Korean archer Lee Wooseok knew he needed to shoot an arrow into the 4.8-inch diameter 10 ring to win his opening Olympic match. The target was 76.5 yards away and he’d have to judge the 5 mph crosswind as well execute flawless form to score a 10. Winning meant he could keep chasing his dream of wearing a gold medal with his national anthem playing, a loss would send him packing. No pressure right?
As he prepared to shoot, his heart rate was at 70 bpm and settled to 68 bpm as he reached full draw. Even though he was aware of the stakes he seemed calm as he shot that perfect 10. His opponent’s heart rate was 80 bpm and increased to over 100 throughout the match. That rapid increase in beats per minute was like the swooshing lines of a lie detector, and it revealed his failure to prepare for the pressure.
Making the shots that count separates winners from losers, and this is also true in bowhunting. There are a lot of theories about how to make those critical shots, about as many as there are for why Korea is such a dominant force in Olympic archery — they’ve won 27 gold medals plus two more so far in the 2024 games. I think there’s one answer to both and it’s the secret sauce that will undoubtedly help you prepare for this bow season.
In my opinion, the secret to Korea’s domination is in their preparation. It’s been said that it’s harder to make a Korean Olympic team than it is to win a gold medal. There are only three spots on an Olympic archery team and Korea has dozens of highly skilled archers. For example, Kim Woojin won the world championships ahead of the 2012 Olympics, but did not make the team.
Preparing in a Pressure Cooker
So Korean archers are always competing against other highly skilled shooters. After years of doing that, a tough match is just another day at the office. They’ve learned through trial by fire how to make the shots that matter. It’s kind of like spending your whole life running uphill and then running a race on flat ground.
As impressive as the Korean’s low heart rates are, they still get nervous. I saw that most prominently in tightly-contested matches during key shots. The difference is that when they get nervous, they still shoot high scores. The benefit of the pressure cooker is that you learn how nerves affect your shot, and what you need to do to still execute properly.
Confidence
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Archery isn’t like weight lifting where if you try really hard you can manifest greatness. If you want to shoot exactly where you’re aiming on a target or an animal, trying really hard isn’t going to help. There’s no forcing accuracy into existence. Instead you have to trust that if you execute each step of our shooting process properly, the arrow will land where it’s supposed to. It’s a lot like the Yoda quote, “Do, or do not. There is no try.” But trusting that just doing each step of your shot properly will result in your desired outcome takes confidence.
That confidence comes from repeated success in both practice and under pressure.
How to Develop Confidence in Your Shot
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So you want to shoot like a Korean ace when there’s a bull elk screaming 40 yards away or when you have to thread the needle to tag a giant whitetail? The first step is working on archery fundamentals to the point where you have a shot that reliably puts arrows where you’re aiming. Then you need to test that shot under pressure. That can be a 3D tournament, shooting with your family heckling you, or a wager between friends. You just need a situation that makes you feel nervous.
When you’re in that heart-rate-increasing scenario, don’t get caught up in hoping for an outcome. We can’t walk down range and place the arrow where we want it. So don’t focus on the result. Instead, focus on what you can control. The shot process. Trust that if you do each part of your shot as you should, everything will work out.
Ideally, you’ll shoot just as you do in practice. But, you might crumble and that’s OK. Figure out what went wrong, work on it in practice, and test yourself again under pressure.
Keep Pushing
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If your manufactured pressure scenarios don’t make you nervous anymore, become an archery adrenaline junky and seek out higher stakes. One of the best ways is to compete in bigger tournaments against better archers who can push you forward. It’s just like how the high level of competition within Korea makes the archers better.
There’s no replacement for the adrenaline surge and blackout-inducing nerves that comes with shooting at a live animal. But, you can prepare for it and at the very least you’ll have the confidence that you’ve made great shots under similar conditions.
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