening, until the arrow hits the target.
Lack of personality and technical precision
It's true that the central aspects of the techniques used by archers are identical. However, each archer must find his or her own way and create his or her own personality. After that, they must perfect it to be effective and efficient. World number one JC Valladont explains it well: "The technique you use is your technique only. It's unique to each person. My technique is my own.
As a basis for your technique, here are a few tips for a good shot:
- Execute your shots in a single movement, while remaining motionless and keeping a solid bow arm aimed at the target.
- Precision depends on the millisecond you open your fingers.
- Spend as much time as possible (95%) on perfecting your techniques, and on physical and mental fitness. Equipment requires no more than 5% of your time.
