Do You Want to Learn Archery?

Archery has been a mainstay of human civilization for years. Survival skills included hunting for food with a bow and arrow. And when warfare ensued life itself depended mastering archery techniques. The invention of guns and other firearms made the bow and arrow obsolete for war. Today archery has become a sport that many find challenging and rewarding. For a long time competitive archers and bowhunters in the United States used the English-style longbow. But technological research in the U.S. soon resulted in the development of commercially available new types of bows such as the recurve and compound bow.

A person who uses a bow to shoot arrows is called an archer. Throughout history archers have been a part of mythology and legend. Most people have heard or read the story of William Tell. And in Greek mythology, Heracles was usually shown as an archer. And of course, during the Valentines day season we see pictures of the Roman god Cupid with a bow and arrow to cause those who are shot to fall in love.

The main items you need to practice and master archery are the bow and arrow. Bow and arrow technology has evolved through the years. Modern bows and arrows are made from the latest in high-tech materials such fiberglass, metal alloys, and carbon fiber as well as the old standby -- wood.

Linen is a traditional bowstring material, but bowstrings also benefit from new modern materials such as dacron.

There are different kinds of bows -- compound, crossbow, recurve bow, shortbow, longbow, and flatbow to name a few.

The most popular form of competitive archery is called target archery. The objective is hit a target accurately from a given distance. Field archery is a variation of this practiced in America and Europe. The targets are set at different distances in wooded setting. Tournament rules vary from one organization to another, but the International Archery Federation is one such organization. The organization's formal name is Federation Internationale de Tir a l'Arc and it is known by the initials FITA.

The Olympics has archery competitions and the rules are based on rules from FITA.

There are many different resources available to learn archery -- and many are free!

Bows and arrows are available in many different price ranges. But be cautious about buying the very cheapest equipment. Poorly designed or manufactured equipment can make it more difficult to learn and shoot accurately.

Accessories for archery include quivers, brace (you might call this a wrist protectors), and sights. To keep your equipment in top shape and properly tuned for accuracy there are laser tuning tools.

Mike Furlong

You can find numerous videos and more about archery by visiting Archery Guide