5 Ways to Practice Archery after you get Archery Lessons

Let's pretend for a moment that you've already got archery lessons in Toronto. Once you've already been trained by an archery instructor / coach, what are some good ways to practice by yourself?

If you've already had lessons (I recommend 3 or more if you're planning to buy your equipment) then you should already have done the following during your lessons:

1. Learned Proper Safety Etiquette
2. Purchased Equipment that is suitable for your Needs
3. Learned How to Aim
4. Learned Proper Form
5. Practiced during your Lessons

So if you've already done all of theses things (either with me or a different instructor) what we really want to be talking is the following:

1. Small Target Practice

I recommend using small targets, something about the size of a coffee lid, so that you have to truly focus and concentrate on what you're doing in order to hit it. The smaller the target the more you have to concentrate on your form in order to hit it.

2. Setting Goals + Tracking Progress

Some archers like to establish specific goals for each practice session, whether it's improving their groupings or hitting a certain score. Keep a record of your progress to track your development over time. However this isn't for everyone. Some people prefer a more relaxed / less regimented practice session.

3. Incorporate Drills and Exercises

Include various drills in your practice routine to work on specific aspects of your shooting, such as target archery and trying to beat a certain score, field archery at various distances, or possibly more complicated things like shooting at moving targets or shooting while walking (I teach these more advanced things to my students who get 5 or more lessons).

4. Mental Focus

Over time it isn't the physical aspect of archery that becomes the tricky part. It is the mental stuff that starts to mess with the archer's head. Some archers will get into relaxation techniques, practice breathing control, and imagining/visualizing a successful shot.

I personally like reading/writing zen poetry, but that isn't for everyone. But for those people interested in such topics I recommend the following books

Zen Bow, Zen Arrow by John Stevens

Dreaming of Zen Archery by Charles Moffat

5. To Video Record or Not To Video Record

There are Pros and Cons to recording your practice sessions from different angles to review your form and identify areas for improvement. It helps if you already know proper form and you know what problem areas you need to be paying attention to.

Some people will also use the videos to compare your technique to instructional videos or to seek feedback from online archery communities, but because there are many different types of archery (including stringwalkers and facewalkers) you're more likely to get confused by the broad range of responses you will get from the community, many of whom may have only been shooting for a short period of time, so you might be getting a lot of bad advice from people. Instead I recommend only showing the video to an archery instructor who teaches the style of archery you are practicing. Otherwise the deluge of bad advice could end up making the quality of your shooting worse.

It is also possible to mentally psyche yourself out by watching the videos of yourself and mess up your mental focus.

Bonus! Join an Archery Club / Community

Socializing with other archers in person is a great way to seek advice, ask questions, and learn from their experiences to enhance your learning journey. Doing this in-person is fundamental because it allows you to better gauge the experience of the archers you are talking to and how seriously you should take their advice. Also if you join a club it gives you an excuse to practice more often and make friends within the community.