🌎 Underwater Archery and Great Reasons to Give It a Go

With considerable advancements in technology, fun is no longer limited to land-based activities. These days, it has become a lot easier for humans to enjoy various activities underwater because sophisticated equipment now allow them to.

Additionally, advancements in fitness and training regimens have also paved the path for new underwater sports. As a result, the world beneath the water’s surface isn’t merely for traditional swimming anymore.

The water has now become home to emerging sports events like underwater hockey and underwater rugby. If you’re into individual sports, you can get into underwater target shooting, which is already a recognized sport, or try something that’s still in its initial stages of gaining traction—underwater archery.

Submerging the Bow: Aren’t There Risks of Water Damage?

Because the whole concept of underwater archery is relatively new, the bows and arrows that are available in the market are not exactly “specialized” for underwater use. It’s different from the case of underwater target shooting where people use spearfishing guns—which, for obvious reasons, are made to withstand any kind of water contact.

Hence, people may wonder whether engaging in underwater archery may decrease the bow’s longevity. The common argument is that high-quality bows are built to endure weather elements like rain or snow; therefore, it can survive underwater. Fortunately, most bows are able to hold up to underwater archery so there’s nothing much to worry about.

Why It’s Worth Bringing Your Bow and Arrow Underwater

Not everyone will have a pool that’s readily available to give underwater archery a go. However, if you have access to a nearby body of water and you can set up targets without much issues, trying to test your shooting skills underwater is definitely worth a try. But who knows, there might even be a place around you that has already begun catering to underwater archery enthusiasts!

Need a little more convincing to dive in? Here are some reasons why this archery variation can make things more exciting:

1. Setup is Relatively Easy

One big difference between land archery and underwater archery is that the arrow will travel much slower underwater due to resistance. However, setting up the target won’t be that different. Fortunately, targets from https://thebowguy.com/best/archery-target/ makes this part easy because their products are waterproof.

2. Exercises Your Whole Body

Not only will underwater archery involve a lot of arm and shoulder workouts, but it also exercises the rest of your body. That’s because you need to use everything—from your arms, to your core, to your legs—to keep your body suspended in the right position in the water. To maintain your depth, that means you also need to practice how to control your breathing.

3. Challenges Your Archery Skills in a New Way

You may already know how to hit your targets above the water, but we all know that trying to do so underwater is a whole new ballgame. Since the arrow will move differently in the water, you’ll need to adjust a number of factors to ensure that it will follow your desired path.

4. Helps You Learn How to Move Better Underwater

In learning how to adjust your archery skills underwater, you’ll also learn how to move in the water in a more efficient and comfortable way. You’ll know how to conserve your energy to get yourself in a proper position to fire a good shot.

5. Improves Your Survival Skills

In a way, you can say that underwater archery is a form of multitasking. You’re looking at the target and getting your arms into the best position possible—all while ensuring that you won’t drown while doing so. That’s certainly a lot of tasks to perfect.

However, if you learn how to align all of these tasks and end up hitting your targets consistently, surely it means a lot for your survival skills!

6. Instills the Value of Safety

Safety will always be of great concern when it comes to archery because people can easily get hurt if they’re in the way. Underwater archery encourages people to value safety all the more since you’ll also have to take care of yourself while playing the game.

Conclusion: Archery Variations are a Great Way to Enjoy the Sport More

If you’re looking for ways to level up your archery skills, consider trying underwater archery and see how things play out underwater. Compared to land, you’ll have to exert more effort in maintaining the perfect body position to shoot your best shots. You’ll also need to improve your ability to hold your breath underwater if you wish to hit deeper targets.

 

Last Updated on January 14, 2020