andygates

After getting that lovely old bow a while back, I've been aching to get some actual practice in.  Archery clubs don't let you just turn up and play until you've got some sort of competence credit; you get one by doing a newbie course, and mine started last night.  The newbies were a diverse mix: couple of folks my age, some oldsters, plenty of kids (the youngest was just ten, and he was a decent shot).  Good mix of men and women too.  

We started out (as you might expect) with lessons in bow anatomy and safety and etiquette and safety and local rules and safety.  Good stuff.  Then we got fitted out with bows - I have a 28# lefty for the duration of the course - and got to shoot half a dozen sets (ends? rounds?) with one-on-one coaching, shooting at 10-metre indoor targets.

Okay, so the first arrow missed the huge 5' butt and went into the netting, but by the end of the session the old LRP skills were oozing back and I'm happy to report something resembling actual groupings.  Quite pleased with that.  :)

The newbie course runs for ten weeks and by the end we should be putting shots into 20-metre targets happily.  Day one was good.  

Twang!  I've just remembered that the Kyrton Archers, our local archery club, shoot at the local school (public schools getting all the cool sports).  That used to be an annoying bind travel-wise, but now it's a fifty-yard stroll.  I'm going to have to amble over and see what they're like.  I've only ever done a little re-enactment archery and lots of LRP silliness: it would be nice to try for some consistency and a decent sniff of draw weight.  At least my venerable fibreglass flattie isn't as underpowered as BunnyBane...

Thump!  Eny fule kno that being hit with a hammer hurts.  From mjolnir through the fourteen-pound sledge I was oiling earlier and down, that whole weighted-lever thing is a bit ouchy before we even go near mauls.  And hefting around an asymmetric weight is a good workout and can be surprisingly elegant and wooshy.  So, imagine for a second that you're in the position of having watched Equilibrium and that gun kata idea is still dug into your skull like the comic-book wannabe ninja cool it is.  Imagining thus, you may find that you think the same thought as I:  Has anyone ever concocted sledgehammer kata?  Is there a t'ai chi hammer form?  Answers on a postcard please.