There is an old saying that you have probably heard a thousand times:

Practice makes perfect.

It doesn’t.

Practice makes permanent.

I’ve seen archers who shoot hundreds of arrows every week but never seem to improve. They put in the time. They shoot regularly. Yet they continue fighting the same problems year after year.

The question is why do they never see any true growth in their shooting?

The answer is simple. Simply shooting arrows isn’t necessarily practice. Sometimes you’re just getting really good at doing something wrong.

Every Arrow Is a Repetition

Your body learns through repetition.

When you draw the bow, establish your anchor, aim, release and follow through, you’re teaching your body a sequence of movements. Repeat that sequence enough and eventually it becomes automatic.

The problem is that your body doesn’t know the difference between a good repetition and a bad one.

If you collapse during the shot 100 times, you’ve practiced collapsing 100 times.

If you pluck the string 100 times, you’ve practiced plucking the string 100 times.

Do it often enough and the mistake begins to feel normal.

Stop Counting Arrows

Archers love numbers.

“I shot 100 arrows today.”

Greatt but what did those 100 arrows actually accomplish?

I’d rather see an archer shoot 30 deliberate arrows with complete concentration than shoot 150 arrows simply to reach some arbitrary number.

There comes a point when muscles become tired, concentration fades and technique begins to deteriorate. Continuing to shoot sloppy arrows just to reach your number isn’t productive practice.

There is nothing magical about arrow count. The purpose of practice is to improve a skill, not satisfy a quota.

Practice One Thing at a Time

Another common mistake is trying to fix everything simultaneously.

You’re thinking about your stance, grip, shoulder, draw, anchor, back tension, aim, release and follow-through—all during a movement lasting only a few seconds.

Instead, isolate the problem.

If you’re working on your release, work on your release.

If you’re working on your anchor, concentrate on establishing the same anchor every time.

This is why close-range and blank-bale or “Torba” shooting can be so useful. Removing the pressure of hitting the target allows you to concentrate on the movement itself.

Sometimes you need to practice shooting the bow, not hitting the target.

Don’t Let the Target Fool You

An arrow landing in the center doesn’t automatically mean you made a good shot.

However an arrow outside the center doesn’t automatically mean you made a bad one.

Learn to evaluate what happened before the arrow arrived.

Did you maintain your structure? Did you collapse? Did you rush the shot? Did your release happen naturally?

Where the arrow lands matters, but the target only shows you the result.

If you only study the result, you may miss the cause.

Learn to Abort the Shot

You draw the bow and something doesn’t feel right.

Maybe your grip is wrong. Your anchor feels off. You’ve been holding too long. The shot is beginning to fall apart.

A lot of archers shoot anyway. Don’t fall into this trap.

Let the bow down. Reset. Start again.

Recognizing a bad shot before you release it is a skill.

Beginners tend to recognize bad shots after the arrow lands.

Experienced archers begin recognizing them while they’re happening.

Give Every Arrow a Job

Before you begin a practice session, decide what you’re actually practicing. Get out of the mindset of “I’m going to shoot for an hour.”

Instead think of it in terms of:

“Today I’m working on maintaining my structure through the release.”

Now every arrow has a purpose.

At the end of the session, you can evaluate whether something actually improved rather than simply knowing how many arrows you firedThere’s nothing wrong with shooting purely for enjoyment, either. Not every trip to the range needs to become a technical training session.

Just understand the difference between shooting and practicing.

The goal isn’t to shoot more arrows.

The goal is to make better repetitions until the correct movement becomes automatic.

That’s why practice doesn’t make perfect.

Good practice makes progress.

Every arrow is teaching you something.

The question is whether you’re paying attention to what you’re teaching yourself.

— Alan Odinson
Odinson Archery