Getting kids involved with archery at a young age is a great way to get them interested in the Great Outdoors - and off the sofa.
However keeping kids interested and motivated can sometimes be tricky, even with a sport as engaging as archery. Thus one way to get them more motivated is to introduce games so they are more motivated to try harder.
#1. Bowling for Cups
Cans work equally well for this activity but the concept is simple enough. The more cups or cans you knock over the more points you get.
#2. Shooting Balloons
Makes a nice satisfying sound when they get hit. If they are getting hit too easily move them further back, or if they are too difficult to hit then move them closer. The balloons are not reusable like cups or cans are, so you will want to make them just hard enough to hit so that your kids have to pay attention to what they are doing to actually hit them with an arrow.
#3. Hit the Foam Ball
Below is a foam/rubber target ball usually used by hunters for practicing shooting at different distances. For kids however you can substitute a cheap foam ball or for extra challenge, a tennis ball. The goal is to hit the ball at different distances and learn how to adjust your aim regardless of the distance you are shooting.
#4. Bow-Making Contest + Flight Archery
For added fun you can also have a wooden bow making contest - for this activity your kids should be 10 years or older and have some experience with carving knives. As parents you will want to supervise this activity and help them using any of the more dangerous woodworking tools. eg. Don't let your kids use a skilsaw or band saw by themselves. But a draw knife, hand saw, rasp or sandpaper would be okay tools for them to learn how to use.
Their goal during this contest is to make a bow out of wood or bamboo or PVC that can shoot really far - flight archery is a good measurement of whether their bow is any good. Making a stickbow, bamboo bow or PVC bow is ridiculously easy, but to get it to shoot really far is the true challenge because that requires the bow to be "fast on the cast".
Tip #1 - Thick limbed bows are sluggish and slow. Bow-making is an artform wherein you have to learn how much thinness will make the bow shoot faster, but still provide good power / prevent breaking.
Tip #2. Top and bottom limbs need to be tillered evenly so they both bend the same amount, in the same places, and bounce back at the same speed. One limb slower than the other will make your arrows fly slower.
Even for adults with some woodworking skills making a quality bow is a challenge. If you are interested in bow-making try reading The Traditional Bowyer's Bible - Volume I. There are 4 volumes, but the first volume covers all of the basics.
Note - For the purpose of the above activity try using store-bought arrows on your homemade bows. Arrow-making is a challenge by itself.
#5. Tic Tac Toe Archery
Tic Tac Toe is a very easy game and all you really need is a target and two sets of arrows that are different colours.
Other games that are more for adults are: Poker Archery, Dart Board Archery, Battleship Archery (you can see their ships on the board, but can you hit them?), Clue Archery, Chess Archery and more.
Please be advised that there may be delays responding to emails as I am currently on vacation visiting family, plus I have made plans to go bowfishing while visiting the countryside.
If you are looking archery lessons in Toronto or my other services as a sports trainer / personal trainer send me an email and I shall respond as soon as I am able.
If you want to learn more about bowfishing I recommend reading the following websites:
Roughly 20% of hunters in the USA are bowhunters, as of 2012. In 2012 there was between 3.5 million and 4 million registered hunters in the USA, meaning there was between 700,000 and 800,000 bowhunters. (Precise numbers fluctuate year to year, but are generally on the decline.)
Sadly I don't have statistics for what percentage of hunters in Canada are bowhunters, but the number might be reasonably similar. A statistic I was able to find was that 5% of Canadians in 2012 were hunters, so doing some math that means there is roughly 1.76 million hunters in Canada. However I found a different source that claimed there was 1.4 million registered hunters in Canada, and the same source said the numbers were declining. (Note - Not all hunters are registered, so it is difficult to get a precise measurement.) However lets assume that the total is approx. 1.5 million and that Canada is similar to the USA also has roughly 20% bowhunters, for a total of approx. 300,000 bowhunters in Canada. More or less.
That is a pretty big number when you consider Canada has only one ninth of the population the USA does. It is probably because Canada has a larger percentage of people who live in rural communities, has a lot more wilderness for Canadians to enjoy, where in contrast most of the wilderness in the USA is used for farming and a larger percentage of Americans live in towns and cities.
Even with archery being in vogue due to all the movies / TV shows / etc, that has really only seen a huge boost in recreational archery. New archers have not been lining up to apply for a hunting license. The vast majority of new archers just want to do recreational archery, and the scant few new archers who choose to get into bowhunting is quite small and has done little to replace what is essentially "a dying breed" when it comes to the archery world.
Two decades from now maybe we will see a more dramatic boost in the number of bowhunters, but don't expect to see a huge boost in bowhunting happening any time soon.
However if you are thinking of getting into bowhunting let me tell you about some of the physical benefits...
#1. Hiking to get to your chosen hunting location (whether it be a treestand, ground blind, etc) while carrying all of your gear. This process alone will burn a good chunk of calories. The hunter will hopefully have set up their tree stand on a previous visit, but if not they will have to carry that too and go through the process of setting it up. In the case of a ground blind they will need to carry and set that up too.
#2. Climb into your treestand or tree sling. You can see what a tree sling looks like below. Tree stands are used because deer have a habit of not looking up, which means they wander closer to the hunter who is patiently waiting for a good distance to shoot.
#3. Bowhunting requires a lot of practice shooting at different distances - for example most deer are taken at distances of 5 to 30 yards. In Ontario bowhunters have to use a minimum of 39.7 lbs of draw weight when bowhunting to ensure the wound is fatal. Many bowhunters use 45 lbs or more however, just to make sure they are getting extra accuracy. This means they are building up more strength during their practices.
#4. Carrying the dead deer back to your truck. Assuming you managed to get a buck or doe, you will still need to carry it back to civilization and have it butchered so you can eat it. Hunters use a variety of different ways to carry the deer. I personally like the traditional way, which is to tie the deer's legs to a long stick and have two hunters carry the stick on their shoulder. Some hunters simply drag the dead carcass, but it is arguably easier just to carry it.
#5. Deer venison has a number of nutritional benefits, as do moose and elk.
Compared to beef, venison has only 187 calories per 100 grams, whereas beef has 250 calories per 100 grams. Venison has less fat, more protein and more iron. Being a leaner meat it is automatically healthier for you to eat. Venison also is a good source of niacin, riboflavin and thiamin.
Rifle hunters have a risk of exposing themselves to lead poisoning from lead bullets, but bowhunters don't have that risk because you recover the steel arrowhead.
Note - I don't have any moral issues with people bowhunting, as long as they are doing legally and they are eating what they kill. From my perspective it is admirable for people to be acquiring their own food the traditional way instead of relying upon slaughterhouses for the food. Hunting is arguably more humane than cattle being slaughtered because at least the hunter is killing the deer quickly. The same cannot be said for industrial farming.
A huge theme in bowhunting is all about getting an ethical killshot. Bowhunters won't take a shot unless they know they can hit the lungs and/or heart of the deer they are shooting, this way they can be guaranteed the animal dies near instantly - thus ensuring it is ethical and humane.
If you are thinking of getting into bowhunting I recommend signing up for archery lessons so you can ensure every shot you do is on target.
Part of what I have been doing while I am working on my forthcoming book on the topic of recreational archery is trying to better define what "recreational archery" is.
Often people try to define things by what they are not.
Recreational archery for example is not competitive. This does not mean that archers cannot have a friendly competition, but they're not competing for prizes, trophies, etc. At most recreational archers might compete and the loser buys dinner.
Recreational archery is also not done solely for the purpose of bowhunting or bowfishing. True, some bowhunters or bowfishers may engage in recreational archery as a form of practice, but if their primary goal is hunting or fishing then they are not really recreational archers, are they? They are primarily bowhunters or bowfishers, and they only engage in recreational activities with respect to archery as a matter of circumstance or habit in order to practice for the next time they go hunting or fishing.
Now there is nothing wrong with wanting to compete or to use your skills to put food on the table (although there is something wrong with trophy hunters who don't actually eat what they kill). Choosing to get into competitive archery or bowhunting is really a personal choice. Yes, ego plays a role, as does a certain amount of bloodthirstiness in the case of hunting, but as long as people try to remain humble and actually eat the animals they are killing I don't have a problem with it.
Recreational archery however is void of any attempt to compete for the sake of ego or to sate the need to hunt like our ancestors did. It is archery for archery's sake. The joy of the ancestral tool and weapon, part of our heritage regardless of what part of the world we come from.
The enjoyment people feel from just launching an arrow into the sky, like a rocket, and see it plummet back to earth and strike a target in the far distance is unlike anything you could achieve using firearms or pyrotechnics. Yes, you could shoot the target with a rifle, easily, but where is the challenge? The rifle does all the work. You get way more enjoyment out of achieving something that you did yourself. Your own power transformed by the bow into an arrow arcing forward and visually seeing it strike the target. Bullets go so fast you never see anything more than a flash of muzzle flare and a hole appear in the target.
"The Witchery of Archery" as it was once called in a book published in 1878 brought archery back to the public eye as a recreational pastime. Written by American author James Maurice Thompson, the book's primary goal was to promote archery as a pastime, and while it did touch on bowhunting, most of the book was dedicated to recreational use and manufacturing techniques of making archery equipment.
Thompson also wrote a 2nd book "How to Train in Archery", which dealt in both training techniques and also competitive archery in the form of the "York Round". Reading through both books you will however agree that Thompson's primary goals in writing the books was to promote recreational archery, as his manner of dealing with topics of competition and bowhunting were really aimed more at the percentage of archers who would like to get into those fields, while the vast majority of his books were aimed instead at recreational archers.
There are many books that deal with the topics of competitive archery and also bowhunting - I know because I own many of those books. However what is sorely lacking is books on the topic of recreational archery - archery for archery's sake.
And so to distill a definition of what recreational archery is, I think we have arrived at a conclusion: Archery for archery's sake is the best definition of recreational archery.
I can also argue that recreational archery is also the purest form of archery, that it is devoid of ego and bloodlust, but people would doubtlessly call me a hypocrite for saying such things because they would likely point to my past history of bragging and bowfishing. However I don't need to brag to enjoy archery, nor do I do need to bowfish. Bragging and bowfishing are not my primary goals when I do archery. Nor is bowhunting, an activity I have become increasingly fascinated with despite past affirmations that I would never take up bowhunting and had no interest in doing so. My opinion on bowhunting has softened somewhat in recent years and my curiousity to take it up is a personal choice I will likely make within the next year. So any argument from me about recreational archery being the purest form of archery is really me just being an elitist, trying to claim that recreational archery is superior to other forms of archery*.
* Which I firmly believe it is. Bowhunting serves a purpose, to survive by killing an animal and eating its flesh. But archery is just a tool in the goal of shooting a beast that is typically within point blank range so they can get an ethical shot. The goal could easily be a achieved using a spear, an ingenius trap, or firearms. Olympic competitive archery is so focused at shooting 1 distance (70 meters) using one set of equipment (Olympic recurve bow with stabilizer, sight, clicker, etc) that if you ask an Olympic archer to shoot at something between 5 meters and 150 meters away, they don't know where they should even aim. Let alone asking them to shoot a moving target, shoot a stationary target while the archer is in motion, or even shooting a moving target while the archer is in motion. A recreational archer who is experienced at what they do can shoot at any target, regardless of the distance, regardless of how big or small, regardless of whether the target is moving. Why? Because they practice doing such things for fun. For fun. And that is why recreational archery is arguably superior to other forms of archery, recreational archers will try new things, they experiment, they like a challenge. They learn to read the wind, judge distances, time their shots on moving targets, and rely on their experience to make a well-placed shot rather than any kind of gadgets. They enjoy archery for the sake of archery itself, chasing perfection at every distance for every target.
So am I an elitist for claiming recreational archery is superior? Maybe. If so, then I say so proudly. With a measure of bragging even. Does that make me a bad person? No. Not really. I am just very devoted to the sport of archery. Is that really a bad thing? I don't think so. I am a pretty good shot however, no bragging there - tis the honest truth.
If you enjoyed reading this and love recreational archery be sure to bookmark and come back when my book is done and published. Subscribe to CardioTrek.ca if you want more free archery advice.
Want to know what the number one mistake beginner archers do?
The answer is: Not anchoring properly.
Eight Archers, One Anchor Spot
So lets talk about this so people get a better understanding about what anchoring is and where they should be anchoring. First lets have a little mini glossary so people have a better idea of what we are talking about.
Anchor Point - The point on your face (usually on your face) that you are pulling back to when preparing to shoot. It is usually a very specific spot and you want to be using the same spot - the exact same spot - every time you shoot.
Cheeking - Pulling to an anchor point on your cheek, further to the side. Using this anchor point has a disadvantage in that you cannot see straight down the length of the arrow and when shot the arrow will end up going further to the side (to the left on a right eye shooter or to the right on a left eye shooter). [See Dominant Eye for Archery.] Cheeking effectively puts the arrow on an angle going more to the left or the right and when shot the arrow will fly more in that direction.
Note - Cheeking does give the arrow more power + speed, but it comes with a loss of accuracy.
Clicker - A gadget used on Olympic recurves that tell the archer when they have achieved full draw. This device is only used in combination with South Anchor (see South Anchor further below). The archer pulls back to South Anchor as they prepare to shoot / aim and wait for the Clicker to slide off the tip of the arrow and make a click sound, at which point they release immediately after the sound of the click.
Facewalking - This refers to a person who is anchoring inconsistently on their face, meaning they are using a different anchor point each time they shoot. Facewalking will typically cause an archer's arrows to make tall lines going up and down. (This is similar to Stringwalking, which is inconsistent placement of the arrow nock on the bowstring.)
Fishhooking - Fishhooking is when an archer is pulling to North Anchor (see North Anchor below) and is pulling the corner of their mouth further back in the direction of their cheek. The end result is the same as Cheeking (see Cheeking further above).
William Shatner using North Anchor on a Traditional Recurve
North Anchor - An anchor point located on or near the corner of your mouth, often either directly on the mouth, just above, or just below the mouth. This anchor point is sometimes also called a High Anchor or the Traditional Anchor Point. Anyone using a traditional bow, such as a recurve, longbow or shortbow that doesn't have a Clicker (see Clicker above) should be using North Anchor as their Anchor Point. The reason why traditional archers use their mouth as an anchor point is because it is easier to remember as a landmark on their face, resulting in more consistency. If they are pulling near their eye, on their cheek, on their chin, etc, then there is less consistency because they cannot remember the same spot on their face as easily.
Arnold using South Anchor on an Olympic Recurve
South Anchor - An anchor point underneath the chin and alongside the jawbone. Also known as Low Anchor or the Olympic Anchor Point. This anchor point should only used in combination with a Clicker (see Clicker further above), because South Anchor is not a fixed anchor point (it doesn't stay the same every time you shoot). Instead South Anchor relies on the Clicker to tell the archer when full draw has been achieved and when they will achieve the most accuracy when they release. (South Anchor also uses a tab release with a shelf on it, designed specifically for being pulled along the underside of the jawline in the hopes of attaining more consistency.)
Okay, so now that those are out of the way you will probably have an idea that Cheeking, Facewalking and Fishhooking are things you want to avoid doing. If you're either a beginner or a traditionalist then you should be pulling to North Anchor. If you are getting into Olympic archery and you have a Clicker installed on your bow, then absolutely, you should be using South Anchor.
Katniss using South Anchor, she should be using North.
Thus a very common mistake is for people to use South Anchor, but with no Clicker. The result is inconsistent draw distances because they are just guessing as to where to be pulling to on their chin/jawline. It also causes inconsistency left-right because they are pulling the same distance on the side of their jawline.
You can see this failure in films like The Hunger Games in which Katniss pulls to South Anchor when using a longbow and again later with a recurve that has no clicker on it. Having this in a film then perpetuates false information that this is a good place to be anchoring with a traditional bow - which it is not. Katniss should be using North Anchor, but the filmmakers don't know any better.
Not Anchoring At All
On the right you will see a woman who isn't anchoring at all. She is just pulling back the bowstring off the side of her face. She cannot see down the length of the arrow and is really just guessing as to where it might go.
Another way of not anchoring is to be pulling back the bow, but not pulling it back all the way to your face. This is essentially a partial draw, but it is also a failure to anchor properly. You can see this as demonstrated by Marilyn Monroe in the photo below.
Marilyn Monroe Partial Draw
Another common mistake I have seen beginners do is trying to anchor near their eyeball, either right in front of their eye, right below their eye, or to the left or right of their eyeball. I even once saw a beginner trying to anchor on his forehead. Pulling to the side of the eyeball near the temple produces results similar to Cheeking (as explained further above), whereas pulling straight to the eye, under the eye, or even to the forehead will result in a person having to aim above the target in order to hit the target, and will also result in inconsistency because they cannot remember where they are pulling to precisely (or where they are aiming, because they are aiming above the target and cannot see the target itself because the arrow is in the way).
I don't like using the word "newb" because I find it is impolite and used to discriminate against people who are beginners, but I must admit it is a word I often think of when I see people pulling close to their eyeball. Calling them "Green Archers" would be more polite and a hat tip to the 1940s serial short films produced by Columbia Pictures, "The Green Archer". (Green Arrow, the DC Comics hero is loosely based off The Green Archer serial.)
So in conclusion, always anchor - and always use an anchor spot where you can get a lot more accuracy. To learn more about this topic read Instinctive Archery Vs. Anchor Points.
This question is asked so often that people on bowhunting forums openly make fun of it in the form of memes like the one on the right.
The answer is that there is no "best", it is really all a matter of personal preference and what you are using the broadhead for. Let me elaborate below with the list of pros and cons below:
Fixed Blade Broadhead
Pros - Best penetration. Best when using a traditional recurve or longbow. Easy to resharpen.
Cons - Resharpening the blades is a necessity. Blade width often small diameter. Flight accuracy reduced due to planing. Some fixed blade broadheads are designed so the blades can be replaced, but not all.
Replaceable Blade Broadhead
Pros - Good penetration. Easy to replace the blades. No need to sharpen.
Cons - Replacing blades constantly can be expensive. Small blade diameter. Flight accuracy reduced due to planing.
Mechanical Expandable Broadhead
Pros - Larger diameter blades. Less planing = more accuracy. Blades are replaceable.
Cons - Low penetration. Sometimes difficult to remove/replace blades. Replacing blades constantly can be expensive. Blades break easily. Sometimes fails to open, resulting in less cutting width.
Mechanical Slip Blade Broadhead
Pros - Decent penetration. Larger diameter blades. Less planing = more accuracy. Blades are replaceable.
Cons - Sometimes difficult to remove/replace blades. Replacing blades constantly can be expensive. Blades break easily. Blades can sometimes open when bumped or during flight, resulting in a loss of accuracy.
And for the ultra traditionalist who like flintknapping their own arrowheads I am also going to list the following:
Flint Broadhead
Pros - Very cheap. Reasonably easy to make yourself once you get the hand of it. Reasonably sharp.
Cons - Breaks easily. Dulls or breaks after repeated use.
Obsidian Broadhead
Pros - Cheap. Razor sharp edge is easier to achieve. Keeps its edge longer. Doesn't break easily.
Cons - Harder to flintknap than flint arrowheads. Harder to find obsidian.
Glass Broadhead
Pros - Extremely cheap to make. Easiest to flintknap. Glass is more readily available than flint or obsidian. Different colours of glass available for aesthetically pleasing arrowheads. Keeps an edge reasonably well. Easy to replace if it breaks.
Cons - Breaks very easily.
Then there is the matter of what you are shooting at... Some broadheads are designed for specific animals, like blunt arrowheads designed for small game or turkey broadheads with the extra wide blades.
Bowhunters argue back and forth on bowhunting/archery forums about the pros and cons of all the various different styles of broadheads. Ultimately what is "best" is whatever the individual bowhunter decides is best for them, their bow and their chosen target. After all there is no 'one sizes fits all broadhead'.
I will say however that the 3D target below of a Jackalope is just plain awesome. Happy shooting!
Summer is almost here and many parents are doubtlessly looking for archery summer camps for kids, archery day camps within Toronto, archery lessons for kids in Toronto... basically anything to do with archery in Toronto for kids.
Unfortunately many parents visiting CardioTrek.ca and contacting me will also note three things:
#1. I don't teach children under the age of 10. I have my reasons for this, chief amongst which are the level of maturity, attention spans, ability to follow instructions I expect from students - especially with respect to safety.
#2. I am not cheap. As a personal trainer I currently charge $50 per hour for my personal training services, and similar rates for my sports training services. An 1-on-1 archery lesson is typically $60 for 90 minutes on a weekday morning/afternoon or $80 on a weekend / weekday evening.
#3. I book up fast, especially on weekends and weekday evenings. Why do I book up so fast?
People started prebooking for archery lessons in 2015 back in July 2014.
Some archery students keep coming back for more.
Some archery students prebook 3, 5 or 10 lessons all at once.
Weekends and weekday evenings are in short supply and are the most desirable time slots.
People prebook months ahead of time. (I often receive a flood of prebooking requests in November.)
Because kids have more availability after school ends in June, many parents wait until June before prebooking lessons - only to discover I am fully booked until August or September. (And by fully booked I mean completely fully booked.)
So, with these 3 factors in mind I know there will be a lot of parents who are disappointed that I cannot teach their 8 year old for a cheaper rate "this weekend". Sorry, fully booked + your kid is too immature + why would I work for less than what other people are paying?
However I do have several solutions for parents who want to get their kids into archery (or parents being forced by their kids to let them get into archery):
#1. BUY EQUIPMENT
For approx. $100 to $300 you can buy everything your kid needs to practice archery - including a bow, 6 to 12 arrows (more is always better), shooting glove or tab, bow stringer, etc.
For a higher quality bow go to Tent City in North York (near Steeles and Dufferin) and expect to spend $200 to $300 for everything you need.
For a more average bow go to Bass Pro in Vaughan and expect to spend $100 to $250.
For a very cheap children's bow go to a Canadian Tire that offers archery equipment (not all Canadian Tire stores sell archery equipment) and expect to spend $30 to $60 on a very cheap children's bow + the cost of extra arrows.
1st Note - I do not recommend buying kids used archery equipment. Often they won't be the correct size for your kid and will be largely unusable. Plus the equipment might be damaged in some way that you, as a non-archer, would not be able to recognize.
2nd Note - You might also think it is possible to rent archery equipment, but honestly I only know of one place that does rentals - and I don't know how reputable they are. I do however know they require a damage deposit, as beginners often break arrows easily. So I don't recommend rentals.
#2. MAKE YOUR OWN ARCHERY EQUIPMENT
There are plenty of YouTube videos and DIY archery equipment websites out there for people wishing to make their own archery equipment. Easy option is to make a simple stickbow out of a hardwood branch and some twine, but don't expect it to last very long. Typically, the best bows are those that take the longest to make so a little extra effort is required to make a bow that shoots well.
Regarding arrows you may want to still purchase arrows (see Tent City or Bass Pro) as arrow making can be quite time consuming to get perfectly straight well-fletched arrows. Alternatively you can buy dowels from either Canadian Tire or Home Depot, or you can try making your own dowels for arrow shafts but be forewarned that it will not be easy.
#3. ARCHERY TAG (MUST BE 16 OR OLDER)
Toronto has quite a few archery tag locations available, including one location that sometimes offers archery lessons for children under the age of 16 (Battle Sports in North York). If your kid is over 16 your kid and you (possibly your whole family if they are all over 16) could sign up for an hour of archery tag.
Note - Battle Sports in North York is the only location I currently recommend if you decide to go the archery tag route.
#4. ARCHERY CAMP
If you visit ArcheryToronto.ca the website has a list of archery summer camps or day camps that are either in Toronto or near Toronto.
However I should warn you right now that many of these camps will already be fully booked (completely fully booked), but I suppose you could always try to contact them to see if they have had any cancellations or can fit one more kid in.
I should also mention that archery instructors at camps basically only teach your kids the safety rules, so be forewarned that your kid may be disappointed by their lack of skills as they will have numerous bad habits that camp instructors won't bother to recognize or try to teach them how to avoid those mistakes. Your kid will doubtlessly have fun at camp, but may end up disappointed if they were expecting to be able to shoot like Katniss Everdeen, Hawkeye or Green Arrow in a hurry.
MAY YOUR ARROWS FLY TRUE
In conclusion if you are looking for archery lessons in Toronto, absolutely, contact me if your kid / you want archery lessons. However I must warn you may need to prebook for either August, September or October, or possibly even prebook for 2016.
Good luck in your archery endeavours and may your arrows always fly true.
For a limited time I am offering a 10% discount to anyone in Toronto wanting to book archery lessons on Wednesday or Thursday mornings or afternoons (between 10 AM and 4 PM).
This means if you are looking to sign up for a 1-person lesson on either Wednesday or Thursday morning/afternoon, the price is $54 instead of $60.
See my rates for archery lessons if you want to book multiple lessons or up to 3 people at once.
To get this Early Bird Special you need to email me with the following Promo Code: WEDTHURS10PROMO.
The Promo Code only applies to Wednesday or Thursday morning/afternoon bookings and does not apply to any other days or time slots.
This offer expires on April 30th 2015.
Happy Easter!
The following video and the above photo were taken on Easter Sunday. If you want to learn how to shoot at moving targets sign up for multiple lessons. :)
Q "What is a good bow for a beginner who is new to archery?"
A
I don't need to add a name to the above quote because I have been asked the same question so many times in the last 5-6 years that I have been teaching archery in Toronto that it doesn't really need a name to go with the quote.
For beginners I recommend they start learning on a recurve bow, but what brand? What model? How many pounds should the the draw weight be? Are they getting a right handed or left handed bow?
#1. Eye Dominance
Lets start with right vs left hand issue, as that is arguably the most important question. Start by taking the Eye Dominance Test to determine whether you are right or left eye dominant. For best results get an archery instructor to help administer the Eye
Dominance Test to make sure you are doing the test properly.
Don't worry about whether you are right or left handed, you don't use your hands to aim in archery - you use your eyes.
If you are right eye dominant you need a right handed bow. You will hold the bow in your left hand and pull it with your right hand, back to an anchor spot beneath your right eye.
If you are left eye dominant you need a left handed bow. You will hold
the bow in your right hand and pull it with your left hand, back to an
anchor spot beneath your left eye.
Thus if you go into a store or order online, you need to make sure the bow you are buying suits your dominant eye. So for example if you go into a store and they only have right handed bows available and all the left handed bows are sold out then you should WAIT. Order a bow that is suitable for you. Don't waste your time or money buying a bow that doesn't suit you.
#2. Draw Weight
You cannot pull a bow that is too powerful for you to pull properly. You need to be able to pull the bow string back to your mouth with your bow arm fully extended and your chest facing 90 degrees away from where you are aiming. If you cannot pull it back to Full Draw and hold it steady then that bow is too powerful for you.
If you pull it back and it feels too easy then the bow is likely too light for you. Ideally you want a bow that is a little bit of a challenge. Not too light and not too heavy of a draw. Finding the right amount can sometimes be tricky, but that is something an archery instructor can help you with. An experienced archery instructor can often just look at a person and will be able to make an educated guess as to an amount that will be a good draw weight for that person.
For most beginners I typically recommend a draw weight between 16 lbs and 30 lbs, depending on the physical stature and strength of the person. Now if you are reading this and thinking "I'm a big guy, I can handle 30 lbs" then you probably should be using 24 or 25 lbs instead. Overconfidence when buying your first bow often leads to people going into a store and the next thing you know you purchased a 50 lb bow you can barely pull (let alone hold steady) and will end up being unusable to you.
#3. Brand and Model Type
There are many companies available out there. For beginners I recommend the following brands and models below. (Prices listed in parentheses are in Canadian Dollars, adjusted for the exchange rate as of April 2015.)
Bear Grizzly ($425), Super Grizzly ($600) or Takedown ($1050)
Jandao ($120) Martin Jaguar ($200), Sabre ($250) or Panther ($300)
PSE Razorback ($135)
Samick Polaris ($130), Sage ($150) or Red Stag Takedown ($240)
So for example if you are looking to get into archery on a budget, a 20 lb Jandao or 24 lb Jandao might be just what you need. If you want something prettier / more powerful, get a 25 lb or 30 lb Samick Sage. If you want something even prettier get a Samick Red Stag Takedown. If you want something that is higher end in terms of beauty, quality and durability, get a Bear Grizzly or one of its more expensive relatives.
So for example the bow shown on the right here is a Samick Sage, which comes in a minimum 25 lbs - which means that someone seeking to use that bow properly should be strong enough to be able to pull and hold it steady, otherwise they are just wasting their money.
Before buying anything however you should probably get some archery lessons first, just to make sure archery is the right sport for you. Your archery instructor will also be able to make equipment recommendations so that you are getting the right arrows for your bow, a good arrow rest, and everything else you need. eg. If you are buying a recurve bow you will want a Bow Stringer and you will need to learn how to string a bow properly.
First if you are looking to book archery lessons in Toronto for the current season, you had best book ASAP if you want the plum time slots. Weekends and Weekday Evening time slots are booking up like crazy.
This means if you delay, there will be no weekend or weekday evening time slots left.
In other news there are plenty of weekday time slots in mornings and afternoons, so if you have a flexible work schedule, certain weekdays off, or even unused vacation time why not sign up for archery lessons?
A Very Straight Vertical Line of Arrows
ARCHERY TIP
See the vertical line on the target on the right? That line is so perfectly straight because the archer is making maybe 1 or 2 little mistake that is causing vertical inaccuracy.
How do you fix this?
#1. Make sure your draw length is the same; You need to achieve full draw every time. It helps to have a coach to double check you are using a full draw each time.
#2. Relax your bow hand and bow arm/shoulder. If your hand, arm or shoulder are too tense they can torque in various directions, often creating vertical, horizontal or diagonal lines of arrows. (eg. When fatigued, diagonal lines are quite common.)
#3. You might be Face Walking your anchor spot. Face Walking is an archery term used to describe an inconsistent anchor spot that goes up/down or left/right on your face while shooting, creating lines of arrows on the target which are either vertical or horizontal. To make sure you are not Face Walking it is helpful to have an archery instructor who can watch for the warning signs that you are making mistakes and help you to correct your mistakes.
There are other factors that can also cause lines on the target (eg. horizontal lines caused by windy conditions), but to learn what you are doing wrong and how to correct the problem it is very beneficial to have an archery instructor.
To book archery lessons in Toronto email cardiotrek@gmail.com to begin scheduling your lessons. Before you know it you will be shooting super tight arrow clusters or even splitting your own arrows.
Super Tight Cluster of 3 Arrows
To learn more about Arrow Clusters and Splitting Arrows (Pulling a Robin Hood) see:
If you are looking for archery lessons in Toronto I am currently accepting new students. Here are a few testimonials from some past students.
"Thank Charles for being such a great teacher and answering any questions I had about archery!
I really appreciate you taking the time to teach me how properly shoot. Starting off, I knew absolutely nothing about archery but after even just the first lesson, I was already 1000% more knowledgeable about the sport and even decided to get my own bow very shortly. I’ve already recommended Charles to a bunch of my friends and coworkers of mine because he certainly knows his stuff!"
- Mark H.
"Charles is an excellent teacher and mentor. He's patient and knowledgeable, which is key in any type of instructor. During my first few lessons, he gave excellent tips to provide a strong foundation and set me on the right path as an archer. He also knows to tailor later lessons specifically to each individual so you can improve quickly. I've had a lot of fun and seen a lot of improvement in my short time taking lessons. For archers at any level, I would highly recommend Charles as an instructor!
Thanks again for all your help last year and I look forward to seeing you at the range!"
- Raymond H.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my archery lessons with Charles and I have since gone back to him many times for equipment advice. I learned a lot from him during just the first few lessons, but I continually learned new things all the way until my 10th lesson. I will likely come back for more lessons when I get a longbow so I can learn 'the Howard Hill stance' that Charles demonstrated one time. His knowledge, his patience and his willingness to teach is an asset to anyone who wants to learn archery." - Jessica A.
"Thanks again for helping to improve my shot and tune my compound bow. For anyone who is into compound bows I recommend Charles' archery lessons. I drove all the way to Toronto [from Barrie] for his lessons and it was definitely worth it." - Henry T.
I have made other posts in the past about anchor points, but as demonstrated by the quote "Anchor point, anchor point, anchor point!" from my post "Archery Compliment / Tight Clusters" anchor points are extremely important when it comes to accuracy - and accuracy in archery means tight clusters.
Basically there are many factors that go into shooting an accurate cluster of arrows - but if you cannot pull back to a consistent anchor point, much of your efforts are going to be in vain.
There are other issues of course, things like draw distance / using full draw, making sure you are standing up straight and leaning to one side (no "teapotting" as per the "I'm a little teapot" song) and a host of other issues I teach during my archery lessons here in Toronto.
The image below is a culmination of 8 photos I took with my cellphone between October 2014 and March 2015. The people in the photo had different appearances, in some cases glasses, beards, hats on, different hair styles, etc. But they all had one thing in common - the approximate location of their anchor spot. Some of them were even left-handed shooters, so I just reversed the image before overlapping it.
"Eight Archers, One Anchor Spot" (Version II)
I feel the image demonstrates the importance of having a solid anchor spot (regardless of whether you are using "North Anchor" like a traditional archer or "South Anchor" like an Olympic archer. Maybe sometime in the future I will take more photos of Olympic archers and a photo similar to this one showing South Anchor.
Now you might think, what difference does it make where I pull back to?
Well it doesn't - just so long as you can remember to use the EXACT SAME SPOT each time you shoot. This is why traditional archers use the corner of their mouth as their anchor spot, because it is a handy landmark for remembering where to pull to exactly - in an effort to be as precise as possible.
So what difference would it make if you pulled to different spots on your face each time?
A lot actually. When shooting at a distance of 60 feet I estimate that moving your anchor spot 1 mm can make 1 to 2 inches difference in terms of accuracy, depending on the person and the type of bow they are using. So if your anchor spot is off by just 5 mm but you are doing everything else perfectly your arrow could miss its mark by 5 to 10 inches. At longer distances the degree of accuracy becomes ever more important so you need to have a very consistent anchor spot when aiming at long distance targets.
For archery lessons in Toronto email me to schedule lessons. I will teach you how to shoot accurately and consistently.
I saw a video recently about Lars Anderson in which the narrator made a number of claims about archery and people on the internet have been having a heated debate it ever since. I am curious as to what your opinion of Lars Anderson's new video is? I see you have an older post which talks about him. [See Different Techniques of Rapid Fire Archery to see the post he is referring to.] - Jamie Y."
A
Hey Jamie!
Yes, I have seen the video numerous times, but just in case other people have not seen it lets shows it again.
Warning - The following video contains many falsehoods, many of which I will explain below why they are false, myths, half-truths or complete fabrications.
So during the video the narrator does make quite a few claims - many of which have been proved erroneous, as the internet is filled with people who are Fact Checkers and take any wild claim as a chance to Fact Check the claims being made. This is especially true of Fact Checkers who look for lies made by politicians.
My personal opinion on that style of archery, known as Instinctive Archery in archery circles, is that it is fun for shooting things at close range (point blank). However it is utterly useless for long range or even mid range accuracy, absolutely useless for hunting, and really only useful for showing off at point blank distances. (Little kids with zero experience can hit the target at point blank distances.)
For more details on the erroneous statements made in the video here is a list of statements and why they are wrong / false assumptions / outright lies.
#1. The narrator claims at the start of the video that ancient techniques of archery have been forgotten. This is wholly untrue. Those techniques have been preserved by the Cherokee (and similar tribes) in North America, by Persian archers in the middle-east and by several different cultures in Asia (most notably Mongolia and Korea). So claiming that the techniques have been forgotten is an outright lie.
#2. Lars Anderson is not "reinventing" anything which has been lost. He is just copying what has already been preserved. He is not using any "forgotten historical methods" because they were never forgotten and are still used in various parts of the world.
#3. Holding the arrows in the drawing hand is nothing new, nor is it reinventing something new.
#4. While the technique of holding arrows in the drawing hand is not as widespread as it once was, it is certainly not gone entirely.
#5. Quoting a book that says "This is the best type of shooting and there is nothing beyond it in power or accuracy" does not make it true. Quite the opposite. If you want power and accuracy with a traditional bow, use an English yew longbow or a Cherokee osage flatbow. The osage flatbow is believed to be similar to the design of the famed Welsh bow (which is believed to have been a yew flatbow). Longbows and flatbows are waaaaaaaay more powerful than the shortbow Lars Anderson is using in the videos, and that power translate into faster arrow speed and more accuracy both at close range and longer distances. In contrast Instinctive Archery is only really accurate within point blank range and comes with a measure of luck (the video of Lars shooting omits all of the failed attempts he did).
#6. "Why has it been forgotten today?" asks the narrator. Again, beating a dead horse here. It wasn't forgotten. It just isn't as commonly used any more.
#7. Modern archers don't actually use back quivers most of the time anyway. They use hip quivers or quivers that attach to their bow like in the images below.
#8. Yes, it is true that modern archers do stand still while firing at a target. This is very important for accuracy at long distances. It is equally important that they use proper form and have a consistent anchor spot with drawing back their arrow to aim. Shooting at long distance targets are exponentially harder to hit - the difference between shooting at 20 yards and shooting at 40 yards is not twice as difficult, in my opinion it is more like four times as difficult. Thus 60 yards is roughly 16 times more difficult and 80 yards is roughly 64 times more difficult than shooting at a target at 20 yards.
To put this in perspective Howard Hill (one of the greatest archers of the last century) once shot an eagle that was 150 yards away (that is roughly twice the distance of what modern Olympic archers shoot at, a mere 70 meters). Shooting a relatively small target like an eagle is not easy, especially at an extreme distance. I guarantee Howard Hill was standing extremely still when he performed that shot.
#8. Not all archers use one eye aiming. While it is true that it is more accurate to use one eye while aiming, not all archers do this. It is a matter of personal choice but some archers do prefer to shoot with both eyes open. This is not an Instinctive Archery method per se, but rather personal preference.
#9. "and other technical gadgets, but that is another story" says the narrator. In this case the narrator completely skips over the purpose of the gadgets which is to help archers to shoot more accurately at longer distances with less reliance on skill or experience (eg. compound bows have so many gadgets that they are very forgiving in terms of accuracy, but you have to learn how to tune them properly in order to attain that accuracy). I myself favour my students learning how to aim the traditional way with no gadgets or sights, with one eye open. How many gadgets or lack of gadgets people use is really a matter of personal preference. It is not "wrong" to want to use gadgets, it just means you are trying to get an advantage so you don't have rely on skill / perfect form so much.
#10. "several movements before you can actually shoot". Okay, so what? Yes, using right-side arrow rests (on a bow where you draw with your right hand) is slower - but it is also more accurate. So what if you can shoot faster? If you are shooting at a target, do you want to shoot at it quickly and miss or do you want to shoot at it accurately and actually hit it? The purpose of archery is not a contest to see who can shoot the fastest. It is to see who can shoot and hit the target - being fastest is just a perk.
There is a story about Byron Ferguson (one of the three greatest archers of the last century) who was at an archery event in the USA when a compound shooter decided to challenge him to a duel of sorts, in which they would both shoot at a target and whoever hit it first won. So speed was a factor in this little duel, but I should note that Byron did not rush it either. The target was a small moving target on a track a long distance away - an incredibly difficult shot for most archers. Byron drew an arrow from his hip quiver. He nocked it, drew back the arrow, aimed for a brief moment and then shot the moving target. He didn't rush through the steps, but he was faster than the compound shooter he was still fiddling with his gadgets by the time Byron's arrow hit the target. Was Byron shooting super fast with his longbow? No. He didn't need to. He just needed to shoot accurately and hit the target. The compound shooter was slower just because he was reliant on his gadgets and sights to do most of the work for him.
In the same contest however, Byron Ferguson Vs Lars Anderson, I guarantee Lars would have got a shot off first - and would have completely missed the target because of the distance. By the time he got to his second or third shot Byron would have hit it accurately.
Accuracy matters more than speed. Shooting quickest doesn't matter squat if you can't hit the target.
#11. So apparently Lars studied old paintings and drawings of archers holding their arrows on the right side of the bow. I am sorry, but I studied painting and art history in university but basing your assumptions on old art pieces opens you up to the problem of the 'ignorant artist'. People who don't know how to do archery at all often depict archery in drawings and paintings in the wrong manner. It is like Picasso's Left Handed Picador, artists make mistakes when draw things they know little about. You cannot use drawings or paintings as historical evidence because often the artist simply doesn't have a clue. Artists also frequently archers drawing bow strings back with two fingers instead of three (the proper way to draw back a bow string). The arrowheads are also frequently painted wrong, and the woulds on Saint Sebastian don't show the shape of the arrowheads penetrating. Paintings are wholly inaccurate on multiple levels.
#12. "which is both faster and better" says the narrator. Nope, no it is not better. Faster yes. Definitely not more accurate.
#13. The narrator assumes that historical archers all used the same techniques of archery. Completely false. Archery techniques not only varied from culture to culture, but also from archer to archer. One style of archery might be more popular in Bhutan for example, but that doesn't mean every Bhutanese archer uses the same techniques and the exact same style. (Bhutan's national sport is archery and modern Bhutan now uses a wide variety of different styles of bows and different styles of archery. The styles uses historically in Bhutan likely also varied wildly from archer to archer and there was no set style common to all Bhutanese archers.)
#14. "and start reading historical manuscripts" says the narrator. Actually no, you don't need to read those at all. Yes, Lars may have read lots of historical manuscripts during his research of so-called 'ancient techniques', but those same techniques are still used today by many different cultures.
#15. "and ultimately it is also more fun." says the narrator. Yes, this is partially true, Instinctive Archery is fun - but not everyone wants to do Instinctive so whether it is "more fun" is a matter of personal preference. Myself I love shooting at moving targets, but I also love shooting long distances on a windy day. Both are those activities are quite a bit of fun, but I wouldn't go telling people it is "more fun" in an authoritative way as if my opinion is somehow the rule of law.
#16. I wonder how many times Lars dropped his bow when trying to toss it in the air and catch it.
#17. "master archers shoot the bow with both hands" says the narrator. Not necessarily. The narrator is quoting a book Lars Anderson supposedly read. Just because the book says so does not make it true.
For example Awa Kenzo - one of the three greatest archers of the last century - always shot right handed. He was reputedly "able to shoot 100 bullseyes with 100 arrows" and during a demonstration in Japan he once shot the filament out of a lightbulb, without shattering the lightbulb. Awa Kenzo is the epitome of the zen master archer - but he only shot with his right hand.
So sorry, but I am calling bogus on the narrator's quote from that book.
#18. "must be able to hit a blade so the arrow splits into two parts". Wow. This book just claims all sorts of stuff. I will also note that Lars does many of these trick shots while standing less than 10 feet (3.33 yards) from the target. Lets see him repeat that shot while at a greater distance.
There is a video of Byron Anderson on YouTube shooting a tylenol pill in the air at a distance of roughly 10 yards (30 feet). That is still a relatively short distance, but I think Lars needs more practice if he wants to catch up to Byron Anderson.
#19. "Archers could also pick up enemy arrows and shoot them back." So what? Anybody can do that. Seriously, anybody with working arms and fingers can pick up an enemy's arrow and shoot it back. How is that an important skill?
#20. Notice how Lars catches the arrow in mid air and then shoots it at a target that is literally a few feet from him. At that distance he would be better off just stabbing the enemy with the arrow.
#21. Shooting at a target up close is not an impressive ability. Sitting at a table and shooting two people across the table from you is something anyone could do. Yes, speed would be handy in that situation, but the moment he takes out his bow wouldn't the enemies just stand up and stab him with a sword?
#22. Again with the claim that "this technique was forgotten". I am really getting tired of these. It was never forgotten, it continued to be practiced. Just because firearms became the primary choice for hunters does not mean people neglected to do archery and preserve old techniques. The Cherokee tribe in the USA for example has maintained an unbroken succession of both archery skills and also bow-making / arrow-making techniques. This means that the skills that are being passed down to young members of the Cherokee tribe today are the same skills that were passed down pre-European settlements in the USA, skills that have been passed down from fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers - doubtlessly skills dating back to the pre-history of their tribe.
#23. Penetrating chainmail armour is not hard to do with an arrow. It is actually ridiculously easy because the chinks in chainmail are designed to reflect blades, not arrows. The arrows go right through the chinks in the armour like a hot knife through butter. Penetrating plate armour, that is difficult. There is a story about a group of Saxons who were chased into a tower by a group of Welsh archers. The Welsh bow was so infamously powerful, but this story demonstrates how much. The Saxons barricaded themselves inside the tower, behind a door made of 4 inches thick oak. The Saxons were wearing chainmail armour, but the arrows from the Welsh archers went right through the 4-inch thick doors, right through the armour, and killed them easily.
#24. I think the reference to using "both hands" to give a bow more power is actually a reference to foot bows. I think Lars / the narrator has misinterpreted the meaning of using both hands. Likely it was used in a manner similar to the footbow shown on the right.
#25. So the narrator says ancient archers were expected to shoot 3 arrows in 1.5 seconds. So... Weird question, but how were they measuring time without a stop watch? Was it really 1.5 seconds or were they using a different measurement of time?
#26. "while speed is important hitting the target is essential" says the narrator. Finally, some truth in this video full of lies, half-truths and glaring historical inaccuracies.
#27. At which point he then tries shooting at a moving arrow with his own arrow. Yes, that clearly requires some skill - although again he does it a ridiculously short distance of mere feet from him - and again we don't get to see all of the failed attempts. And trust me, there would have been plenty of failed attempts before they finally managed to succeed at this archery stunt.
#28. So in the 1938 film "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (featuring a young Howard Hill as a cameo and performing all of the archery stunts) Robin Hood splits an arrow with another arrow. The narrator in Lars' video then says "some consider this to be the ultimate archery trick". Yes, some people might consider that to be the ultimate archery trick. However myself personally, I have hit and split my own arrow on moving targets (and have the photos to prove it) at 60 feet away on a windy day. See my post Robin Hooding a Moving Target from 2014 for details of this feat.
So then the narrator says that "They are wrong. The ultimate archery trick is splitting an incoming arrow in two with one of your own." Apparently at a very short distance - and apparently by editing out all of the failed shots in which he completely missed.
So yes, Lars Anderson does have some impressive speed and accuracy at short distances, but speed is not everything - in fact speed is pretty useless and impractical when it comes to any situation that doesn't involve short range combat.
For hunting purposes, for warfare (which means volleys of arrows), or for competitions then accuracy at longer distances is more important. Most bowhunting occurs at ranges of 20 to 40 yards (60 to 120 feet) and in war archers would be shooting volleys extreme distances anywhere from two hundred yards away to 1400 yards - wherein accuracy was less important because they were counting on the sheer number of arrows raining down death upon the enemy. At short, mid range and long range distances that is when the archers would begin actually aiming at specific targets. Aiming at a target point blank almost never happened because if you were that close to an enemy it is time to get your shield and sword out lest they start hacking you to pieces.
Persian archery - for which Lars Anderson claims to base much of his research on - was specifically a style of horseback archery, which meant archers were shooting at targets that were close range while riding by them on horseback. It is basically the "driveby shooting" style of archery. Horseback archery is not famed for its long or even mid distance accuracy. It is really only accurate at point blank distances.
There have been many websites and videos that have refuted Lars Anderson's newest video and the wild lies from the narrator. My nitpicking of each of the points in the video is nothing new or unusual. I am not "reinventing how to nitpick a video" or making any wild claims of "discovering ancient techniques of how to nitpick videos". I am not the first person to nitpick this video full of outrageous statements, half-truths and lies. We live in a society of people who know how to Fact Check. Deal with it.
The world has lots of trick shooters out there. I am content to be one of them, but I don't need to make phony misinformation to garner attention.
Want to learn how to shoot an arrow? Practice. Preferably by practicing proper techniques with the aid of an archery instructor who knows what they are doing. I do not recommend copying anything you saw in the Lars Anderson video. Copying what he does is just plain dangerous and will likely damage your archery equipment. (For archery lessons in Toronto, contact me or one of the other local archery instructors.)
Learning how to draw back to a consistent anchor point is one of the first steps archers need to learn how to do. Subscribe to Cardio Trek and stay tuned for an upcoming post about consistent anchor points. Update - See Archery Anchor Points.
Below is an art piece of sorts I created using the faces of 8 different archers with their faces overlapped. In the photos they are all pulling back the arrow to approximately the same anchor point.
"Eight Archers, One Anchor Spot"
I ended up making a 2nd version of the image to align their heads and the bow string better than the first draft.
"Eight Archers, One Anchor Spot" (Version II)
Update - If you do want to see a video response to Lars video, I recommend watching "A Response to Lars Andersen: a New Level of Archery" posted by YouTube user "skepticallypwnd". I didn't see that particular video response until after I finished writing this, but it does make some of the many same point I have made and many other archers have made about the ridiculous statements made in Lars' video.
Including one statement which I skipped over, the idea that "the back quiver is a Hollywood myth". The response video points out that the back quiver has existed for millennia - and unlike Lars who apparently is clueless about some things - there are plenty of historical images showing people using back quivers, and while the style of archery used may not be accurately depicted by artists, we can safely say that back quivers are not a "Hollywood myth".
I would like to point out that ancient hunters knew how to stuff a back quiver with fur so their arrows didn't move around / fall out easily, making them both quieter (for hunting purposes, having a quiet quiver is handy) and also helping to prevent the loss of arrows by making it more difficult for arrows to fall out haphazardly.
The video by skepticallypwnd also points out that the mass media sort of jumped on the bandwagon with headlines like "Everything you know about archery is a lie", and then proceeded to quote a video that was itself full of lies, half-truths and misinformation.
I am also happy to see in their video that I am not the only one who caught the "1.5 seconds" lie and asked how they managed to measure time.
Also another page you might be interested in reading is Geek Dad's posting titled "Danish 'Archer' Demonstrates Gullibility of Audience".
UPDATE, February 2016: Glossary of Terms
There seems to be some confusion about the term "Instinctive Archery" and what makes instinctive archery so different from other styles of archery so I have decide to add a quick glossary for those people who don't understand the differences.
Traditional Archery - Aims off the tip of the arrow, utilizes a high anchor point sometimes referred to as North Anchor, Traditional Anchor or High Anchor. Usually no gadgets, although arrowrests are sometimes used. Sometimes also called "Barebow Archery". Commonly uses many kinds of more traditional styles of bows, longbows, shortbows and traditional recurves, including ethnic varieties like the Turkish horsebow, the Korean horsebow, the Japanese yumi, the English longbow, the Cherokee flatbow, etc.
Gap-Shooting Traditional Archery - This is a sub-type of Traditional Archery, which uses the same techniques as Traditional Archery, with the exception of how to aim. Instead of aiming off the tip of the arrow, Gap Shooting involves using the gap between the target and the side of the bow / shooting window. Gap Shooting is usually used by experienced archers who have been shooting for a very long time.
Olympic Archery - Aims off a sight attached to the bow, utilizes gadgets like a clicker, stabilizer, and arrowrest. Also uses a low anchor point sometimes referred to as South Anchor, Olympic Anchor or Low Anchor. Utilizes Olympic archery equipment designed specifically for shooting at 70 meter targets during competitions.
Compound Bow Archery - Aims through a smaller peep sight and off a sight attached to the bow. utilizes pulley cams to create a let off on draw weight, stabilizer, complex arrowrests (eg. drop away arrowrests, whisker-biscuits, etc) and does not normally use a fixed anchor point because the peep sight is doing most of the work in that respect and worrying about an anchor point is considered unnecessary on a compound bow.
Instinctive Archery - Doesn't aim off anything in particular, does not use any kind of sights or gadgets, does not necessarily have a fixed draw length or a fixed anchor point - this doesn't mean the archer doesn't sometimes use an anchor point, it merely means that most instinctive shooters do not use a fixed anchor point. However it should be noted that if they are looking at the target and using a fixed anchor point, then they might be technically Gap-Shooting without realizing it and they are not doing instinctive archery. eg. Lars Anderson does not use a fixed anchor point. Many people confuse Gap-Shooting with Instinctive Archery, mostly because they don't know what the difference is.
Equestrian Archery - Firing a bow from the back of a horse, usually while the horse is in motion. Often utilizes either Traditional or Instinctive archery techniques, as well as specific techniques designed for equestrian archery, eg. a "live" horseman's release, during which the drawing arm moves backwards away from the bow after releasing the arrow.
Looking to sign up for archery lessons, boxing lessons, swimming lessons, ice skating lessons or personal training sessions? Start by emailing cardiotrek@gmail.com and lets talk fitness!
