Kim Hyung Tak is widely regarded as one of the greatest coaching minds in archery.
He is one of the key figures behind the Korean dominance seen today in recurve archery, having been in the coaching box when Seo Yangsoon won historic gold at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympic Games – the first of Korea’s 33 Olympic archery gold medals.
His knowledge is world-renowned, and the Coach Kim Hyung Tak Archery School, located in the heart of Korea, attracted thousands of archers from around the world before closing last October.
Beyond his deep technical understanding of the recurve bow, his books, coaching manuals and seminars have left a lasting legacy that continues to influence younger generations – but not in the way you might expect.
Aim for Unity is a New Jersey-based non-profit organisation focused on senior brain health and dementia awareness through archery. The initiative is spearheaded by 16-year-old USA recurve archer Samuel Kim.
Samuel launched the project alone in 2024 following his grandmother’s dementia diagnosis. In just two years, he has built a team of 19 staff members, balancing the project while working his way up the USA junior national rankings and continuing his business and finance studies at Bergen County Academies.
“I’ve always known that archery is a very mental sport. I’ve always been told that,” explained Kim, describing his motivation for starting Aim for Unity. “I did some preliminary research online and found from the World Health Organization that there are really three main interventions that can help prevent or slow cognitive decline.”
“The first is physical activity, the second is social interaction and the third is cognitive stimulation. I realised that archery, if put in the right environment, fits all three perfectly.”
“When you’re pulling back the bow, that’s physical activity. The cognitive stimulation comes from remembering where to place your hands with the correct form and sometimes from scoring arrows.”
