As serious archery enthusiasts, we’re all looking for that “silver bullet” piece of advice that will help improve our ability and performance. And in today’s information-packed world, you seemingly don’t have to go very far to find it. One finger click here on the PC and voilà...there’s that magical piece of wisdom we all wanted so badly. Or so we think.
There’s an ol’ adage that says you can have too much of a good thing. Personally, I think that applies a lot in archery and bowhunting.
Certainly, I can appreciate the basis for Internet forums, blogs and the plethora of “expert”-written articles on the technical aspects of archery gear and technique. It’s fun to offer opinions, participate in friendly debate and to pass on experiences to assist archers in learning. But, my advice is to be careful. Not all guidance is well tested, well thought out or clearly written in order to prevent confusion.
If there’s one thing I can say from my 25 years of shooting and hunting with a bow, it’s this: success often comes down to having a clear head and feeling confident in what you are doing. This means filling your brain with an obscene amount of information can actually be detrimental to learning correctly.
Would you give a first-time driver 25 tips on how to drive a car correctly? If you did, they’d surely goof. The same goes for archery. The only way you can execute discipline and sound technique is to have a simple map to follow. The “what,” “how” and “why” of what you are doing should be crystal clear and easy to follow, or you’ll likely falter.
I know this from actual experience. In my beginning years as an enthusiast, I read everything I could get my hands. I wanted to shoot and hunt like a true master. In time, I took what I was reading as the “gospel” and applied every word of it.
The problem was, I found out quickly that words could only take you so far. I slowly realized—through months, if not years, of trial and error—that a lot of what I was reading was actually flawed rather than true. Or, it simply required hands-on instruction to complete. This left me frustrated, confused and unclear on how to proceed. In the end, I lost a lot of valuable learning time due to my so-called “academic” way of learning.
This is where a good bowhunting mentor could have shaved off years of bad instruction. He or she can confirm what you’re reading about, or shoot it down, all based on real-life experience.
There’s an ol’ adage that says you can have too much of a good thing. Personally, I think that applies a lot in archery and bowhunting.
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| Bow & Arrow |
Certainly, I can appreciate the basis for Internet forums, blogs and the plethora of “expert”-written articles on the technical aspects of archery gear and technique. It’s fun to offer opinions, participate in friendly debate and to pass on experiences to assist archers in learning. But, my advice is to be careful. Not all guidance is well tested, well thought out or clearly written in order to prevent confusion.
If there’s one thing I can say from my 25 years of shooting and hunting with a bow, it’s this: success often comes down to having a clear head and feeling confident in what you are doing. This means filling your brain with an obscene amount of information can actually be detrimental to learning correctly.
Would you give a first-time driver 25 tips on how to drive a car correctly? If you did, they’d surely goof. The same goes for archery. The only way you can execute discipline and sound technique is to have a simple map to follow. The “what,” “how” and “why” of what you are doing should be crystal clear and easy to follow, or you’ll likely falter.
I know this from actual experience. In my beginning years as an enthusiast, I read everything I could get my hands. I wanted to shoot and hunt like a true master. In time, I took what I was reading as the “gospel” and applied every word of it.
The problem was, I found out quickly that words could only take you so far. I slowly realized—through months, if not years, of trial and error—that a lot of what I was reading was actually flawed rather than true. Or, it simply required hands-on instruction to complete. This left me frustrated, confused and unclear on how to proceed. In the end, I lost a lot of valuable learning time due to my so-called “academic” way of learning.
This is where a good bowhunting mentor could have shaved off years of bad instruction. He or she can confirm what you’re reading about, or shoot it down, all based on real-life experience.
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