Archery training?

[Deadeye Doc]

This is posted on the British Columbia (Canada) Archery Association website. Susan Lemke is a sports psychologist working in Vancouver.

Commitment

The following was taken from an article that appeared in the Vancouver Province in August, just
weeks before the World Target Archery Championships in China 2001 were to take place.

Archery Gruelling in Korea - Seoul

South Korea ’s world class archers cleaned up sewage, stayed up all night, stared at dead bodies in a crematory and climbed a mountain with a rubber dinghy on their backs.
It’s just part of the training regime designed to toughen them, mentally and physically, for the World Outdoor Archery Championships in Beijing .
But the country’s top four male archers – all Olympic medallists – said the Aug. 7th-10th training was too intense and pulled out after one day. The Korea Archery Association banned them from the championships that begins Sept. 15th and from running for the national team for up to five years.
“It’s a bit late to regret it but we really did not expect to be replaced,” said Kim Bo-ram, ranked 4th in the world.
Since 1988, South Korean archers have trained by handling snakes, meditating at a Buddhist temple and walking through a haunted house full of actors in ghoulish outfits. They also have physical endurance tests at military camps.
Associated Press

Lemke then goes on to ask "What's your commitment to your sport?"

Just how far would we take "training" like this in the West? I'm slightly phazed by the idea of asking archers to stare at dead bodies (which in a crematorium might anyway have been rendered to ashes) and can see little point in staying up all night, as part of training. The idea of a "haunted house" also raises some questions. Can anyone enlighten me about this "training regime"?

[bimble]

the only reason I can think of is to try to build nerves of steel. If you can get to the point where nothing phases you, needing those 30 points with your last three arrows will be less daunting (I imagine). Personally not my thing

[grimsby archer]

Its all about developing mental toughness.

The ability to pull that extra 1% out of nowhere when everyone else gives up. The military use similar techniques to weed the real soldiers out from the wannabees (if the documentaries on tv are to be believed, at any rate)

Perhaps its worth trying.
Might be more fun than sitting on the sofa worring about target panic

[Jerry Tee]

That's nothing one of our archers here is a member of the M25 Close Formation Driving Team. he has to withstand extreme pressure and frustration, sub standard air supply & dangerous natives.

[Old Bloke]

...and i've heard that it is a real test of nerves and of an archer when one has to change a tyre on the hard shoulder.....3 tens at 70mts after that would be a piece of cake. Wussies who call out the breakdown services never make it onto squad.

[Old Bloke]

..and to test the mental agility of promising archers, it is said that a day with a group of trainspotters at Crewe will suffice. None have passed as yet.

[Watch_Man]

As part of archery_mum's extreme physical training she has to stand in a small room for hours in intense heat carrying out repetitive exercises with a hot metal object - the technique is called 'ironing the family clothes'

To develop co-ordination she is made to come down a flight of stairs covered in obstacles balancing 6 glasses filled with coloured liquids - the kids never remember to bring their drinks down in the morning!

To develop mental toughness she is sent outside in the driving rain with a huge bucket and a small spade. She has to fill the huge bucket with small soft smelly objects hidden around the garden - 2 choccy labs and a greyhound don't half leave a load of poo around the garden and someone has to clear it up

Finally to develop her mental agility she has to manage and co-ordinate mutiple events over a period of a couple of hours, each one being time critical - I think the technique is called 'cooking the family a meal'

[TWIW]

Originally Posted by Old Bloke

..and to test the mental agility of promising archers, it is said that a day with a group of trainspotters at Crewe will suffice. None have passed as yet.

Nothing wrong with train spotting at Crewe. Especially when it was full of loverly steam engines.

[iori jones]

I would have thought that a good way to reach the required state of mind at this level would be to recognise that however much fun and desirable it is to hit the gold, it is , in fact, completely unimportant. There, sorted.
Iori Jones.

[Deadeye Doc]

Originally Posted by iori jones

I would have thought that a good way to reach the required state of mind at this level would be to recognise that however much fun and desirable it is to hit the gold, it is , in fact, completely unimportant. There, sorted.
Iori Jones.

Couldn't agree more, on a cosmic level ... It just ain't cricket! Perhaps as Football claims to be the National Game the National teams should be set the same tasks as in the cutting? At least it would keep 'em off the archery fields.
But do we think they might then succeed in reaching any finals? Nah!