A Coach’s Struggle with the Myth of Archery in Popular Culture

In the current day and age of technology, where videos can be streamed straight to smartphones and tablets, as well as computers, consoles and televisions, it’s almost impossible to walk into archery without prior experience, preconceptions and, in some cases, misconceptions about the sport.  If you haven’t been living under a rock for the past two years, you will have no doubt seen films such as Brave, Avengers Assemble, The Hunger Games and, more recently, its sequel Catching Fire advertised on every second bus stop up and down the country.  The poster of Catching Fire is of particular interest as it shows the female protagonist Katniss Everdeen, pointing a fully drawn bow at the camera. 

Looking at it from a non-archery background, there’s a certain ‘wow’ factor to the poster as the flames dance behind her with a giant Mockingjay – a symbol for the film.  Couple that with the fact that you have the heroine, a strong female who can be idolised, and you’ve got the makings of a good advertisement.  Every little girl probably wants to grab a bow and be Katniss.  Why wouldn’t they?  She’s incredible, isn’t she!  Or is she?

Looking at the poster from an archery related background, there are some details which have been overlooked by the people preparing Katniss for the role.  So what was wrong with her technique, and how can it misinform people about the actual principles for shooting a bow?

Firstly, let’s look at that finger which she has laid over the arrow as it sits on the rest.  One can only assume that, when reading the ‘how to’ on how to shoot a bow, the researchers (and I use that term loosely) thought that the explanation of having one finger above the arrow and two fingers below the arrow applied to both hands and not just the hand pulling the string.  In fact, to shoot this way would, well, hurt.  So much!  I was tempted to give it a bash, just to see how much, but I bottled it at the last moment.  I like the index finger on my bow hand; it has a certain sentimental value. 

Next, moving up the bow arm, she should be looking to rotate the arm so that the crease of the elbow is vertical as oppose to the diagonal angle it will have at the moment.  This will move the forearm out of the path of the string as the arrow is shot.  Moving further up the arm, to the bow shoulder, Katniss should be looking to bring it round more to create a straighter line across the shoulder blades and down the bow arm.  This will allow Katniss to ‘get inside the bow’, creating far better alignment for the shot. 

Finally, Katniss wants to think about keeping her mouth closed.  By keeping the teeth and lips together, the lower jaw won’t be moving up and down, having a massive effect on the consistency of the arrow height in relation to the eye (you know, that thing you use for aiming).

These hints are purely based on the poster of Katniss shooting the poor photographer and whilst we know it’s only a film, it’s a film which influences millions of young minds all around the world.  I’ve taught girls who have wanted to have a bash at archery purely off the back of The Hunger Games so it’s obviously causing interest in the sport.  Perhaps you’re more of an Avengers fan though, and have been inspired by Hawkeye; with his uncanny ability to shoot at high speed without looking where he’s shooting, aiming where he’s shooting or pointing where he’s shooting.  Either way, it’s reinforcing the notion that it’s almost impossible to walk into archery with no prior preconceptions of the sport. 

That is where a coach can come in.  Certainly, it’s wrong to say that a beginner could not walk into an archery range, pick up a bow and shoot it without some degree of success.  Archery dates back as far as the late Mesolithic/ early Neolithic periods when early man first discovered that use of the bow was efficient as a means of hunting and, in some cases, warfare.  It also evolved simultaneously in many different cultures, albeit with different technique and materials, but it’s probably safe to say that the hunters didn’t have the use of a coach to help them develop their skills with a bow.  It’s also probably safe to say that, on some days, their families went hungry.  

We don’t have that problem these days but, given the increasing popularity of the sport and the calibre of the competition, an educated and suitably qualified coach can help you progress as an archer.  They can give you an inside knowledge which you may not otherwise have had; acting as both a friend and mentor, and assisting you to set both realistic and aspiring goals to aim for (excuse the pun).  A coach can help identify areas of improvement and any problems that you may be having in order to help you improve and progress in the sport.  Above all, if you’re walking into archery with any misconceptions about what archery is, a coach can help educate and assist you in learning more about the sport.  

It’s no secret that archery is on the increase in popularity, and it’s no secret that films and television have helped play a large role in that increase in popularity, but whilst it has proven one of archery’s greatest promoters, it has also proven to be a fickle friend by misrepresenting archery and giving the image that ‘you can pick up a bow and you’ll hit the bullseye’.  If truth is told, you probably won’t.  It’s easy to shoot a bow but it’s not easy to shoot a bow well.  However, you have the means to; you have the club, the coaches, and the equipment.  You have everything you need to be a good archer, but you have to make use of it.  You wouldn’t expect to be able to do quadratic equations without first being taught how, just because you saw a picture on a bus stop.  You can’t expect to shoot a bow well without help either, but the positive side of that is that the help is available; you need only ask.