Books - not just good for target practice, you can read them too!

There have been some great books and online recourses written recently on learning archery. These can be a great tool to remind and reinforce the lessons you’ve already been taught during our beginners couse and you'll learn a whole host new skills to help you become a great archer.

The following books are recommended for someone who has just started in archery hopefully after doing a progressive beginners course (see our courses page for current availability of our great weekend, 3 week ‘Fast Track’ or regular 5 week beginers courses in London Bridge). The best books at this level help you to develop a solid, consistent form without going into deeply technical variations on the standard elements of the shot sequence. All three of the following books provide a clear guide to building a good shot sequence and will help a novice archer achieve good consistent form.

Archery (Steps to Success): Kathleen Haywood (Author), Catherine Lewis (Author) 

This is a very good book for people looking for a structured way to become a solid archer. 

• Thorough - it's a very thorough book and doesn’t miss out anything that a novice archer needs to know.
• Easy to follow - provides an easy to follow program of exercises and provides space to record how well you have done on each exercise. A fun and interesting way to learn.
• Clear illustrations - good clear photos and drawings of each step to help you to conceptualise your body position.
• Bow tuning - a great section on basic bow tuning so you can get your bow up to speed at the same time as you improve your form.

Other good beginner books to try are:

Archery Fundamentals: A Better Way to Learn the Basics by Douglas Engh (Author)

Less rigidly structured than Steps to success, so is good if you prefer to structure your own training/learning your way.

The Archery For Beginners Guidebook by Archery GB (only available through archery stores, e.g. Clickers, Aim 4 Sport, Merlin etc)

Has a very good guide on archery etiquette and protocols in competitions and in clubs. 

The Following online sources can also be helpful:

KSL International Archery 

http://www.kslinternationalarchery.com/Technique/KSLShotCycle/KSLShotCycle-USA.html

This has a very good shot sequence. It's brief in its description but is free to look at so worth a read. It does get pretty technical though. 

Archery Interchange http://www.archeryinterchange.com/forum.php

A very popular UK archery forum, this can be a useful recourse for answering specific questions. Although do bear in mind that as it’s a forum there is often lots of arguing that can be distracting and confusing. The loudest voice is also not necessarily the most accurate!

These are the ones that I particularly favour but there are many more useful resources out there. Do let us know if you have any other recommendations that you've found useful on your archery journey!

Roger - 2020 Archery Instructor

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Archery for Beginners

Archery is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK. Open to all, archery can be enjoyed by young and old, people with disabilities and whole families (2020 has a great junior club with Mums and Dads shooting alongside young people each weekend – www.juniorarchery.co.uk). 

As a sport that can be practiced inside or outside throughout the year, socially or competitively, archery can really be said to cater for everyone. Over here at 2020 Archery we currently have 1 completely blind club member and 1 with significant visual impairment. We’ve also had a number of wheelchair users and people with mobility issues as members in the past. 

Forms of archery

Target archery: this is the most popular form of archery in the UK and the style that is currently featured in the Olympic games (although the Olympic version is somewhat different than regular competitions). Target archery takes place on flat ground - indoor or outdoor - and involves shooting a specific number of arrows at particular sizes of target faces at 

distances of up to 100 yards. This type of archery can also take place inside over shorter distances. Indoor archery – like we do at 2020 - typically sees us shooting 5x dozen arrows at 60cm target faces for a score out of 600 at 20 yards. You can see our club members scores on the club website here (http://www.2020archery.co.uk/club-6/)

Field archery: this form of archery takes place on a series of targets set out in outside locations, often in woodland. The shooting distances are usually unmarked so archers rely on their judgement and instinct, especially if they choose to use a traditional bow such as a longbow or flatbow. Saying that, I also know a number of compound archers who also enjoy this type of more ‘natural’ shooting.  

Clout archery: this form of archery is similar to target archery but the archer must drop the arrows at a long range into a number of circular scoring zones on the ground. Arrows are shot at an angle of around 45 degrees up into the air. This type of archery probably emulates the kind of military training that used to take place when an enemy might be a known distance away (e.g. approx 150 yards) and accuracy at the specified distance could mean victory or defeat.  

Flight archery: requiring a lot of space, flight archery is a sport in which the archer must shoot the arrow as far as possible. This is generally done in very specific categories for weights and types of arrows shot from specific bows. James Farrar of Fairbow holds a number of flight records using very heavy traditional bows known as warbows – he also sells great traditional archery gear which we like a lot over at 2020 (http://www.fairbowuk.com/). 

Getting involved 

There are a number of ways that you can get involved in archery but the best place to start is your local club. Most clubs are very welcoming to beginners (as long as you’ve made an appointment or booked a session) and many offer Have-a-Go sessions. This gives newcomers the opportunity to try out the sport before enrolling in a beginners course and - hopefully - becoming a member and starting to practice with the club. 

Although clubs often welcome beginners, it is important to have a basic understanding of the sport before you try to join a club or start practicing.  Most clubs will offer structured beginners courses to set up would-be archers with the basic skills and techniques required. The course can take place across a number of weeks or over a weekend and gives new archers the opportunity to join an archery club for further training and the chance to compete in tournaments if they want to. 

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Archery on Horseback

You’d be forgiven for believing that archery on horseback was a thing of the past, a form of iron age hunting and fighting that has long since disappeared. But mounted archery has far from died out. It's unlikely that it still takes place in the traditional way for hunting or in aggressive situations, but instead it has become a popular sport, with competitions taking place in the UK and across the globe.

A little history

Although it was once a popular method of assault in fast attacking raids, mounted archery was an ineffective defence against massed foot archery in more formalised battle settings. Large numbers of foot archers were able to synchronise attacks on their large targets and achieve a longer range than their mounted enemies. In fact, mounted archery was such an ineffective defence that Mongol archers would often dismount and shoot from a sitting position!

Mounted archery began to disappear in the 17th century when modern firearms became common weapons. During the next century, bows were occasionally used in conjunction with firearms, providing archers with the benefits of both. However, as repeating firearms were developed, mounted archers were removed from battle completely.

After Mongolian independence in 1921, mounted archery enjoyed a resurgence as a cultural display at festivals showcasing Mongolian heritage. Its instant popularity - and huge visual appeal - sparked a worldwide interest and mounted archery began to be reintroduced across the world. 

Competitions today

Nowadays, mounted archery is a rapidly growing equestrian sport, popular in a large number of countries including the UK, the USA, Germany, China and Korea. The sport has come a long way from its origins and now uses a light weight (under 50 Ib) bow and a guided track to keep the horse straight.  

There are a number of annual competitions held all over the world, with the largest held in Korea. In order to embrace the sport’s history, competitors often wear the traditional clothing and use traditional bow and arrows rather than those used in modern foot archery.

In general, the competitions are split into two groups: Korean style and Hungarian style. The Hungarian style involves one run on which the archer must hit three targets from three different angles, the reverse angle being the most difficult (obviously!). The Korean style involves three different runs that vary in difficulty, the hardest being the 5-shot serial run which requires the competitor to loose the arrows quickly between targets. All mounted competitions include time penalties and points for accuracy making it a difficult balance between completing the course in the allotted time - and actually hitting stuff. 

The Korean style competitions also include a game called Mogu. In Mogu, the mounted archer must chase after a ball being dragged by another horse. They are required to shoot at the ball with ink-dipped arrows and the number of ink stains is counted to determine the score. This also requires a horse with nerves of steel (or good protection at the back - not sure I'd want to try this one myself unless I'd got a LOT of practice in)! 

Getting in to mounted archery

Many mounted archery beginners start out as horse riders with an interest in picking up archery. If you have previous horse riding experience, a few beginners’ archery lessons may be all you need before you’re ready to start competition training with your local club. 

For those with no previous horse riding experience, regular non-mounted archery is a great place to start. Taking part in a beginner’s course gives you the opportunity to try out the sport or archery in general while picking up the basic skills needed for mounted archery. For information about 2020 Archery’s Have A Go sessions where you can get started for only £20, click through to our main website here http://www.2020archery.co.uk/lessons-courses-1/Have-a-Go or call 0203 130 6797.

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Louise : my first club shoot

So, I attended and completed the beginner’s course with 2020 Archery, and by the end I felt pretty confident that I could at least do alright for a beginner. I wasn’t brilliant but I wasn’t constantly missing and I hadn’t injured anyone.

I joined the Club pretty much straight away (only £30 annually to be a member) and got my login. I had already booked my first shoot over email but I used my login to book my second shoot. It was really easy and simple to use and I worked out when the best times to book would be.

I was twinned with a club member called Sarah who was able to tell me a little about what usually happens when you attend a club practice session. After helping to set everything up we got shooting straight away. I ended up using the same bow as the last two sessions I attended which I was happy about, and due to the weather it was quite quiet and I had a target to myself.

Now, I’d love to tell you I was awesome and hit the centre of the target all the time, I’d love to tell you that because the reality was quite different! My first few ends were literally hit and miss (unless you count hitting the curtain, in which case they were all hits) and I got smacked in the arm a couple of times with the bow string (entirely my own fault). At one point, a couple of club members pointed out I was trying to shoot at a slight angle as I wasn’t directly in the line of a target. I started to get a bit tired and a bit annoyed with myself, not to mention my arm hurting from the twanging.

This is not a photo of Louise!

Luckily I was surrounded by many awesome club members, some of whom had been there a while, and some who were only in their 3^rd or 4^th session of shooting post-course. They reminded me that this was only my first shoot and I was probably a bit nervous and to just relax and enjoy it. So, I pulled myself together, sorted out my arm guard so it was tighter and in a more sensible place, moved along the line a bit so I was in front of the target properly and tried to relax. My first shot after all this hit red, and then the second hit yellow. The third hit outside the target but we won’t talk about that one.

I think the important thing to remember is that even though you’ve just completed the course you’re still a beginner and you’re constantly learning, altering your technique, getting used to the surroundings and just doing what you feel comfortable with.

Even though it didn’t go entirely to plan, I really enjoyed my first session, especially because I met such lovely people like Sarah, plus Tony and Laura who helped me settle in. Alright I came out with a little bruise or two and I didn’t get nearly as many points overall as I did previously, but I’m so glad I was able to do the course and so glad I’ve joined the club.

Until next time!

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Louise : Attending Beginners Course session one!

I arrived at the hall and was greeted by Roger who along with Diccon would be instructing the class.

http://www.2020archery.co.uk/lessons-courses-2/Monday-Evening-Beginners-Course

There were 16 students in total with 8 in one group led by Roger, and 8 (including myself) with Diccon. The Sports Hall is a great venue, giving enough space to two sets of teaching as well as the shooting practice in the centre. I found myself on the right side of the court with the rest of my group. Everyone had different reasons for being there, some influenced by the Olympics and Paralympics, some who had always fancied having a go. 

The group was measured up for our bow and arrows. It turned out that I, along with another two members of the group, were right handed but with a left dominant eye. For the session we were to shoot with right handed bows but we may try out left handed bows next week to see if they felt better.

Our first session focused on shooting safety, such as when it is safe to shoot and when it safe to collect our arrows based on the number of whistle blows, how to collect your arrows from the boards, where to stand when other archers are shooting, and other general tips. We were also instructed on how to stand when shooting, paying attention to our 'T' shape, keeping our shoulders down but arms straight. I have to admit I have a bit of trouble keeping my shoulder down but hopefully my homework of ‘posing in the mirror’ will help me get used to the stance ready for next week’s lesson on the 18^th February.

The most important lesson which Diccon kept drumming into us was our reference point. The reference point along with the use of the sight on the recurve bows that we were using instructs the arrow where to hit the board, making sure the string when pulled back touches the end of our nose and the corner of our chin, keeping our fingers just under the jaw. It took a couple of rounds but soon I started to understand what he meant and how it would help with my shooting and aiming. Aside from a few random arrows that would shoot off in completely the wrong direction, many of my arrows all hit the same area of the board, so hopefully with a bit more work on my sight I should be able to move towards the centre of the board.

There were a number of other people too who were there for shooting time. I enjoyed the fact that there were a large number of 2020 Archery members who were there to practice, as you were able to watch other techniques and styles, and also see that even those who have completed the course need to practice and practice. As Diccon informed us, ‘Archery is the art of repetition’.

Bring on next week!

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