Watch A Real-Life Archer Put Hawkeye's Skills To Shame

Alright so we know we can’t believe everything we see in film or on TV, but some things look so darn professional that it is hard to argue whether or not they’ve been given the Hollywood treatment. But there’s one thing that has always bothered me. Archery in movies does not seem very realistic. Could Hawkeye really hit all those targets that quickly in The Avengers while falling off of a building? Well, it turns out no, he definitely couldn’t, but only because the style of archery in Hollywood is all wrong. Watch as a professional archer shows off his incredible archery skills and proves that Hawkeye, Legolas, Katniss, and more are all holding their bow and arrow completely wrong.

Lars Anderson shows us a whole “new level of archery”. His mastery of the skill has been achieved over years of practice and studying of 5,000-year-old strategies. And best of all, he completely shows up every single Hollywood film that tries to use archery. From Robin Hood to Lord of the Rings to The Hunger Games to The Avengers and even the CW show Arrow, not one of their sharp-shooters are all that sharp. Anderson explains it in the video, but basically the way that Hollywood archers hold their arrow is best suited for stationary shooting. There’s nothing wrong with it, it is proper considering it lines up the eye with the target, but it is impossible to use that type of positioning with quick shooting. And if we are going to reference any one of the aforementioned films/tv show, then yes, there is a lot of quick shooting.

This Danish archery maestro has all of the moves, from in air shooting, to shooting with his foot, to rapid fire and close-up shots, Anderson’s skills and methods are far more impressive than anything I’ve seen in a movie (and they're real!). He even demonstrates how to split an arrow on a knife blade, and catch an enemy’s arrow with his bare hands and shoot back. Hawkeye could learn a thing or two from this guy. I mean come on. You have Thor on your team, finding some reading material on ancient archery methods shouldn’t be too difficult.

We all know Jeremy Renner looked pretty cool with his modern bow, shooting out all types of unique arrows.

But, if this video proves anything, it’s all about the brains. Keep in mind that this is a mere hobby for Anderson. He is a painter and writer by day, who decided to study up on the material. Modern archers stand still and shoot, but in the past, people did not have that luxury. Archery was used as a means for battle, and while long range could be common, warfare before the invention of gunpowder included faster short-range skills. Knowledge is power in this sense. And if Hawkeye is going to protect the world, then he better study up a bit more.