# 20 year old. Lost at life. Is Olympic Archery the answer?



## bitconnect (Jul 24, 2018)

Hello, I am 20 years old, currently lost at life after I got out of University.

That is until I have experience with Archery. I watched Olympic archery on youtube and I was inspired by their marksmanship, confidence and general coolness when they shoot arrows.

After that I went to 3 different clubs, shot arrows (before this I had tried recreational recurve shooting for about 4-6 hours). I just love shooting, when I am aiming at the target, I feel that nothing else in the world matters.

Today I just signed up at this club for a 20 hour session, 2 hrs per day, I will try to finish it as fast as I can, after that if all goes well I will buy my own bow.

Right now as a newbie I am really inspired to achieve high level of competition. I am from the Philippines, not really the best country to learn archery, problems with money, lack of coaches, lack of places to shoot.

I will go ahead with putting as much hours as I can with this and see what I can achieve. I will train 8 hrs a day for 7 days if I can, but sadly I dont have money, I am looking for ways to solve this.

Anyway, do you guys have tips for a newbie like me?


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## grantmac (May 31, 2007)

Get a job with lots of holidays and discounted plane tickets.


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## sotexbowhunter (Feb 3, 2006)

Just enjoy the way archery clears your head. You don't have to shoot the most expensive gear. Money won't buy accuracy. If you can't afford a coach, read all you can. This site offers many outstanding pointers and excellent videos that have helped me and I've been shooting for decades. Archery still is my way of relaxing and forgetting my frustrations and tensions from work. In the beginning just enjoy and work on the basics. you can enjoy for a life time. Don't burn yourself out by shooting too much.


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## bitconnect (Jul 24, 2018)

I appreciate your concern sir. But I am a really driven man when it comes to sports. I usually do burn myself out in the past, I just get obsessed by things, now archery, maybe it's a good thing? I read somewhere to be better you should "shoot 1 more arrow than anyone else", it came from the female korean olympic champion, cant remember her name, so I want to follow what she says.

Right now I want to put as much hours as I can in practice.

Then in the near future my plan is to go back home to my parents for a while, my parents are quite above average when it comes to money.

They own alot of land, alot. So I have free space to shoot far, then my plan to is train in the morning and work for them in their business in the afternoon to pay back.

So thats about 4-5 hrs training per day, then at the afternoon after work I will study online.

Good idea for someone who want to be good?


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## "TheBlindArcher" (Jan 27, 2015)

If you're currently lost in life archery could definitely be the answer, but Olympic level archery... You really need to have your life together. If you were in Korea you could get a job as an archer that will pay the bills, but in the Phillipenes not so much, you will need a source of income to live and compete. Don't know about other countries, but in many places to compete at an Olympic level is a dedication that usually [not always, but more often than not] starts at a very young age, and there is very little else in life if you're going to try to compete at that level. You'll need to travel all over the world, especially during the build up to the Olympics, to shoot tournaments to qualify competitor slots for your country- Countries need to qualify, not every country gets to send competetors. Then, does the Phillipenes Olympic committee have funding to send archers? Some countries have very limited Olympic budgets, and don't invest resources into every sport. 
World Archery recently held an international event in Manilla as part of the second leg of the Asia Cup. 

Contact these people 
https://worldarchery.org/.../phi/philippines-archers-national-network-and-alliance-inc

and find about events in the Phillipenes, and you may find some contacts of other archers competing at that level you could talk to. 

Best of luck.


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## ITSupportGuy (Apr 5, 2017)

I am glad you have discovered a passion for archery. My daughter and and took it up about 1.5 years ago and now she is down the competitive road. I shoot mainly for recreation but do take 8n the occasional tournament. 

My daughter was involved in another competitive sport for 7 years and I can say there are similarities. Dedication to training, travel to tournaments, and equipment upgrades as she outperformed her gear. 

One thing I noted in your post was wanting to train 8 hrs a day for 7 days a week. That is not a healthy objective. Shooting arrows all day does not make you a better archer. What you should try to do is find a good instructor (then a coach or mentor) to give you guidance. You need to start with good form otherwise you develop bad habits that take time to unravel. Doing a skill over and over again does not make you good at it; however doing a skill over and over CORRECTLY will yield improvement. 

Competitive archery training encompasses cross training for core fitness and mental training as well. Since my daughter was in a previous competitive sport, she is very calm under pressure. Developing this takes time. 

Having a coach who can develop a training plan for the short and long term objectives is important. There are weeks for volume shooting leading up to a tournament and there are also rest weeks. 

My daughter and I shoot and train together even though I’m not training at a competitive level. We get to form check each other to provide feedback on observations of how we execute our shot. Yes we all get sloppy from time to time. Also, it is easier to encourage each other to practice regularly. 

Keep at it. Master the basics. Practice what you learn. Evaluate. Then learn some more. Spending a few weeks ( or months) on part of your shot process is a norm. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Jill (Jul 21, 2016)

ITSupportGuy said:


> I am glad you have discovered a passion for archery. My daughter and and took it up about 1.5 years ago and now she is down the competitive road. I shoot mainly for recreation but do take 8n the occasional tournament.
> 
> My daughter and I shoot and train together even though I’m not training at a competitive level. We get to form check each other to provide feedback on observations of how we execute our shot. Yes we all get sloppy from time to time. Also, it is easier to encourage each other to practice regularly.
> 
> ...


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## Jill (Jul 21, 2016)

grantmac said:


> Get a job with lots of holidays and discounted plane tickets.


Where do I apply?


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## 892277 (Sep 9, 2018)

Lost in life, but found archery! Set realistic expectations. That way you'll still enjoy the sport and progress instead of getting frustrated and quit.


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## Butterscotch (Mar 3, 2016)

Hopefully, you will find your way soon and find work that allows you to pursue your archery goals.


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## wendeasy (Feb 27, 2016)

Keep in mind, most Olympians have been getting coached, and have been shooting competitively for most of their life. I can see how archery can add purpose to your life when you're feeling lost, but doing so with the intentions of going to the Olympics, if that's what it takes to feel whole, then you are doing this for the wrong reason. Its great to set a goal for yourself don't get me wrong. But a more realistic goal, perhaps winning a club shoot will put it into perspective how vast this sea of talent is in this sport. You should also think about what happens if you do not qualify for the Olympics, then what do you do, pack it up and quit? Are you lost at life again? Do this sport because you love it, your passion and enthusiasm for what you do will carry you far and give you direction. I started shooting compound archery much later than most. I have dedicated my life to shooting and in my short time shooting, I have won multiple state and national championships. The second those events are over its gone, all you have left is your love for the sport.


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## quickshot22 (Jul 8, 2016)

High level competitive archery gets old after awhile, and there is no money in it like unlike other sports. Just have fun with it.


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## bitconnect (Jul 24, 2018)

Wow its just been 3 months since I posted this?

A little update people. I already won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal. I train Full time and now have my own bow. Life is looking amazing


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## Hunter2678 (Jan 16, 2008)

bitconnect said:


> Wow its just been 3 months since I posted this?
> 
> A little update people. I already won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal. I train Full time and now have my own bow. Life is looking amazing


Gold medals ? the olympics are going on now? What?


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## bitconnect (Jul 24, 2018)

Not the olympics. Local competitions


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## IBOHunt3D (Jun 6, 2006)

Where have you been shooting/competing?


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## wendeasy (Feb 27, 2016)

congrats


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## psnguyen (Jun 15, 2018)

bitconnect said:


> Wow its just been 3 months since I posted this?
> 
> A little update people. I already won 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal. I train Full time and now have my own bow. Life is looking amazing


What about women? Are there lots of women? Or men? Whatever you're into, I'm actually not sure of your gender or preferences.


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