As if the cold is not enough! Darkness! It started at 5, and by 6 it will be too dark to do anything outside at all! I'd make a fire, but there's no one here to share it with me. Maybe another day.
So! Another day, another coupla dozen arrows lobbed towards the imagination! A hostile Viking here, a marauding Celt there, maybe an attacking Pawnee, perhaps a trophy whitetail, or maybe just the last shot of a World Championship. I've done it all!
If anyone knows anything about me, it's probably my love for the bow. I find myself spending more and more time around it, and now I'm drawing more and more people to it! There's nothing that helps a love grow like spreading it around! Billy and I must have spent two hours shooting, and the best shots we had were in fun. But, that's the way it goes. I know it wasn't Sun Tzu, but a contemporary of his said "When an archer shoots for enjoyment, he has all his skill. When he shoots for a brass buckle, he gets nervous. When he shoots for a prize of gold, he begins to see two targets."
Another book I've read teaches the Japanese art of iaido, or the art of drawing the sword into a killing stroke. "The idea is not to draw the sword quickly, but calmly." Other martial arts, such as Kung Fu and Tai Chi, stress this importance on relaxation. The body is more capable of action than the mind gives it credit for. With physical activity, when you stop thinking, your body reacts quicker, steadier, better. Relax! Have fun! Your scores will skyrocket!
The arrow will follow the eye, but only if you let it. Once you release the bowstring, there is nothing more to be done. The arrow shoots where you tell it to go. Complications just make things more difficult. Maybe this is another reason the traditional bow calls to me, as opposed to modern compound archery. Modern is easier, but it is also much more complex. The bow practically shoots itself! Traditional archery is harder, but it is much simpler! And because it's harder, the bull's eye is all the more satisfying. ..I LOVE IT!
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2 comments:
Yeah, I can speak to the darkness thing. I was hoping to have some light when I drove to Drew's apartment, and it was PITCH BLACK! Still, it does make for those lovely winter evenings of snuggling under the blanket I made. Your blog looks really good, I love your pic! Congrats on the archery!
Thanks! I love your pic, too!
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