How cool/uncool is archery
Discussion
with the recent movie addiction to archery (hunger games, brave, arrow, avengers, lord of the rings) what are your opinions on the sport?
is it becoming cool, for kids, for old people, meh, never heard of it, for geeky wierdos who like to dress up like gandalf or something?
is it becoming cool, for kids, for old people, meh, never heard of it, for geeky wierdos who like to dress up like gandalf or something?
Edited by Efbe on Tuesday 30th October 11:45
strangely a better reception for archery than I expected.
I do do archery myself. prior to this I had thought of archery as the wierd people who dress up as gandalf option. since I started doing archery, I realised there a bit of this, but generally the cross section of people doing archery is just like a cross section of society.
At the club I go to there is an even female/male split, and it's pretty even all the way up the ages from 12ish to 70+, the geeky section probably only being about the same amount as in society as a general.
The exception I suppose is that there are no chavs, and there seems to be a lack of the overly-aggressive w*nkers you seem to get at sunday league football, and many other sports.
I do do archery myself. prior to this I had thought of archery as the wierd people who dress up as gandalf option. since I started doing archery, I realised there a bit of this, but generally the cross section of people doing archery is just like a cross section of society.
At the club I go to there is an even female/male split, and it's pretty even all the way up the ages from 12ish to 70+, the geeky section probably only being about the same amount as in society as a general.
The exception I suppose is that there are no chavs, and there seems to be a lack of the overly-aggressive w*nkers you seem to get at sunday league football, and many other sports.
Look Gandalf was a Wizard right, he has a big stick and magic. Ok he did have a sword too, but not a bow. Legolas had the bow not Gandalf. If you dressed up as Gandalf and carried a bow, people would look at you funny.
Anyway – re enactment and larp is fun if not eaxctly cool, and certainly conceptually no more or less weird than the idea and practise of Golf.
Anyway – re enactment and larp is fun if not eaxctly cool, and certainly conceptually no more or less weird than the idea and practise of Golf.
Efbe said:
strangely a better reception for archery than I expected.
I do do archery myself. prior to this I had thought of archery as the wierd people who dress up as gandalf option. since I started doing archery, I realised there a bit of this, but generally the cross section of people doing archery is just like a cross section of society.
At the club I go to there is an even female/male split, and it's pretty even all the way up the ages from 12ish to 70+, the geeky section probably only being about the same amount as in society as a general.
The exception I suppose is that there are no chavs, and there seems to be a lack of the overly-aggressive w*nkers you seem to get at sunday league football, and many other sports.
Everything you said is pretty much spot on. Superb crowd. No tossbags. Huge variety in the members, their jobs, ages and backgrounds.I do do archery myself. prior to this I had thought of archery as the wierd people who dress up as gandalf option. since I started doing archery, I realised there a bit of this, but generally the cross section of people doing archery is just like a cross section of society.
At the club I go to there is an even female/male split, and it's pretty even all the way up the ages from 12ish to 70+, the geeky section probably only being about the same amount as in society as a general.
The exception I suppose is that there are no chavs, and there seems to be a lack of the overly-aggressive w*nkers you seem to get at sunday league football, and many other sports.
Rosscow said:
Surely it's just a poor man's rifle?!
This is my carbon Riser (handle) and it wasnt cheap
On the upside, a complete setup can cost £300 notes.
Or £1500. As with the folk who shoot, there is once again a huge variety in equipment to suit all tastes and budgets.
Ozone said:
EnglishArcher 
your thread has arrived!
He's buggered off your thread has arrived!
Being able to shoot like this (below) at 70 yds (nearly 80 metres) is an incredible feeling. Sadly, its a feeling Im not all that familiar with
Archery is about consistency and good form, with the consistency being the tricky bit.
If you're interested, there is Compound (bow with pulleys, like Rambo, with or without a magnification scope).
There is barebow, ie shooting unsighted.
There is longbow. No you cannot shoot an apple of someones head with a longbow. You'd be lucky to hit their head three times in a row at 30 yards. Watching some of the Master Bowmen shoot longbow is comical, its hugely difficult.
There is traditional recurve (what I shoot) with normal sights, no magnification. The 2012 olympics would have been this style, same equipment, shooting at 70 yds.
There are places to shoot in the woods, on privately owned land, group shoots once a month etc. Up and down ravines, over logs, across water, etc. Huge fun, as the distances are usually unmarked.
Plus there are hunter bows, flat bows, weird eastern bows (all of which fall into one of the above 4 categories).
I don't think it's very cool at all...
I did a course with my son last year.
The bows themselves are pretty damned cool and it requires considerable skill (which neither of us exhibited) to hit the centre of a target repeatedly, but cool?
Not since Agincourt, I suspect...
In terms of weirdos and clubs, isn't that the definition of ANY club? A group of like minded misfits and weirdos?
M.
I did a course with my son last year.
The bows themselves are pretty damned cool and it requires considerable skill (which neither of us exhibited) to hit the centre of a target repeatedly, but cool?
Not since Agincourt, I suspect...
In terms of weirdos and clubs, isn't that the definition of ANY club? A group of like minded misfits and weirdos?
M.
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