Have You Ever Shot an Arrow Into the Air?
By Tom Herrin
When I was young, Robin Hood was a big deal. Everybody wanted to shoot a bow. For quite a while, most people forgot about archery. There wasn’t much attention paid to it. The media tends to drive a lot of things. After all, most people are immersed in whatever is the current thing. Products in all the stores, costumes, and catchy phrases follow anything that catches on. In recent years, there have been a few movies highlighting archers and archery. Now you can see various types of props everywhere.
It Can Be Great For Improving Hand-Eye Coordination
I was a principal in a small school once, and one day we got a call from a friend of someone passing through town. He was the world archery champion and would put on a free show. We were all spellbound at the things he did with a bow. He finished by shooting a balloon off the top of his assistant’s head while blindfolded, and after being spun around as she counted slowly to 10. This made quite an impression on everyone there. The skills that may be developed by continued practice can transfer over to many other jobs and skills.
It Is More Exercise Than You Would Think
The physical activity related to using a bow is pretty significant. Walking and carrying your equipment can be a fair amount of exercise. Drawing a bow can burn more than a few calories and increase strength. If you haven’t had that experience, you will have some pretty tight muscles in your arms when you are participating. Your entire core will improve in strength. As with most forms of exercise, your confidence will improve as well. In older times, the English required each male over a certain age to practice with the longbow for four hours each day. It helped them to defeat the attacking Spanish.
There's Opportunity to Socialize
As with so many other things, archery has competitions. It won’t matter whether you are young or old, you can still participate. Any time you do this, you can meet new people. Even people with disabilities can get involved. I stated earlier about someone shooting successfully while blindfolded. Many of the typical limitations do not apply when it comes to archery. This may very well be one of those things you haven’t given any thought to, but it can be personally rewarding. Why not try shooting that arrow? You may find it to be a pretty enjoyable skill.
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