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. :)
For some people doing normal pushups is too difficult, but there is an alternative - the Wall Pushup.
Doing a Wall Pushup is significantly easier than doing normal pushups (especially compared to say fingertip pushups), but that doesn't mean you can be lazy about it either. To master Wall Pushups it helps to actually do them properly so you get the most benefit from them and aren't injuring yourself by accident.
Step One
Stand with your feet together about 1 to 2 feet from a wall.
Step Two
Place your hands flat on the wall at the same level as your shoulders and space them a little more than shoulder width apart.
Step Three
Slowly bend your arms at the elbows to lower your body toward the wall until your head touches the wall. (Myself I like to lower myself towards the wall until my nose brushes the wall a tiny bit.)
Step Four
Slowly raise your body back up by straightening arms. It is important that you do both steps 3 and 4 slowly. Don't rush. Take your time.
Step Five
Repeat Steps 3 and 4 slowly 10, 20 or more times and then take a short break. Ideally you should try to do perhaps 5 sets of 10 or 5 sets of 20 every day to give yourself a decent workout for your triceps, shoulders, pecs, etc.
Wall pushups are a great exercise to do every morning. They're also handy for vacations, when visiting family / friends during holidays, and they're very frugal. They're also good for elderly people or people dealing with an injury.
Another kind of pushup you can try is an Incline Pushup, usually done using stairs, large heavy furniture or something equally stable to brace yourself up against.
There are also Decline Pushups, but you should really master how to do normal pushups before attempting Decline.
Do you want to know the #1 reason why many people who set out to lose weight via exercise fail to lose the weight they are looking for?
The answer is...
NOT ENOUGH CARDIO
Many people who go to the gym (or set up a home gym) do so by lifting weights or doing various forms resistance training, which in turn builds muscle.
What often happens is the person ends up GAINING WEIGHT due to increased muscle mass. They aren't reducing their overall weight and while their body fat percentage may go down slightly, they are not going to get the results they are looking for.
It is basically an issue of people equating cardio exercises like running, jogging, swimming, cycling, etc with weightlifting exercises and thinking that they can get the benefits of weight loss from weight lifting - and instead they gain weight by building muscle, while seeing no change at all in their waistline. They have fallen victim to the myth that "you can lose weight by weightlifting".
There are of course, exceptions. I will give you a few:
#1. Put weights around your ankles and go for long walks. That is basically combining weight lifting for your legs with cardio - but it is still effectively cardio.
#2. Put a 20 lb backpack on and then go cycling. Yes, you are lifting extra weight on your back, but the more important factor is that cycling = cardio.
#3. Combine aerobic exercises with small 5 lb dumbbells. Yes, you are lifting weights, but again the bigger factor is that aerobic exercises = cardio.
So yes, of course, if you combine weightlifting with cardio you could lose weight - but the bigger weight loss factor is always going to be the cardio.
Your primary goal during a cardio exercise is to get your heart rate going - and trigger the Afterburn Effect (heightened metabolism as your body burns fat for energy). If you don't get your heart rate high enough to trigger the Afterburn Effect, then you are going to have difficulty trying to lose weight. Often people exercising with just weightlifting are just going to use up the energy in their blood (sugar, fat, etc) and then feel hungry and tired.
In contrast if you trigger the Afterburn Effect you suddenly feel energized - more energetic and alive, for the rest of the day as your body starts burning fat to refuel your body's energy levels. Scientific studies show that the Afterburn Effect can last up to 48 hours after the person achieves a high heart rate from doing cardio - and the more prolonged their heart rate is higher, the more their body starts burning fat.
Triggering the Afterburn Effect is part of High Intensity Interval Training and other forms of Interval Training. So if your goal is to lose weight, you might want to consider Interval Training as a method of getting your heart rate up in your goal of losing weight.
The goal during High Intensity Interval Training is to get your heart rate up doing one intense exercise, and then relax while doing a less stressful exercise, and then get your heart rate back up again by doing another intense exercise.
Example 1. Sprinting, Walking, Sprinting, Walking, Sprinting, Walking, etc.
Example 2. Aggressive Mountain Biking, Relaxing Cruise, Aggressive Mountain Biking, Relaxing Cruise, Aggressive Mountain Biking, Relaxing Cruise, etc.
Example 3. Fast Swimming, Leisurely Swimming, Fast Swimming, Leisurely Swimming, Fast Swimming, Leisurely Swimming, etc.
Scientific studies have also shown that 30 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training is more effective for weight loss than 30 minutes of jogging - because your heart rate gets higher while sprinting, and a higher heart rate triggers the Afterburn Effect better.
So not only are people often doing the wrong exercises for their goal, people are often opting for exercises they consider to be easier - because they know sprinting and similar intense exercises are pretty hard.
But not impossible.
Sprinting is basically just running as fast as possible for a short period of time. Anyone with working legs can do it, so chances are likely you have no excuses.
Anyone with bad knees would be advised to do swimming instead.
But once you start doing more intense cardio on a regular basis you will feel invigorated every time you do - that is how you will know the Afterburn Effect is working. The feeling of invigoration.
I am going to go a bit off topic today, but my goal here is to talk about the advertising industry and its place when it comes to both the exercise industry and the food industry. Time for some myth busting!
SAY CHEESE
You would think, judging by TV commercials for cheese that cheese is inherently good for you because it contains lots of calcium. This is only partially true.
It only takes a Google search to find hundreds of articles about the Cheese Lobby in both the USA and Canada, and how it is being used to sell everything from fattening cheese pizza to cheesy Taco Bell to cheeseburgers and more...
Fun Fact: "Americans now eat an average of 33 pounds of cheese a year, nearly triple the 1970 rate."
The Cheese Lobby in the USA is HUGE. They represent every fast food chain that has cheese on the menu, whether it be cheese pizza or cheeseburgers. Their goal? To fool North Americans into thinking cheese is healthy for you because it contains calcium.
Truth be told when you actually check milk and cheese isn't actually a good source of calcium. Milk is actually a good source of protein, and cheese is a good source of fat. Cheese is something you should be asking for less of, not more of.
Want a good source for calcium? Check out the vegetables below.
FIVE RED FLAGS
To demonstrate how bad the food industry is sometimes I am going to show 5 Red Flags to look for when you are watching advertising:
#1. Exotic Ingredients from Asia, Brazil, Africa, Etc.
The
idea here is simply: To fool people into thinking that you can lose
weight by eating some kind of exotic berry (acai berries for example) or
fruit from a place you've never been to (South African Hoodia Extract). If they're pushing something
exotic for a hefty price, they're basically just selling you juice or
extract for something you don't actually need.
#2. Fake Studies with Fake Doctors
If they have to back up their product with a study from a doctor, most likely the doctor in question is either not a real doctor or he/she is being paid oodles of money to push a bogus study that says their product works. Often there will be a photo of a doctor dressed in white holding a supplement.
#3. Free Trial
Free Trials are a great way to get gullible people hooked on a product that doesn't really work any better than a placebo. Plus when you try to cancel they make it very difficult to do so - you basically have to cancel your credit card to get rid of them. Note - Many companies stick an addictive agent (caffeine usually) in the product so you become addicted to the product.
#4. Celebrity Testimonials
It doesn't matter whether the celebrity is a bodybuilder or Oprah, if they are pushing the product using a celebrity then then company's primary goal is to make money off gullible people.
#5. Too Good to be True
If it contains the words "Lose Weight Fast and Easy" or some similar slogan, you know they're lying to you.
THE FITNESS LOBBY
If you Google the words fitness lobby you will get a bunch of gym websites and photos of lobbies of gyms. The reason why, apparently, is because there is no "Fitness Lobby" in the USA or Canada (or in any other country for that matter).
I did manage to find one article about fitness groups lobbying for a tax break, but it wasn't an actual lobby group being paid to lobby the government, it was simply a selection of fitness groups trying to get a tax break. They only had one cause and they weren't being paid to do it, whereas lobby groups are basically hired thugs being paid to fight on behalf of the tobacco industry, the cheese industry, the oil industry, and basically any industry which everyone knows is doing something bad.
How many decades did the tobacco industry use lobbying to keep cigarettes being sold and how many more decades will they continue to do so before smoking cigarettes gets banned in North America for causing ridiculous amounts of cancer and killing two thirds of smokers? An industry that kills 66% of its customers is doomed to eventually get banned.
In contrast the fitness industry doesn't kill people when they are selling new fitness gadgets.
But it does use false advertising, like the Fake Doctors, Free Trials, Celebrity Endorsements, and Too Good To Be True slogans mentioned above.
But here are additional tricks used in advertisements:
#1. The fitness industry often uses people who were already thin and attractive (or already lost weight) before they started using whatever new fitness gadget is being pushed at the consumer. So regardless of whether they are trying to sell a Thigh Master or a Bowflex, their goal is to show you people who are already fit using the product. They don't show you people who overweight and not fit using it and then the slow progression of them losing weight - that would be too time consuming, and also impossible because people would realize that the people using the product are also using other kinds of exercises.
#2. They don't mention that people using the product should also be using a wide variety of other exercises - such as jogging, swimming or cycling - in their goal to lose weight.
#3. They ignore the fact that a home gym composed of weight machines really only builds muscle and is useless to someone who wants to lose weight by shedding fat. To shed fat they need to be doing cardio exercises.
#4. Fitness gyms sign people up for 1 year contracts and then make it difficult to cancel the contract by charging the membership fee every month even after the contract has been finished or cancelled. Fitness gyms claim it is due to clerical errors that people are routinely charged again and again even after their contract has expired or been cancelled.
#5. Fitness gyms routinely overcharge members for their membership fee, for an inflated amount with hidden fees - or sometimes charge the membership fee twice in the same month. Or both.
#6. Fitness gyms offer personal training services, but often charge ridiculous rates for those services while paying their staff peanuts. eg. Extreme Fitness charges $80 to $90 per hour for the services of a personal trainer, but only pays the trainer $17 to $20 per hour.
So the fitness industry doesn't really need a fitness lobby because they're already making lots of money off gullible people signing up for fitness gadgets they don't need and gym memberships they likewise don't need.
Want to get some exercise? Start by going outside more often and doing fun activities that require exercise. Want to lose weight through dieting? Start by learning how to cook healthier food.
For women who want perkier breasts - or men who want large pecs, there are a variety of ways to work the pectoral muscles of the chest that are responsible for making a woman's breasts look perkier or to make a men's pecs larger.
#1. Push-ups
Try to do 5 sets of 10, 5 sets of 15 or 5 sets of 20 Push-ups every day.
Kneel on the floor with your feet crossed at the ankles. Press your knees together and place your hands on the floor, slightly ahead of and further apart than your shoulders.
Ensure that your knees, hips and shoulders are in straight angles.
Slowly lower your upper body to floor and push back to the original position. If you cannot manage a full push-up, take it halfway down until your strength improves.
#2. Wall Push-ups, Incline Pushups or Decline Pushups
Wall and Incline push-ups are great for people who lack the upper body strength to do a normal push-up. Using wall push-ups and incline push-ups a person can work their way up to eventually doing normal push-ups. And for extra challenge try decline push-ups if you've already mastered normal push-ups.
#3. Chest Presses
This exercise needs weights or dumbbells. Do 5 sets of chest presses several times a week with 10, 15 or 20 repetitions per set.
Lie on your back on the floor with your feet placed in front of your buttocks, knees bent.
Lift the weights above you with the backs of your hands facing you. Your arms should be straight. Do not lock your elbows.
Slowly bend your arms so that your elbows are at 90 degrees.
Return to the starting position. Give a break of four seconds between repetitions.
#4. Dips
In addition to strengthening your chest muscles, dips also improve your posture when sitting or standing. Three sets of dips with 20 repetitions each done three times per week will work on your chest muscles and triceps.
Stand with your back facing a chair, table or similar structure and place your feet as far apart as your hips. Place your palms on the back of the chair.
Keep your back straight and close to the chair.
Lower yourself until your arms and knees are bent at 90 degrees.
Push back to the original position until your arms are straight, but not locked.
You can also do Dips with a partner if you have a wall handy.
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.
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