Books and videos aren’t a complete substitute for a coach (or sports-related professional like a physical therapist or mental health professional). However, everyone learns in different ways and sometimes the same message can be reinforced when it’s presented differently. Here is a list of books that I’ve found helpful during my archery journey. I recommend giving a few of these a read and if there are any that resonate with you, add them to your personal library and re-read them occasionally to reinforce your learning and training.
Archery Basics
These are books that are especially helpful for the absolute beginner in archery. If you have absolutely no knowledge about archery, these books are a great start.
The Simple Art of Winning by Rick McKinney
This book by Rick McKinney, a world champion archer, similarly covers the essentials of competitive archery. McKinney shares his insights on training, equipment, and the mental aspects of competition.
The Art of Repetition by Simon Needham
Simon Needham explores the importance of consistent practice and technique in archery. The book provides detailed advice on how to develop and maintain a repeatable shot process. This book provides a great overview into the sport of archery from gear, competing and exercises.
Archery In Depth
After you’ve gained a bit of experience, you might find that you want to get a bit more serious about archery. These books are great resources to get you on the path to not only developing a strong shot process but how to tune (or calibrate) your bow for maximum consistency and precision
Total Archery by Kisik Lee
Written by a renowned Olympic archery coach, this book provides an in-depth look at the Olympic recurve shot process. It covers everything from stance and posture to mental preparation and training techniques. This book is beautifully produced. Its glossy pages are filled with insightful diagrams and beautiful photographs. While you may not adopt all of the insights in the book, it does provide a great framework on how to analyze your own form and shot process even down to how you breathe.
Core Archery by Larry Wise
Larry Wise offers insights into the biomechanics of archery, focusing on proper form and technique. The book includes exercises and drills to help archers develop a strong foundation. This book is more focused on compound archery. I read this when I was starting out and gained a great appreciation for the level of detail we need to have when we’re developing our archery form.
Modern Recurve Tuning by Richard Cockrell
This book offers a detailed guide to tuning recurve bows for optimal performance. Written in wonderfully clear language, this book is an extensive but accessible step-by-step guide to tuning your bow for optimal performance.
Shooting the Stickbow by Anthony Camera
Similar to Modern Recurve Tuning but may appeal to recurve style archers who are more novice to the world of archery or who have more interest in trad archery rather than olympic-style archery.
The Art of Stringwalking by Martin Godio
The Art of Stringwalking focuses on bow tuning especially for the context of barebow shooting. He also provides insight into shooting barebow in competitions. This is an indispensable guide for the barebow enthusiast.
The Art of Barebow by Martin Godio
In this follow-up to the previous title, Martin Godio focuses on form, shot sequences and the mental game for barebow archery. This is another great resource for barebow archers.
The Archery Drill Book by Steve Ruis and Mike Gerard
This is a must-have book for every coach or archer that self-coaches. Even if you do have a coach, this is a great resource to have. It helps you understand the rationale behind different drills, signs you need to practice certain drills and how to challenge yourself. The drills are designed with all bow styles in mind (traditional/barebow, recurve and compound) and includes drills that can be performed without a bow.
Archery Anatomy by Ray Axford
This is an incredibly challenging read for someone without training in biology or anatomy. I have yet to read this book from cover to cover but it’s a great resource to have to be able to understand bodily mechanics. The content is incredibly dense as it provides a thorough guide into what each of part of our body experience throughout each step of the shot process.
Mental Game
Once you’ve elevated your archery skills to a certain level, you realize how much your mental strength factors into your shooting. In a static and individual sport such as archery, you only compete with yourself. You are your own worst enemy. It’s essential to develop your mental strength in order to reach elite levels of shooting.
Zen Golf by Dr. Joseph Parent
This book offers guidance from psychology and Buddhist wisdom to improve the mental game in the sport of golf. This book emphasizes mindfulness, focus and letting go of negative thoughts which are all necessary skills to improve in the mental game of archery.
The Inner Game of Tennis by W. Timothy Gallwey
Similar to Zen Golf, The Inner Game of Tennis focuses on the mental aspects of sports. Gallwey introduces the concept of the conscious and ego-focus Self 1 and the natural, subconscious Self 2. The Inner Game of Tennis teaches us how to manage Self 1 so we can get out of our own way and let Self 2 shine.
With Winning in Mind by Lanny Bassham
This book provides a mental management system for achieving consistent performance under pressure. It covers goal setting, visualization, and the power of positive thinking. This is a short, but engaging read. Written by an Olympic gold medalist in rifle shooting, the anecdotes and insights provided by the author are very relatable to the competitive archer.
The Mindful Athlete by George Mumford
George Mumford, a mindfulness and meditation coach for elite athletes, shares his journey and techniques for achieving peak performance through mindfulness. He emphasizes the importance of mental clarity, focus, and emotional resilience. The book is full of inspiring stories not only from sports but from finding peace during difficult moments in life.
Fight Your Fear and Win by Don Greene
This book offers incredible helpful tips on how to quickly center oneself in the face of anxiety or fear. The book includes techniques for relaxation, visualization, and mental rehearsal.
Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
This classic book recounts the author’s experiences learning Kyudo (Japanese archery) in Japan. Herrigel explores the spiritual and philosophical aspects of archery, emphasizing the importance of being in the moment and letting go of ego. While this isn’t a must-read for the modern archer, I found this book interesting. The author’s insight isn’t too different from what the more modern books espouse; in fact, this is what makes it interesting. Across the span of decades and across continents, archers have been in a constant struggle with focus, expectation and ego.
Other Resources
YouTube brings all the knowledge and insight of elite archers directly to your smartphone screen.
Jake Kaminski
Jake Kaminski provides training videos in Olympic style archery and also dabbles in the barebow style. Not only is he an excellent shot (he is after all a two-time Olympic medalist), he is also able to communicate his insight about archery effectively. He is a great teacher and provides a lot of no-nonsense content related to form, tuning, gear reviews, mental processes and fitness.
World Archery
World Archery is an archery association that governs many competitions around the world. Their channel provides a lot of content from elite international competitions. This is a great way to study the form of the most elite archers in the world. World Archery also produces educational content such as their ShootLikeMe and CoachMe series of videos. You get firsthand insight into the shot process and mental game from elite archers and their coaches.
Korea Archery
South Korea dominates elite recurve shooting. Korea Archery now shares the secrets of their success through the Korea Archery Academy series. Content is in Korean but some videos are available with English subtitles.