Archery

This morning we went to the Pasadena Roving Archers archery club. Lawrence actually got up with me at 7:30am! We got to the range at about 8:15. We were both right eye dominant, so we held our bows in the left hand and pulled with our right.

We each got an arm guard, a finger tab, a quiver with 4 arrows, and a bow. We actually got there mighty early and ended up sitting around doing nothing until 9am when the class actually starts.

So your first time there, the beginner's class is free. They broke us up into smaller groups for instruction with one of the more experienced archers.

I learned that women a lot of the time have double jointed elbows and when holding the bow, will tend to have the inside of their elbows point upwards. That's bad! I had to make a conscious effort to bend my elbow and ensure my elbow pointed out instead of down.

It was a lot easier to shoot the bow than I expected. Granted, we were using only 15 lb. bows, but still. I expected some sort of rebound force, but there wasn't much. You pull the string back to about the corner of your mouth, and you let go of the string. That's about all there was to it. :) At the end of the lesson, they let you shoot at the targets with the regulars. 2 whistles means step up to and straddle the line. 1 whistle means you can nock your arrows. 3 whistles means you can go retrieve your arrows. As the last event, they attach balloons to the targets with prize money inside. Each person gets 2 shots. I'm excited about going back and practicing more. I might even sign up for that beginner's class eventually.

Oh, last thing. It was amazing how there were all types there. There were a lot more Chinese people than I would have imagined. A lot of parents with their little kids too. There was also one guy who was dressed like an elf (and had a fantasy themed bow with him too). It was all we could do to hold back our giggles. He had the long, thin blond hair with half of it tied up (think Legolas). He was very white and had thin delicate features. He wore all green, even his shoes. I half expected to see pointy ears sticking out from under his hair. I don't know if he was any good but he did hit one of the balloons at the end.