BAREBOW ORIENTATION

What is Barebow Archery?

• “Barebow” is a stripped-down form of
modern archery that features no sights, no
stabilizer, no clicker and no markings on
the bow to help you aim. It's usually done
with a recurve bow, but some archers shoot
compound bows barebow-style, too. Either
way, barebow takes archery to martial arts
levels.
5 things to know about Barebow Archery:

1. Not better, but fun!

2. The Origins of Archery
3. Mentally Challenging
4. All Perception
5. Unique
 Not better, but fun!

• Italy’s Giuseppe Seimandi is a bronze medalist from 

Zagreb 2014. He picked up archery 16 years ago and
started shooting a barebow for fun, with his friends, by
the beach in Italy.
• “It was love at first sight,” he said. “It was my first love,
it all started for fun and then it became something
serious. I felt good with it, did some competitions and,
then, I decided that I wanted an extra challenge, so I
picked the compound bow as well. I’m now a silver
medalist in the 3D division with it.”
• “I think that all bows have something special, there’s not
a bow that’s better than other, but they all have
something special that makes you like it the most. I like
both the barebow and the compound, but with the
barebow, I have more fun, I enjoy more and makes feel a
bigger connection with the bow while I’m shooting. The
experience itself it’s great.”
 The Origins of Archery

• “I don’t think barebow is the purest form of archery,” said

reigning Champion Swedish man Erik Jonsson. “Those would
be the longbows in all sense. We are also not different from
any other archers, but let’s say that barebow, by not using any
help while shooting, we do get closer to it.”
• Twenty-four-year-old Eleonora Strobbe agreed with Jonsson.
• “Neither the barebow, recurve or compound bows are
longbows, which I think are closer to the pure form of archery
because they are probably the most distinctive.”
• “What I like from the barebow, is that you don’t have the
distress of the clicker or the sight, so you just get there and
release when you feel it. There’s a lot of concentration
involved, you have to feel yourself and the bow at the same
time. It’s a lot of fun, a lot,” Eleonora added!
 Mentally Challenging

• “There’s a difference between shooting to watch arrows fly and shooting to watch
how the arrows hit the centre,” said former compound archer Ben Rogers from the
USA.
• Back in 2009, Ben hurt his forearm and despite trying three-years of rehabilitation,
he couldn’t keep shooting the compound. He picked up a 47lbs recurve and then
tried the barebow, which he kept.
• “You know that you have to have a good mental game to compete with those who
shoots to hit the middle, and that’s what I enjoy the most about the barebow. In my
opinion, there’s more satisfaction hitting a target without sights on your bow and
just doing it the old-fashioned way, than what you do with a sight and a release.”
• “It’s challenging because it takes a long time to learn, with a compound the release
works like an extra help. Learning how to shoot the barebow or a recurve it’s hard
to learn and that’s why it was for a long time on a decline, because people wanted
instant gratification and you don’t get immediately, it requires practise.”
• “With a barebow you require a lot of concentration. You got to concentrate on what
you’re doing, where you’re aiming and eliminate all the distractions.”
 All Perception

• Team silver medalist from Val D’Isere, France in

2012, Eliette Lalouer said she picked up the barebow
thanks to a recommendation from her husband. She
tried different indoor, field and 3D competitions and
it worked.
• “Ever since I started shooting with a barebow in
1998, I only took a break when I became a mother
because I enjoy it a lot,” Eliette said.
• “Shooting a barebow is all about perception because
although it’s you and your bow, as in any other
category, it’s you who’s judging the distance, the
accuracy needed and the position of your body to
shoot. There’s a lot of practice involved.”
 Unique

• David Garcia is a 3D world team champion. He was second seed during the
first day of unmarked qualification in Dublin and Spain’s top barebow man.
• The barebow, David said, is the most complete bow because if you learn
with it, you can shoot with any other. It’s also unique, especially the
specialty that comes when releasing the arrow.
• “The barebow is the only bow that you aim exactly where you want to
shoot without any help,” he said. “We decide when to shoot, but we enjoy it
so much that sometimes it might look that’s all we’re doing.”
• “To become a good barebow archer, you’ve got to train all year round but
without worrying much about the competition. The more relaxed you are,
the better results you get. You also have to watch what others are doing and
learn from them. Then, you have to do your own preparation, shoot and
enjoy.”
• “It’s all about enjoying your shooting.”
 Types of Sighting
• Gap Shooting – Arrow tip perception
• Split Vision – Both eyes are use for sighting
• Instinctive – Observing Everything
• String Walking – Sliding of Bow string
 Basics in Barebow Archery:
• Stances
 Square – Olympic, Standard or target shooting
 Open
 Close

• Handling • Drawing
o 45 Degrees angle Split – Type (One finger up, two
fingers down)
Three-Under
 Routine for Barebow Archers:
• Breath Control
• Black-Out Everything
• Stretching
• Equipment Check
 Breathing Control

• Practice Zen Breathing / Yoga Breathing

• Focus your attention on your breathing
• At most 5 mins of this activity before training
 Black-Out Everything

• Personal Focus, Don’t Overthink

 Stretching
• Basic Stretches only.
 Equipment Check

• Feel the bow • Arrow Check

• String Check Feel Shaft Carefully
Bend Check
 Unstring when waxing
 3-4 days waxing
 Use candle wax when it is strung