Deep down ever since I was a kid, knowing how to shoot an arrow was of a curiosity and hobby I have always wanted to get into. Now being 41 years old, during the Covid lock-down I took initiation to take it to the next level and pursue the skill of Archery. I realized it was a great time to train mental focus and concentration during the lock-down period and utilize this time to get to know myself better.
A lifetime investment to myself... I wanted to start with a brand which is known to be cutting edge quality made in the USA, tuned to perfection and vigorously field tested. I have purchased the Mathews Archery VXR Compound Bow.
As an industrial product designer as a profession, I have always been fascinated by the science and mechanics of compound bows. Its truly amazing how far we have been refining the craft of Archery to a perfected craftmanship ever since the beginning era of human kind. I almost believe that archery skills are embedded in our DNA due to the fact that the very fundamentals of archery gear and shooting skill has relatively remained the same.
Some facts on history of bow and arrow I dug up is that the earliest remains of bow and arrow usage can be found in Europe, though there are possible fragments that were found in Germany dated 17,500 to 18,000 years old. However, archaeologists believe hunters have been using bows and arrows as early as 50,000 years ago.
Made sure to have more than enough arrows since I knew I was probably going to loose half of them in the beginning... and yes I was right.
I started out by watching a ton of YouTube videos on archery and practiced practically shooting 50-100 arrows per day. At first it was kind of scary not knowing if I am doing something wrong, however as time went by body was adjusting to the bow as well as the bow was adjusting mentally to me. :)
My own backyard target practice setup.
I think I was practicing at about 15-25 meter distance.
Beginning to get better groupings... aiming and focusing was gradually and noticeably improving.
Pretty happy with the results trained with just YouTube.
After several months passed I have moved to Taiwan early this year 2021 and insisted to bring my bow with me and continue sharpening the skill set... at this point I noticed my upper body has toned quite well. It uses a lot of back muscles in which I didn't think people will notice but when I arrived in Taiwan my friends and family members commented on how I looked more slimmer and stronger. I had no idea... but nice... thank you bow. :)
Still... I really love the mechanical craft of how compound bows work... its so techy in a mechanical way.
I later removed the sights in order to train myself to shoot by intuition. See through sense and feeling... I actually like this setup better currently.
Upon arrival in Taiwan and after the 14 day quarantine I found the nearest archery indoor range and gave it my best shot of what I have learned and practiced so far. During my third session when shooting the arrow, I heard a different kind of sound when it hit the target... I thought maybe the arrow hit a metal structure in the back wall or something. Shooting at that distance with no sight I couldn't clearly see if my arrows were hitting on target.
I approached the target to retrieve my arrows and suddenly I saw this....
WOW!~~~ a Robinhood???!!! I didn't know it was possible!!!~~~ I heard about it.... but experiencing it first hand from my own shot.... I was in awe.... and in total BLISS. :)
Right down the middle..... absolutely satisfying. I am now even more hooked in the hobby of archery more than ever!
I googled the odds of such situation and it was stated that chances are 1 in every 3000 shots. Not sure if its considered pretty slim but I was a happy pup, and kept it as my own personal trophy.
I guess this is really a possibility.... and not sure when will be the next one. Probably not for a very long time I assume.
Thanks for reading my post this far, I am still new in the community and trying to find and give inspiration to our Hive family. I would like to let everyone know the joy of my journey in self learning archery through just asking people and watching YouTube videos. Give it a try~ great for training mental focus and concentration, at the same time you also gets you a good work out.
Stay healthy friends!!~~~
Cheers!~~