One Small Step for Man

One giant leap for me! Two days and quite a few arrows later, I'm beginning to manage a better grouping at around 20 yd.

Shooting arrows is feeling more intuitive and requiring less active thinking throughout the entire process. Though there is some familiarity now, there are still too many variables that can make any given shot go astray. Case in point below towards the end of the session.

Lots of energy is poured into the system with very little to see for a time, similar to waiting for water to boil. Likewise, after multiple sessions and shooting a few hundred arrows, what cannot be captured in these photos is the ease and comfort of holding the bow at my full draw (pulling back the bowstring)--I no longer feel sore or tired after practicing for 1-2 hours at a time.

Unexpected Step

If there was only a way to learn and practice during the weekday, ideally after work.... Since my commute is rather time consuming, I often stop by at my favorite boba shop about half way home. While relaxing, I decided to search for any nearby archery clubs/ranges. Thankfully, there was one located only a few miles away--an unexpected find! 

This is at the maximum distance of 20 yards within the indoor archery range, using a rental bow and arrows. Not too bad for now. 

One might say that the indoor experience introduced new opportunities to practice and learn more about the sport and equipment. Is it a detour, a dead-end, or a doorway to something even more exciting?

Another Step

Exactly one week later, on September 7, 2024, the journey continued. Countless thoughts whirled about as I wondered whether the thrill from the first step was a fluke. It wasn't. It was anything but a fluke. After several rounds, most of my shots were starting to "group" (result of shooting multiple arrows) more onto the target--instead of landing beyond, before, and around the bale. 

Landing an arrow into the yellow/gold area is always fun, even if it isn't precisely a "bull's eye" (the highest scoring section of the target). While I was still trying to figure out too many things in my repeated attempts to improve, a few ideas persistently preoccupied my mind: 

• fun
• shoot more arrows as often as possible
• How can I aim better???

One wish was granted towards the end of my session: more arrows in a round.

A Single Step

"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step"

Attributed to Laozi / Lao Tzu.

Perhaps the first step is contemplating a destination. Regardless, between it and the visible "first step" exists an unseen and potentially infinite dimensional gap--the chasm between an invisible idea and a visible action. And whether one manages to take that first step and decides to stop at some point or continues until reaching one's destination, isn't it remarkable that we all have the ability to experience an intersection between the infinite and the finite by taking a single step? 

August 31, 2024 is when I finally took my first step in archery. Though I tried shooting with a compound bow on two short occasions several years before, this was the first time I experienced archery as I had always envisioned--a simple bow with a set of arrows. Little did I know that a single step was the beginning of an exciting lifelong journey!

One step led to another that afternoon, and eventually my first bullseye from ~20 yards. :)

After many more steps (and additional arrows), most found their way to the target before the end of the day. And every arrow since then (whether they fell from the bow, missed the mark, or hit the target) has been an additional step on this joyful journey.