One of the things I have done over the years of teaching archery is that I have started keeping records of how well my students do.
For example during the first lesson, which involves Field Archery Practice at target balls, I keep track of which students have managed to hit the target ball at the furthest distance.
During the first lesson the student starts shooting at a target ball at a distance of 10 yards. If they hit the ball I move it back 1 pace (roughly 1 yard). If they hit it twice in the same round, I move it back 2 paces.
Five times? Clearly that distance is too easy. Move it back 5 paces.
By the end of the lesson most students are shooting at the target balls at a distance of 21 to 25 yards. However some students have been quite good at this and manage to hit the ball enough times to get the ball out to an impressive distance.
The record for a beginner student during their first lesson is 37 yards (111 feet).
Recently one of my archery students managed to tie that record, and I got it on video. So now there are two students who managed to hit the target ball at 37 yards during their first lesson.
Competing Against Yourself
Keeping track of your personal record at various distances is handy and fun to do. It lets you know how much you have improved. For example I know my personal record at 20 yards when shooting at a 40cm FITA archery target is a perfect 50 out of 50, but I also know I only managed to get that score on a day when:
- I was well rested and well fed.
- I was mentally focused and not distracted.
- There was almost no wind.
- I was using a particular bow I had been shooting with for years.
- I was using brand new arrows.
- I had been trying to get a perfect score for almost a month.
Getting that perfect score basically required everything to be alignment (like the moon and stars, etc) and I only ever did it once.
Once I did do it however I moved on to other things, like seeing what was the best score I could get at 33 yards (30 meters / 99 feet), also on a 40cm FITA target. I don't think I will ever get a perfect 50 at that distance on a target that small. (The 10 point circle only has a diameter of roughly 4 cm.)
Competing Against The Record
Find a record set by someone else that you think you could potentially beat.
For example the most amazing shot I have ever seen done by any of my students was last year when I was teaching one of my older students Clout Archery.
Clout Archery involves shooting at a flag pole at very large distances. So far away you need something like a flagpole so you can see what you are trying to hit.
One of my students hit the flagpole, right on the flag where it was attached to the pole, the middle point of it - and hit it so hard the flagpole fell over.
The distance was 85 yards (77.7 meters). For reference Olympic archers shoot at 70 meters.
In the video below you can hear me grumbling about how I need to come up with more difficult challenges for this particular student, who after so many years of lessons continues to amaze me with his ability to beat a challenge.
