Marksmanship is more than pointing a weapon and pulling the trigger. It is a discipline, a combination of talent, training, and tenacity that takes years to improve and a lifetime to master.
Though it may look easy when Daryl in The Walking Dead brings down zombie after zombie with literally every shot, shooting a crossbow (or any weapon, for that matter) with such razor-sharp precision is much more difficult in real life. Even learning to load and fire a crossbow from a stationary position at an unmoving target with any degree of accuracy requires some significant training.
Now imagine shooting accurately while on the run, during the apocalypse, lost and alone, dehydrated and underfed, weighed down with gear. Oh, and also your target wants to eat you.
For some of you, that may sound like a great Labor Day Weekend. But for most, that kind of crossbow shooting requires more than good aim. It requires good habits. It requires being calm, cool, and collected under pressure. In fact, all marksmanship does, whether for fun, for sport, or for survival.
So how do you stay calm when aiming your crossbow?
Steady, conscious breathing
The basics of aiming a crossbow are simple: relax your muscles, focus on your target, and breathe slowly. There’s more to it, of course, but however long a given step-by-step process may be, breathing is almost always last on the list before the arrow flies. The issue is that breathing fuels every other step — in more ways than you might realize.
Slow, controlled breathing relaxes the body as a whole by slowing your heart rate and lowering blood pressure. It both loosens and strengthens the muscles by reducing lactic acid and dispelling carbon dioxide, both of which cause muscles to cramp, ache, and burn. Combined with the supplemental support of gear like compression clothing, you can improve your strength and endurance literally overnight.
Additionally, breathing focuses the mind in a number of ways. For one, it decreases the effects of emotions and lowers the volume of external stimuli by literally reducing stress hormones in the bloodstream. To top it off, more and more research shows that conscious awareness of your breath activates neural pathways in the brain, regulates the nervous system, and allows more control over your emotions and impulsivity.
Breathing brings strength, stability, and sharpened senses. Practicing control over your breath is truly the beginning, middle, and end of calm, accurate aiming.
If you don’t know how to incorporate breath into your current practice, here is an example breath routine for crossbow shooting
from the National Crossbow Federation. That may be a good place to start.
Relaxed, deliberate movement
By starting with the breath, you center yourself. From there, your movements become more purposeful and your reactions (or lack thereof) become more reliable. The idea moving forward is simple: less is more. Or as the Navy Seals say, “slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
The actual cocking, target acquisition, and firing process depends largely on the crossbow you’re using. Depending on the crossbow mechanisms and technology at hand, this may involve elegant simplicity (e.g. manual draw, iron sights, traditional scopes) or exquisite complexity (e.g., silent and electric cocking, laser scope sights). Whatever your methods, take them one at a time, slow and smooth.
Accurate aiming begins with a solid stance and correct positioning. While you do not have to hold the string back manually, as with a conventional bow, aiming a crossbow nevertheless requires a balance between strength and relaxation. It must be held aloft and aligned steadily, yet without tension. Breathe. In through your nose, out through your mouth. Aim. Focus.
If all has gone well, when it comes time to squeeze the trigger, you’re able and ready to do so gently but firmly, without jerking. Exhale slowly before your squeeze, and continue to do so as the arrow leaps away from your crossbow.
Practicing right
In the immortal words of Allen Iverson, “We talkin’ ‘bout PRACTICE.”
It’s going to take long-term practice and consistent training in order to make your newfound calm and centered aim feel natural. There’s no way around the necessity of hard work over time. That’s the nature of skills, new and old. There’s a reason we call them disciplines.
Just make sure that you are practicing right. Remember: practice doesn’t make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Bad habits are formed and plateaus are hit as a result of practicing incorrectly. This applies to every passion and pursuit imaginable, and to novices and experts alike.
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Jofra Archer was far from impressed with the pitch which was used for the first Test at Chepauk.
25-year-old Archer stated that it was one of the worst pitch he has ever seen in his career.
