> Training using VR equipment is picking up steam, as typically you need a sizeable amount of real estate to practice when the weather is bad.
I always wondered, how does that work?
Over in bullseye rifle we live and breathe dryfire (no ammo), but I understand the equivalent (no arrow) with a bow is a recipe for breaking the bow.
Like my brain just cannot comprehend how to get enough reps to get good enough at a thing without being able to do dryfire at the volume we do for rifle.
Answer is that it's the human body that's the weakest link here, as muscles get sore and tendons might get damaged if you overdo it.
Prepping for tournaments is a field in and of itself as you need to time your trainings right to achieve peak form at the event itself.
My sister, who's been doing this competitively for a decade now, showed me an excel sheet her team has - there's an optimisation problem you have to solve to get every member to their best shape within the specified timeframe.
Also there are so-called "trads" - people doing traditional archery with period-correct technology, where the stakes are understandably lower.
Also they ingest, ahem, aiming fluid each meeting, so it's way more casual than what modern competitive archers practice.
Over here it's a combination of having a tradition of historical reconstruction and fairly strict gun laws, that don't extend to other weapons.
Case in point: you can open-carry a sword, unless you're displaying violent intent. Concealed carry of any obviously dangerous blade is prohibited, which spurred speculation on what to do with, e.g. a bread knife.
Consensus in the community is that you need to hold a loaf of bread in the other hand.
It's actually a complex discipline with a huge range of bows and projectiles to choose from, each having unique characteristics you have to train for.
Training using VR equipment is picking up steam, as typically you need a sizeable amount of real estate to practice when the weather is bad.