Tighten the string, bring your elbows to shoulder height, when the string touches your nose and the edge of your hand touches your cheekbone, it’s time to release your fingers. There is a moment of whirring sound and the arrow finds its way to the target about fifteen meters away. The first time he stabs into the yellow center. “Good job,” praises shooter Roman Vagenknecht. At the archery range near Beroun in Central Bohemia, they have been teaching shooting enthusiasts of all ages for five years.
About 20 archers, ranging from ten-year-olds to middle-aged adults, descend on the archery range on Tuesday afternoons. As Roman Vagenknecht says with exaggeration, age categories from nine to ninety-nine come here regularly. Some bring their own equipment, others borrow training bows from Roman.
Archery by shooters at the Litohlava archery range. | Photo: Jakub Plíhal
“Historically, of course, they were only wooden, over time, when archery became a sporting discipline, other materials began to be used, for example duralumin or carbon,” explains the instructor. The same is true of arrows, which have also evolved from wooden to duralumin or carbon. At the archery range RT Archery v Litohlavech carbon arrows of different lengths are mostly used for the specific strength and length of the shooter’s draw.
The area of the archery range is vast and the number of activities directly encourages movement. But none of the archers, not even the youngest ones, allow themselves to run around uncontrollably. Discipline and safety are particularly important in archery training, and Roman Vagenknecht and other coaches take this into account. The archers stand at intervals in a line, and when they empty their quiver they always look around and wait for their partners to shoot the last arrow. Only then do they all go together to pull the arrows out of the targets and collect them from the ground.
It’s not about performance
Trainers repeat to beginners every now and then how to stand and hold the bow, the older ones, who have already spent several semesters of archery, have a more free mode, so for example they shoot at 3D targets in the form of wild animals or at rolling polymix discs.
The club, which covers the Žebrák Archery Section, offers, in addition to the aforementioned shooting at 3D objects, also target archery at various distances and field archery on a range in the forest. “We don’t shoot for performance, but mainly for pleasure. Some children, however, have such ambitions that after only a few semesters here at the shooting range, they even stood on the winners’ boxes in the national championship,” highlights Roman.
He once tried a number of sports himself, from cycling and hiking to canoeing and yachting. But when he tried archery for the first time in his thirties, he knew he had won, and several times a week he drives from his job in the IT field to take his place among the other archers.
Photo author: Jakub Plíhal
The strongest bow
The draw strength of each bow is traditionally given in pounds, with one equal to 0.454 kilograms. Youth and beginner shooters use around 12 pound bows, adults and more advanced shooters start at 18 to 20 pounds. According to Roman, the strongest bow at the range is over 30 pounds. Competition distances for bows are determined by category and discipline from 5 meters, which is field archery, to 70 meters, which is Olympic target archery
According to Roman Vagenknecht, choosing the right equipment is completely individual. “When it comes to a child, of course, it does not grow with the bow, and therefore one would have to buy new equipment all the time. That is why we recommend buying a reflex bow, which can be gradually upgraded – replace both arms if they are already insufficient, and the original one can be exchanged or sold other course participants.”
Therefore, the best solution is to come to an archery coach in person and after trying them on, get advice on which bow would be the most suitable. “It depends on the experience and skill of the shooter, at what level the person wants to shoot and also on the build of the body. We usually recommend spending at least five thousand kroner for basic equipment, which, in addition to the bow and arrows, may also include a quiver along with forearm and finger protectors. However, archery is not so much about muscles as it is about a stable stance, concentration and, above all, technique,” explains Roman.
No cloud, just clouds overhead
In addition to the joy of shooting, archery brings other benefits, a person tired of the achievements of civilization clears his head wonderfully. “It’s a quiet sport, you need to concentrate, think only of the target in front of you. And besides, there’s only nature around us. As an IT person, I like that there’s no need for a display and there’s no need to connect anything to the cloud. Archery it’s for everyone,” he laughs.
When the author of the article tries to shoot an 18-pound bow, Roman’s instructions are clear: hip to target, feet shoulder-width apart, tuck hips, place arrow in socket, left arm straight and elbow turned off string axis, shoulder as low as possible . The right hand pulls the string with three fingers, the elbows are ideally at shoulder level. Once the string touches the nose and the edge of the hand touches the cheekbone, it’s time to release the fingers, let the string slide off them, and allow the arrow to find its way to the target. The first one went straight down the middle. “Good job,” praises Roman. But the beginner’s luck did not last long, the others fly almost off the target. Even Legolas and Robin Hood had to learn somehow. Maybe next time.
