By Merlin Archery’s Grizzly Jim

First published in Bow International issue 102 September 2015

It seems to be that the battlecry of the uninformed where instinctive archery is concerned, is that it doesn’t actually exist. But allow me to try and convince you otherwise. You see the term instinctive archery is banded around a lot lately, it’s become a buzzword, but rest assured that I am no archery hipster, I was into instinctive archery way before it was cool.

You see when most people get confused it’s because they get caught up in the semantics of the name. “Instinctive archery” implies that anyone can pick up any bow and start whacking targets of any size at any distance with accuracy. But let’s face it that just isn’t the case, I wish it was but it’s not. I suppose the better name for it would be intuitive archery. The path of instinctive archery is a long but rewarding one. To become extremely competent in it takes months if not years of dedicated practice. Please don’t get me wrong you’re able to pick up a bow and start shooting instinctively straight away and have the time of your life but in order to really excel at it, it’s something you need to work at. It’s a skill you need to constantly be building upon because like the age old phrase “if you don’t use it, you lose it” really tends to apply here.

Using myself as an example. Before I started working for Merlin and the archery industry I was shooting almost every day, worst-case every other day, you might say I was at the top of my game. Nothing phased me, tricky or long shots, small or moving targets, it didn’t matter I was in my element. But move forward a year. Yes I spend my days talking to people about it, writing about it, advising people on it and even making videos on it. But in truth I spend very little time actually doing it. Don’t get me wrong that’s not a complaint, I love doing what I do, but I honestly don’t get out and practice as much as I should. As a result of this my archery ability has taken a little nosedive. But saying that I’m still completely in love with instinctive archery. It’s in my blood and I’m guessing it’s going to be there till the day I die.

But what I really wanted to talk to you about and the reason for writing this article is that sometimes people try and overcomplicate instinctive archery. They try and sell you the “secret” of instinctive archery. Like there is some mystical forgotten element that one person has discovered and only by learning that can you truly understand it. There are books, DVDs and even archery schools on the subject. But do you want to know the real secret? There isn’t one. It would be great if there was some mystical artefact that you could pass on from archer to archer but it’s not the case. Yes when everything comes together and you can nail that tiny spot at 30 metres without even thinking about it it feels like magic. But all it is is your body and your brain working together harmoniously to make that perfect shot, after putting in the ground work and practice.

An analogy I like to use when helping people who want to improve their instinctive archery is, you wouldn’t play ice hockey without first learning to skate.

For me when I’m shooting I need to have 100% focus on what it is I’m trying to hit, be it a 3-D target, be it a FITA face or be it a tree stump, I need to be burning a hole in that target with my vision giving it everything I’ve got focus wise. If my focus shifts from that point for any reason, whether I happened to glance at the tip of my arrow, think about my form in some aspect or even think about my breathing, it can throw the shot off.

So going back to my ice hockey analogy. If you can get your form to a solid enough state that you don’t have to think about it. That you’ve got it so practised that your muscle memory and your body knows exactly what to do every single time, you’re halfway there.

A while back I developed Grizzly Jim’s three C’s of archery (it’s a little ostentatious I know but please bear with me). The first C is Comfortable: whatever or however you’re shooting it’s important that you have to be comfortable, whether that is having the right poundage, the right bow or you are shooting in the style that best suits you. We are all human and we are all unique, everybody is totally different. Just because you see someone else shooting in a certain style doesn’t mean that that style is going to suit you. I believe archery and especially instinctive archery is all about finding your own groove and finding what works for you. I truly believe that teaching everyone to shoot parrot fashion, using the latest popular techniques could potentially be training out any quirk that archer might have that could make them truly great. So that is the first C, comfortable. Put simply, making sure that what you are doing suits you.

The Second C is Concise: in other words don’t over complicate your shot, with big dynamic movements. Your bow is designed to do one thing and one thing incredibly well. The less influence you can have over that bow the better. I’ve seen a few guys out there with the huge dynamic releases. Yes they look epic and powerful, but ultimately not very repeatable. I’ve mentioned before about the Jeff Kavanagh two anchor point method. First anchor point being the corner of your mouth the second anchor point for me anyway is the bottom of your ear. Doing this forces your hand to come back on the same plane as the arrow is going forward. Giving you a really tight concise repeatable shot.

Now speaking of repeatable that brings us nicely onto the third and most important C of all, Consistent: now it doesn’t matter what form of archery you do whether you’re shooting a compound bow, high-end target recurve or a bent bit of stick, consistency is your friend. Some would say that if you have less than perfect form but have fantastic consistency, that’s not such a bad thing. If you watch any of the top archers in whatever sphere of archery they are doing the one thing they all have in common is a really consistent, solid, repeatable form.

I’ve tried many things over the years to nail down a consistent release. I’ve even faced ridicule from my better half while once spending an afternoon practising my release (minus the bow) in the mirror.

If you can master consistency in your archery then you’re well on your way to becoming one of the greats.

So what happens now, let’s say you’ve been working on your form and you’ve built a really comfortable concise and consistent shot. Well congratulations. You’ve learned to skate. It’s now time to drop the puck and play some ice hockey!

So going back to the title of this article and the secret of instinctive archery. There really isn’t one. All instinctive archery is, is hard work and dedication. There are easy paths within archery and especially traditional archery, but none more rewarding than shooting instinctively. In short the more solid and repeatable you can get your form the less you have to think about it and the more you can concentrate on what you’re trying to hit.

We will take a look at more in depth instinctive archery training techniques and building solid form at a later date.

But please bear in mind that the advice I’ve just given you is from my own point of view and and like any form of archery there is always more than one way to skin a cat. It’s like I tell people when learning to shoot instinctively. Go out there and drink in as much information as you can, from everyone you can, be it from books, magazines or even chubby YouTube sensations. Digest that information and use the bits that are applicable to you. There is no right and wrong way in instinctive archery. The fact that everyone has a different way of doing it makes us all truly interesting and unique. With archery you never ever stop learning, folks that claim to know everything about archery, have still got so much to learn.