Practice is supposed to make perfect, yet you can bang on a piano until the family goes crazy and never learn to play a tune. Repetition can build muscle tone and help develop muscle memory, yet if the practice session is unrelated to the ultimate end, little progress is made. This post from Bowhunting.com hits the bull’s-eye in describing how you can maximize the benefits of play.

As an athlete growing up, coaches would always encourage my sports teams to practice as though we were playing in a real game. The mindset was to avoid going through the motions, instead focusing on game-like scenarios, working hard to improve and form good habits, ultimately transferring these skills to the playing field when it mattered most.

The same could be said for archery and bowhunting. Becoming a consistently good bowshot doesn’t happen overnight, and it also doesn’t happen by stagnantly punching arrows into a target from 20-yards away. Do you know how to practice like you play?
Actual bowhunting situations present a diverse assortment of variables, such as unpredictable shot angles, distances, obstructions and timing, so archers must strive to vary their backyard practice sessions to reflect these potential hunting scenarios if they hope to perform at their peak in the field… [continued]

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