In our journey with archery, we inevitably find ourselves in a rut. Our progress stagnates. Perhaps, our scores drop. Or perhaps we develop the dreaded ‘target panic’. Archers will often address the low-hanging fruit. They purchase new gear in hopes that a fresh set of arrows or the latest riser will resolve consistency or accuracy issues. A more dedicated archer practices countless repetitions of drills until each granular step in their process is burned into their subconscious. New equipment or a new training regime may initially provide some sense of improvement. Archers might experience a boost in their scores. In a critical moment, however, they may unfortunately learn too late that they failed to emphasize training their mental skills. You cannot out-equip or out-train deficiencies in mental fortitude.
Mindfulness is a frequently overlooked practice not just in archery but in life. Mindfulness is a state of focused awareness, of non-judgmental observations of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and the surrounding environment. Mindfulness can be practiced in different ways such as meditation, deep breathing exercises or just simply being aware and fully present whatever activity we’re engaged in whether it’s a work task, washing the dishes, or shooting an arrow.
Today, it’s easy to neglect the practice of mindfulness. Instead of being present, we can pick up a screen to “kill time” or in other words, neglect the present. At the same time, we are pressured to be constantly engaged, productive or active. We are judged by our output and accomplishments. Whether it’s the ease of distraction or the pressure to produce, mindfulness has taken a backseat in our everyday life.
Mindfulness is an essential skill for archery. With mindfulness, you understand every sensation or movement in your body when releasing an arrow. You can use these sensations as guideposts in your process. With mindfulness, you observe your own thoughts and the sensations in your body - the tension in your arms when drawing a bow, the balance on your legs, the gaze of your eyes. Mindfulness allows us to better attune ourselves to these guideposts, imprinting these impressions into our subconscious. You gain a third eye that allows you to observe yourself. You develop a better sense of how you can execute a perfect shot and when to abort an inevitably poor shot.
The greatest benefit of archery however is with managing your thoughts. More than anything, archery is a psychological sport and an individual sport. In a critical shot, whether it be on a hunt or in a competition, you can no longer improve your skills. The only factor left that can impact your skills is your mind. In those moments when you are trying to connect your arrow to the gold center of a target, there exists only a few things that matter: the target, the arrow and your bow. You exist to simply direct the bow that will send the arrow to the target. However, you are more than a force guiding energy down-range. Your thoughts and bodily sensations have an incredible influence on your shooting performance. Practicing mindfulness everyday builds us so that when we encounter a critical moment, we are not overcome by our own worst enemy - our own thoughts.