Normally, in a regulation target shooting competition, the athletes are given 30 seconds where they can set up their shot and fire their arrow (or round of arrows). Those competitors who have trained using the national training system used by the Olympic shooting team use a 12-step process to prepare each shot. While this may work well in target competition, rarely does a shooter get much time when hunting or shooting in the field. Instead, these shooters must rely on their instinctive marksmanship training to quickly run the routine of setting up the shot and releasing the arrow.
What is innate archery?
Instinctive archery was practiced long before archery was relegated from its primitive hunting and combat roots to shooting at fixed targets. When hunting or fighting, Neanderthals often had less than a second to make a successful shot. Instead of spending time thinking through each step of the 12-step shot individually, the archer had to rehearse his shot until his body instinctively knew what to do and needed the least amount of time to aim.
It can be hard to imagine shooting an arrow without aiming it first. Instinctive shooting does not mean that you fail to aim the arrow, it just means that you do it quickly and intuitively. Good analogy is similar to how you throw a baseball. You simply look where you want to throw, point your foot and body in that direction, and follow in the same direction with your throwing arm. Likewise, the bow and arrow can become an extension of the body as well.
How to shoot instinctively
Before you start shooting instinctively, there are a few prerequisites. In particular, you need to make sure that the bow you use matches your dominant eye. Just as one of your hands is usually dominant, the same can be said about your eyes. With both eyes open, your line of sight is directed by one eye, while the other eye provides greater background, detail, and image clarity.
When shooting at a target, you simply close your dominant eye and aim with your non-dominant eye. However, with instinctive shooting, both eyes need to be open so that you can get more information about the specific scenario you are shooting in. If you try to shoot a left-handed bow and your right eye is dominant, you will almost certainly miss the target if you are shooting with both eyes open. This is because your eyes are about 3 inches apart. Although your non-dominant eye lines up behind the chord, your line of sight originates from the other eye, blocking your line of sight.
In addition, before starting the instinctive shooting lessons, it is important that you have at least the basic technique by following the steps. You should, at a minimum, have a firm stance, a smooth draw, and a consistent anchor point. Having a solid understanding of these basics will not only keep your training safe, but it will also help you focus on drawing, aiming, and releasing fast because you’ll already master the mechanics.
to shoot instinctively
If you’ve mastered the basics and have a proper bow, you’re ready to start improving your subconscious ability to aim. First, try this exercise. Pick a spot 10-20 yards away from you and point at it. It’s fairly easy to accurately point out something without much trouble. This is similar to how you aim in instinctive shooting.
With your bow and arrow in hand, limit the amount of time you spend aiming to just a second or two. A common training tool is to use a metronome, allowing four strikes per shot: the first to rhythm the arrow, the second to draw, the third to aim, and the fourth to release. By forcing yourself to go through these processes “on the beat,” you will naturally have to rely on your training on the basics and your own subconscious instinct to reach the goal.
Finally, try to lean towards the subject when shooting. Focus all of your attention on the point you’re trying to reach, down to the smallest possible increase in area. For example, if you usually focus on hitting the entire target, try focusing on the bull’s-eye only. If you normally focus on the bull’s eye, focus on a one centimeter spot inside the bull’s eye. As you practice, you will gradually learn to see faster, allowing you to aim faster and allowing your body’s natural instinct to align itself behind the arrow for maximum accuracy.
