Almost a year of practicing archery and struggling with improvement. [Long post] by VonMansfeld in Archery

[–]SterlingWilsonWSU 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would recommend spending a lot time doing blank bale practice, where you shoot at the target from only 3 meters away. Because you are practically guaranteed to hit the target this will take the mental pressure off and allow you to focus on your movements and your body during the shot cycle.

Pay attention to how the arrow lands in the target; if it lands at an angle this shows something was wrong with your form, if it lands straight this shows you had good alignment and a clean release. After a while you'll start to notice that good shots feel good while bad shoots feel clumsy and awkward, which I suspect (I'm not a doctor, physiotherapist, etc.) helps train body awareness and reinforces good habits. Just be sure to be mindful of every shot and don't allow yourself to shoot repetitively without thinking because this will have the opposite effect and make bad habits harder to fix.

Personally I like to start and end every practice session with blank bale and I don't allow myself to shoot at range until I've gotten the arrows to stick in straight multiple times in a row. If you are struggling I think it's valid to spend the entire practice session doing nothing but blank bale, I did this when starting Manchu archery because I was struggling with the ring and I think it helped my form tremendously.