Archery library
Emma Davis and Tom Hall review the latest edition of Inside The Archer
EDITION 2019, 3rd Edition (first published 2009)
AUTHOR Kisik Lee and Tyler Benner. Paperback, 3rd edition is 288 pages PUBLISHER Astra Archery
Total Archery is a book we had known of for some time but had never considered buying. Perhaps largely because the only version we had seen was the hardcover 1st edition, which could fetch prices of over 200 pounds! However, when this 3rd edition came out for a much more reasonable £45 it was clearly time to give it a go. The authors are Kisik Lee, head coach of the US Olympic Archery Training Program, and Tyler Benner, a US archer, coach and entrepreneur who trained with him for a number of years.
Firstly, we have to distinguish ‘Total Archery: Inside the Archer’ from its predecessor, ‘Total Archery’. Both are written by Lee, but the latter is a more general introduction to archery and is aimed at beginners. Inside the Archer is a more advanced book focused purely on shooting technique as taught by Coach Lee. This technique has become officially part of the USA national training system and is taught to coaches to pass on to new archers throughout the States. Over the course of 28 chapters Inside the Archer drills down into the minute details of every aspect of shooting a bow, to create possibly the most detailed shot routine explanation ever.
The chapters tackle one element of the technique of shooting at a time, progressing approximately in the order they might be carried out. Stance and posture are tackled first, followed by gripping and hooking, then how to raise and draw the bow, anchoring and transferring, then finally expansion and follow through. Each chapter mostly stands alone, although there are helpful cross references between them, and there is a vast depth of information to be covered in each. This is not a book you will be able to read cover to cover, instead it is better to take in one or two chapters at a time and then spend a while putting these things into practice.
Whilst there is a lot of text, one of the real strengths of this book is the number and quality of the diagrams. (This third edition of the book states that there has been a "contemporary design and reworking of diagrams and figures, to make the most salient points jump off the page while retaining the original text.") Comparison is regularly used to demonstrate differences between correct and sub-optimal aspects of shooting technique. Photographs which display very subtle differences in form are strategically overlaid with markings to make them easy to understand. Newer coaches especially will find
this invaluable in learning how to assess and correct technique from visual cues.
In the foreword, Lee recommends reading the book three times: once in detail, once focusing just on the pictures and a final time absorbing the Key Points summaries, which can be found at the end of each chapter. In reality, the volume of information here means that even after three read-throughs there will still be much more left to learn from this book. The diagrams and technique descriptions, and justifications, are likely to prove valuable and thought-provoking across an entire career, even for the more experienced archer or coach.
The main limitation, as is often found of any technique-focused book, is the absolute commitment to one specific style of shooting. Kisik Lee’s method has been used to great effect – most notably in recent years by Brady Ellison, who indisputably dominated the outdoor circuit this year. However, the shooting style is one that requires great strength and is relatively slow. One result of this is that even some of the world class American archers display a visible tremor as they approach full draw, a giveaway of the stress their bodies are under. This begs the question: can a non-professional archer, who is shooting a few hundred arrows a week rather than per day, pull off this technique in its entirety? The Asian nations tend to adopt a faster and more economical shot process, and it is hard to argue with their success. Ultimately there are still many ways to shoot a bow successfully and no one coach has all of the answers.
Similarly, no one book is perfect in its entirety. Some of the red pages between chapters seem more like filler than substance, although there are some very useful ones such as the section on making a customized bow grip. The infamous 1000 arrow challenge features here as well, but we feel it has no place in this book – this is not something anyone but an elite, experienced archer should be doing, and even for such an athlete the risks may well outweigh the benefits.
Kisik Lee has used this book as an attempt to distil what he has learned about archery technique across his career into one volume. Many of the wider aspects of shooting (e.g. setup) aren’t covered in any detail. But the complete focus on technique allows a level of detail rarely achieved in most archery publications. Overall, the authors’ experience in this area really shines through – the clarity in describing highly complex aspects of physiology and technique is outstanding. This is a book that has a place in any serious archer or coach’s collection.
"EACH TIME I PICK UP TOTAL ARCHERY I FIND SOMETHING ELSE NEW AND INTERESTING TO THINK ABOUT. THIS IS ONE OF THOSE RARE BOOKS THAT YOU CAN NEVER COMPLETE, BUT IT WILL STAY VALUABLE RIGHT THE WAY THROUGH AN ENTIRE SHOOTING CAREER.”
TOM