How good is De Montfort University’s archery taster session in the eyes of a ‘naturally talented’ archer?
My first impression of archery was a great one.
It was around 10 years ago when I first picked up a bow and arrow, at the age of about 11. I was stood in a large field with classmates, I listened well to the instructions given, and, with my experience of playing archery on Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games on Nintendo DS, I calculated the strength of the wind and adjusted my aim.
Pulling the string back, my arms were strong (for an 11-year-old anyway), I aimed and…bang! In the yellow it hit.
Not exactly in the centre of course, I wasn’t that good, but first go and I hit the yellow. I had never felt more elated in my life.
This elation continued as almost all my arrows flew and landed exactly where I wanted them to be.
When the session was over, I learned that I had the highest score out of everyone. Now as someone who never wins anything and who isn’t sporty in the slightest, this was great news for me, and I assumed I maybe had a natural talent for it.
Oh boy was I wrong.
This first impression is what guided me to sign up for archery and take part in the taster session. We arrived at Leicester Ancient Order of Foresters Archery Club (LAOFAC) and got straight into the dos and don’ts and how to be safe when dealing with a bow and arrow, which is a very dangerous weapon if used incorrectly.
So, I’ve jogged my memory on the rules and how to aim properly and I go up to shoot first. The coach is there to help and correct me if I’m not in perfect form.
I take the bow, I take the arrow, and of course I struggle to even clip the arrow onto the string, so not such a good start. But once I’ve done that, my left-hand grips the bow, my right hand pulls the string, I relax as best as I can, feel the wind, adjust my aim and…Bang!
In the blue. Then another in the blue. Then in the black. I managed to get worse the more I shot.
That ‘natural talent’ didn’t seem to be playing a part here. Even in the rounds after, I still couldn’t hit the yellow, the best I could hit was red, and the worst I hit was putting it in the ground.
I had been living all these years off the glory that the 11-year-old me had achieved, and yet in just one taster session that all came crashing down.
This is not to say I was disappointed in archery, on the contrary it was wonderful. There is something very freeing about the sport. Maybe it’s the straight posture, the powerful feeling of holding a bow, the wind blowing through you, or the deep breaths you take just before you let go of the string and let the arrow fly.
Even now, there is something inside me that is telling me to go back, to get better, hit the yellow, gain back some of the glory I once had.
It is this feeling that moves me to say that I think everyone should try archery at least once; to feel free, to have fun, or maybe to gain some glory.
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