Focus, Presence, Calm - Archery Is The Hobby I Needed

Short: As a person, self-diagnosing above average on the ADD spectrum, I found a hobby that really helps me refocus my mind on the presence and calm my thoughts. Read how, and why I see myself keeping this hobby for a long time.

One way of practicing archery is to hike through a trail with targets set up along the way. I find it to be challenging my mind in just the right way, to adjust to different settings, and it to be a rare treat of mindfulness in nature. (As readers of the sport will see; I shoot a style that is more mathematical or analytical with aiming, called “string walking”)

As already expressed in earlier posts, I found myself somewhat lonely, when I moved to Berlin in August 2022. As I was considering joining a club to get to know more people close to where I live, I saw archery targets somewhat close to home every day on my commute. I reached out, was told that there was a mandatory beginners class that needed to be taken and signed up for the waiting list for the next class.

It took a while (during which my club-joining plans got distracted by work and winter-blues) until the club informed me that the beginners class would be starting in spring 2023. When I came to class in a school gym I did not expect what I got.

When I grew up on the rural franconian (bavarian) country side I played with hand craftet bows and did shoot a bit of them. Hence I knew I might enjoy it, and also expected I would be good at it. I would soon find out that I LOVE it. Also, I would learn, that it was far from as easy as I thought. I did love it, in large part, precisely due to the reasons why it was difficult.

Put very simply: Archery is about shooting the next arrow the same way you did the previous. Or, more simply: Do it exactly again. Or, most simply: Repeatability.

And everything in archery is about that goal. To be able to aim, you try to have everything fixed and try to only adjust one parameter between shots. Being repeatable with how you get the arrow to hit means being repeatable with the dozens and dozens of things that go into shooting the arrow. Body (e.g. posture, breathing, ..), gear (e.g. draw weight, arrow rigidity, ..), and mind (e.g. where exaclty do I aim, remembering draw points on the string,.. ), you need to have all things align, to hit where you want to hit. Small flubs will make you miss. Add to the complexity, that every broken or lost arrow is going to cost you, at least 7€ to 10€ and you will really try to hit the target (because missing will make you look for that bloddy arrow for a very long time if you are unlucky).

You really need to be in the moment, to be present, and focussed, when you take shots. You have a ritual. A process that helps you remember and check all the things. A process to be consistent and to evaluate what went right and what needs to be adjusted for the next shot.

Times when I was as focussed, as much in the present, and as calm as I am, when I try to hit difficult archery shots, must have been ways back, because I don’t remember any. And thats just the sport. I didn’t even get started on the very diverse, very helpful, very welcoming, and very family-like community that surrounds the sport. This will, undoubtedly be the topic of a post some other time.

Thanks for reading! Stay beautiful <3