Summary:
{{#shtml:Template:ArcheryVideo}}
This might be the dumbest idea I've ever had.
Fired up after seeing ''The Hunger Games'' and eagerly anticipating what Hawkeye will bring in ''The Avengers'', I've decided I want to know how to shoot a bow and arrow. (Also, I'm a culture reporter and should be up on trends, and if there's anything I've realized lately it's that archery is the new black.) So, with little to no real forethought, I signed up for lessons and am now staring down a row of targets strapped to hay bails.
I'm not alone. After I cross the street into the Golden Gate Park archery field to meet my new instructor, I begin chatting up a woman roughly my age who is also here for her first lesson and who informs me that I just missed a chance to learn from the woman who taught "that actress from ''The Hunger Games''." (This turns out to be true — [http://www.cupidsgatearchery.com/cupid-s-gate-event Khatuna Lorig helped my instructor's students] just one week before my first lesson, and I'm oddly bummed out by this.)
The most important thing, my instructor Rick Yoshimoto says, is to never "dry fire" a bow — essentially, never pull and release the string without an arrow loaded. Simple physics should've explained this to me — without the arrow, all of the pent up energy goes back into the bow itself — but it takes a while to sink in. "I've seen bows explode," Yoshimoto tells his pupils. I immediately panic all over again because now there is a whole new way to screw this up.
I never dry fire, but I still find a way to bring the pain. The ever-patient Yoshimoto walks me through my first lesson and I think I've got it. I load an arrow, aim for a target some 20 meters (65 feet) away, pull back and let the arrow fly with the confidence of a superhero. And at that point the string hits the inside of my elbow with all the power my 22-pound bow can pack — roughly the equivalent of being stung by a bajillion rubber bands.
I've been whipped, and not in a head-over-heels-in-love kind of way. It hurts like hell, but I'm too embarrassed to do anything about it. An even deeper respect for Jennifer Lawrence washes over me (she's mastered acting and archery? I've done nothing with my life). I reload, fire, and zap the inside of my arm a second time. Yoshimoto notices this one. "You didn't even flinch," he says. I make a pathetic joke about my high tolerance for pain and for a split second realize why females might be better equipped for this sport (and why the [http://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&lpg=PA81&dq=amazon%20women%20and%20archery%20breasts&pg=PA81#v=onepage&q=amazon%20women%20and%20archery%20breasts&f=false tales of Amazons removing a breast] so as not to impede their bowstrings were so badass).
By the end of my lesson, though, I'm not half-bad. Between Yoshimoto and Tony Ng, the head coach of [http://www.cupidsgatearchery.com/ Cupid's Gate Archery] who has set up this training, I'm getting good pointers, and by the end of the first session I don't look like a monkey humping a football with my "technique." At the end of my second lesson I'm relatively good — I also run into my friend from the week before and we immediately compare our gnarly inner-arm bruises like war buddies discussing battle scars — and Ng's best advice, yelled across the field, has become "aim less." (This actually helped.)
I'm an old pro by the end of my third and final lesson (or at least that's what I've started to tell friends, who are clearly already tired of hearing me talk about it). And by "old pro" I mean "good enough to fool my colleagues who I brought to the archery range to shoot a how-to video" (see above). By the time we wrap it's clear, archery is a fairly easy skill to learn. But like most great sports, it's an even harder one to master. But if you'd like to know how to do it yourself, here's a general breakdown of how to shoot a bow and arrow. (Though, don't do it like Hawkeye in ''Avengers'', that dude's form kinda sucks.)
[[Image:Angela archer HiRes.jpg|300px|thumb|right| Illo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
''Angela Watercutter is a reporter for the [http://wired.com.underwire/ Underwire], Wired's pop culture blog. She is also a senior editor of Longshot magazine and a contributor to Pop-Up Magazine.
==What You'll Need==
* A bow
* Some arrows
* An open space to shoot and a haystack with a target on it
* A finger sling (more on that later)
* A finger guard
* An arm guard
==Safety First==
[[Image:Archery1.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
Make sure that the location you decide to try out this whole archery thing is either an area designated for archery practice or a place free of anyone who could be injured if your arrows miss their intended targets. Also make sure, if others are around, that you all have an understood word or phrase that everyone knows means "I'm walking down to retrieve my arrows from the target, please don't shoot." ("Clear" works just fine.)
Also, make sure you have a finger guard to protect the hand you'll be using to pull the string and an arm guard to protect the forearm you'll be using to hold the bow (see above).
===Stand Your Ground===
[[Image:Archery4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
Stance is key. Your legs should be shoulder-width apart and your feet should lined up so that if you drew a straight line in front of your toes it would continue on directly to the target. Keep your legs relaxed.
<br clear="all" />
===Stay Solid===
Archery involves a lot of using your physique's own biomechanics to keep your shot on-target and provide the strength needed to fire the arrow. Stand with your arms straight out then bend the arm you'll be using to pull the string at the elbow until your hand is right under your chin, so that when you're looking down at the target, the side of your index finger and palm is pressed right under your jaw. Get used to that feeling, that's your "anchor." It ensures that you will always pull the string to the same position at the same elevation every time.
===Pick Up Your Bow===
Put your finger guard on your string-pulling hand and your arm guard on your bow arm, then put your finger sling on your bow hand with one end wrapped around your index finger. Pick up the bow and then put the other end of the finger sling around your thumb. This ensures that no matter what happens the bow stays connected to your hand.
'''Fun fact:''' Most competitive archers let their bows go after they fire.
===Load an Arrow===
[[Image:Archery3.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
To load an arrow, first look at the fletchings (those feather-like things on the non-pointy end). There should be two of the same color and one that's off-color. Make sure the off-color fletching is facing you, this ensures that the fletchings won't hit any part of the bow when the arrow is fired. Next, lock the arrow's "nock" (the slat at the end) onto the string. There should be one or two small beads on the string to designate where you should put it — if there are two, put the nock between them, if there's just one, put it below that. Finally place the part of the arrow that's coming into contact with the bow on the "arrow rest," which is typically a small piece of plastic or metal next to a small "plunger" that will hold the arrow in place and make sure it is fired off of the bow in a straight line with minimal vibration.
==Ready==
[[Image:Archery2.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
Ok, it's almost firing time. Take the fingers you'll be using to pull the string and wrap the tips around it so that the arrow nock is right in the slit in the finger guard. Raise the bow keeping your arm straight and your shoulders down and flat, parallel to the ground. Make sure your elbow is out of the way of the string (see above). Slowly pull the string back until your hand is right under your jaw in your "anchor" position and your elbow is back and up. The power you're using to pull the string and hold your position should be coming from your back, not your arm. Line the string up so that when your head is upright (not cocked down) it is making a line down the middle of your nose and lips. (That thing Katniss does when firing a perfect shot is totally legit.)
==Aim==
When you aim, you should line up the string with the sight on your bow with the bulls-eye. (It takes a bit of learning to figure out what it looks like, so just keep practicing until you get it.)
==Fire==
Firing shouldn't be a quick snap or jerk, doing so really negates all that concentration you just put into aiming. Instead, slowly increase your back tension, pulling until the string basically slides out of your fingers. Once the arrow has been fired, hold for a photo finish. Your hand should have slid along your jaw-line and ended up roughly below your ear and your bow should swing down in the finger sling before coming back up into your hand.
==Repeat==
How'd it go? Chances are your first couple shots won't be that good (mine weren't), but a good amount of practice and strict attention to form should have you shooting like a superhero (or superheroine) in no time.
[[Category:Extreme Sports]]
[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Culture]]
This might be the dumbest idea I've ever had.
Fired up after seeing ''The Hunger Games'' and eagerly anticipating what Hawkeye will bring in ''The Avengers'', I've decided I want to know how to shoot a bow and arrow. (Also, I'm a culture reporter and should be up on trends, and if there's anything I've realized lately it's that archery is the new black.) So, with little to no real forethought, I signed up for lessons and am now staring down a row of targets strapped to hay bails.
I'm not alone. After I cross the street into the Golden Gate Park archery field to meet my new instructor, I begin chatting up a woman roughly my age who is also here for her first lesson and who informs me that I just missed a chance to learn from the woman who taught "that actress from ''The Hunger Games''." (This turns out to be true — [http://www.cupidsgatearchery.com/cupid-s-gate-event Khatuna Lorig helped my instructor's students] just one week before my first lesson, and I'm oddly bummed out by this.)
The most important thing, my instructor Rick Yoshimoto says, is to never "dry fire" a bow — essentially, never pull and release the string without an arrow loaded. Simple physics should've explained this to me — without the arrow, all of the pent up energy goes back into the bow itself — but it takes a while to sink in. "I've seen bows explode," Yoshimoto tells his pupils. I immediately panic all over again because now there is a whole new way to screw this up.
I never dry fire, but I still find a way to bring the pain. The ever-patient Yoshimoto walks me through my first lesson and I think I've got it. I load an arrow, aim for a target some 20 meters (65 feet) away, pull back and let the arrow fly with the confidence of a superhero. And at that point the string hits the inside of my elbow with all the power my 22-pound bow can pack — roughly the equivalent of being stung by a bajillion rubber bands.
I've been whipped, and not in a head-over-heels-in-love kind of way. It hurts like hell, but I'm too embarrassed to do anything about it. An even deeper respect for Jennifer Lawrence washes over me (she's mastered acting and archery? I've done nothing with my life). I reload, fire, and zap the inside of my arm a second time. Yoshimoto notices this one. "You didn't even flinch," he says. I make a pathetic joke about my high tolerance for pain and for a split second realize why females might be better equipped for this sport (and why the [http://books.google.com/books?id=bOkPjFQoBj8C&lpg=PA81&dq=amazon%20women%20and%20archery%20breasts&pg=PA81#v=onepage&q=amazon%20women%20and%20archery%20breasts&f=false tales of Amazons removing a breast] so as not to impede their bowstrings were so badass).
By the end of my lesson, though, I'm not half-bad. Between Yoshimoto and Tony Ng, the head coach of [http://www.cupidsgatearchery.com/ Cupid's Gate Archery] who has set up this training, I'm getting good pointers, and by the end of the first session I don't look like a monkey humping a football with my "technique." At the end of my second lesson I'm relatively good — I also run into my friend from the week before and we immediately compare our gnarly inner-arm bruises like war buddies discussing battle scars — and Ng's best advice, yelled across the field, has become "aim less." (This actually helped.)
I'm an old pro by the end of my third and final lesson (or at least that's what I've started to tell friends, who are clearly already tired of hearing me talk about it). And by "old pro" I mean "good enough to fool my colleagues who I brought to the archery range to shoot a how-to video" (see above). By the time we wrap it's clear, archery is a fairly easy skill to learn. But like most great sports, it's an even harder one to master. But if you'd like to know how to do it yourself, here's a general breakdown of how to shoot a bow and arrow. (Though, don't do it like Hawkeye in ''Avengers'', that dude's form kinda sucks.)
[[Image:Angela archer HiRes.jpg|300px|thumb|right| Illo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
''Angela Watercutter is a reporter for the [http://wired.com.underwire/ Underwire], Wired's pop culture blog. She is also a senior editor of Longshot magazine and a contributor to Pop-Up Magazine.
==What You'll Need==
* A bow
* Some arrows
* An open space to shoot and a haystack with a target on it
* A finger sling (more on that later)
* A finger guard
* An arm guard
==Safety First==
[[Image:Archery1.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
Make sure that the location you decide to try out this whole archery thing is either an area designated for archery practice or a place free of anyone who could be injured if your arrows miss their intended targets. Also make sure, if others are around, that you all have an understood word or phrase that everyone knows means "I'm walking down to retrieve my arrows from the target, please don't shoot." ("Clear" works just fine.)
Also, make sure you have a finger guard to protect the hand you'll be using to pull the string and an arm guard to protect the forearm you'll be using to hold the bow (see above).
===Stand Your Ground===
[[Image:Archery4.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
Stance is key. Your legs should be shoulder-width apart and your feet should lined up so that if you drew a straight line in front of your toes it would continue on directly to the target. Keep your legs relaxed.
<br clear="all" />
===Stay Solid===
Archery involves a lot of using your physique's own biomechanics to keep your shot on-target and provide the strength needed to fire the arrow. Stand with your arms straight out then bend the arm you'll be using to pull the string at the elbow until your hand is right under your chin, so that when you're looking down at the target, the side of your index finger and palm is pressed right under your jaw. Get used to that feeling, that's your "anchor." It ensures that you will always pull the string to the same position at the same elevation every time.
===Pick Up Your Bow===
Put your finger guard on your string-pulling hand and your arm guard on your bow arm, then put your finger sling on your bow hand with one end wrapped around your index finger. Pick up the bow and then put the other end of the finger sling around your thumb. This ensures that no matter what happens the bow stays connected to your hand.
'''Fun fact:''' Most competitive archers let their bows go after they fire.
===Load an Arrow===
[[Image:Archery3.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
To load an arrow, first look at the fletchings (those feather-like things on the non-pointy end). There should be two of the same color and one that's off-color. Make sure the off-color fletching is facing you, this ensures that the fletchings won't hit any part of the bow when the arrow is fired. Next, lock the arrow's "nock" (the slat at the end) onto the string. There should be one or two small beads on the string to designate where you should put it — if there are two, put the nock between them, if there's just one, put it below that. Finally place the part of the arrow that's coming into contact with the bow on the "arrow rest," which is typically a small piece of plastic or metal next to a small "plunger" that will hold the arrow in place and make sure it is fired off of the bow in a straight line with minimal vibration.
==Ready==
[[Image:Archery2.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Photo by Simon Lutrin, Wired.com]]
Ok, it's almost firing time. Take the fingers you'll be using to pull the string and wrap the tips around it so that the arrow nock is right in the slit in the finger guard. Raise the bow keeping your arm straight and your shoulders down and flat, parallel to the ground. Make sure your elbow is out of the way of the string (see above). Slowly pull the string back until your hand is right under your jaw in your "anchor" position and your elbow is back and up. The power you're using to pull the string and hold your position should be coming from your back, not your arm. Line the string up so that when your head is upright (not cocked down) it is making a line down the middle of your nose and lips. (That thing Katniss does when firing a perfect shot is totally legit.)
==Aim==
When you aim, you should line up the string with the sight on your bow with the bulls-eye. (It takes a bit of learning to figure out what it looks like, so just keep practicing until you get it.)
==Fire==
Firing shouldn't be a quick snap or jerk, doing so really negates all that concentration you just put into aiming. Instead, slowly increase your back tension, pulling until the string basically slides out of your fingers. Once the arrow has been fired, hold for a photo finish. Your hand should have slid along your jaw-line and ended up roughly below your ear and your bow should swing down in the finger sling before coming back up into your hand.
==Repeat==
How'd it go? Chances are your first couple shots won't be that good (mine weren't), but a good amount of practice and strict attention to form should have you shooting like a superhero (or superheroine) in no time.
[[Category:Extreme Sports]]
[[Category:Sports]]
[[Category:Culture]]
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/OfaZ9y49gr0/Become_a_Master_Archer_Like_Katniss_Everdeen
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