Bluebell 2026
Of all the many fine things regarding the Bluebell Shoot, the finest was that the format had been reset from the common mixed affair back to the unmarked and marked rounds. Why there are so many mixed rounds, I don’t…
Tag archery
The Archer After the Miss: Shame, Anger, and the Second Arrow
What should an archer do with the arrow that has already gone wrong, while the next one lies cold against the fingers? A cedar shaft sits high in the grass beyond the boss, its fletching tilted like a wounded bird.…
The Last Walk to the Peg: Fear Before Competitive Shooting
What happens to an archer in the last walk to the peg, when the shot has already entered the pulse before the bow rises? The peg looks small enough to vanish beneath a boot heel, yet it governs a whole…
The Archer Who Shoots Too Well Too Soon: The Fear of Maintaining Form
What must the archer guard after the first three shafts land clean: the score already pencilled onto the card, or the form that bore those arrows through air? Rain-soft paper curls beside the bow case, pencil marks gleaming like fish…
The Friendly Enemy: Rivalry, Affection, and Envy in Archery
What does a scorecard do to friendship when one archer’s arrow cuts closer to the centre than mine? The card looks slight enough, a crease in rain-soft paper, thumb grease along one edge, pencil dust in the boxes where names…
Hot tips and handy hints (APRIL 2026)
Mastering the “Parasite”: The Art of Action Meditation You’re on the shooting line. Your heart is hammering against your chest, and your bow arm is vibrating so hard the arrow is nearly jumping off the rest. You aren’t in any…
Archery Challenges – Week 1
Welcome to a new season of archery challenges! At Lough Cuan Bowmen, archers are engaging in a series of unconventional shooting challenges for prizes of myth. Each week – more or less – archers can endeavour to win an arrow…
Bowhunter – Chapter 5
The Mane, The Unclaimed Waters between Fohalin and Nauberta – Typhon Resurgence, Day 17 Of all the myths within the great ocean between The Mane and The Sigel, tales of the Daemon Flamingo refused to age or even convolute themselves…
Ascham Argues Bow For Commonwealth
Roger Ascham arrived on my kitchen table bound within a worn volume, carrying the smell of chalky dust alongside old paste. A block of beeswax sat beside my longbow, waiting near a coiled linen string. Holding those threads evoked an…
A Lego Guide to 3D Archery
For those Unfamiliar with 3D Archery, or those who just like a bit of Lego:
Shamrock 2026
How did the shamrock come about as an Irish symbol? The fact that Ballyvally Archers’ Shamrock Shoot comes in March is rather apt, as it was Saint Patrick who taught of the Holy Trinity using a shamrock. And whilst this…
Feather Splicing – A Simple Guide
For some, arrows are simply a tool, perhaps even overlooked. Something for throwing at the target and nothing more. Why would anyone labour over an arrow’s aesthetics? Well, when I began as a traditional archer, a seasoned trad shooter and…
Ballistics of Myth in Flesh
A question lodged in my mouth with the abrasive persistence of a burr caught inside a sock, and from that small irritation the whole inquiry drew its shape: when a yew bow sings, which vessel receives the hymn—the timber itself,…
Bowhunter – Chapter 4
The Mane, Huzken (The Venom State), City Capital Lajo – Typhon Resurgence, Day 15 Despite the disaster that was the culling contract in Vrenki, it was good to be back home, Fergus thought. For one thing they had made a…
Bowhunter – Chapter 3
Chapter 3 of Bowhunter
Injury Prevention
The Acromion Divot A Movement-Based Approach to the Bow Shoulder A Perspective on Movement I want to start by saying that I am not an archery coach, and I am under no delusion that I am. What I do have,…
Farewell to the Archer
Very rarely in our lives do we meet someone who, through their very existence, inspires in us the desire to become better. No one is born with that gift. It demands sacrifice, and it often grows out of difficult—sometimes dramatic—events.…
Where Myth Meets Industrial Winter
Which servant flies truer than any oath, drinks the heat of a living wrist, obeys a boy’s tremor and a god’s vanity, and yet carries a sovereignty that begins at release and ends only where the point decides? A glove…
You Are a Spring Under Tension
In archery, the follow-through is arguably more critical than in golf or tennis, because the “engine” of the shot is the tension in your own body. While the arrow leaves the bow quickly, any collapse or movement at the moment…
Nervous System Regulation in Archery: A Doctor’s Guide to Performance and Injury Prevention
Author: Dr. Antti Rintanen The paradox of archery performance lies in its demands: absolute physical stillness paired with intense mental alertness. Research demonstrates that elite archers who maintain lower heart rates during competition tend to score higher than those with…