The Enlightenment of the Arrow

The bow – a simple piece of flexible material, bent and strung under tension – has shaped human history. Our early ancestors of the Mesolithic Era painted depictions of hunters carrying it on cave walls. The gods of innumerable early mythologies carry it. The Pharaohs, god-kings of ancient Egypt, fought and hunted with it. The Tartars of the Mongolian steppes conquered vast areas of Europe and Asia with it. The yeomen of medieval England revolutionized the Western world with it. The Zen monks of Japan found enlightenment in it. Now, hundreds of young Canadians like myself take it up every Saturday morning to practice the sport which embodies the legacy of our ancestors.
Hockey may be the sport which best represents Canada, baseball may be the national pass-time of the United States, soccer may be popular in France and cricket in the United Kingdom, but if one were to search for a sport to which the entire world could be identified with, what would it be? Archery may be the only sport to which almost every country on Earth has its own traditional affiliation with. The bow and arrow is a weapon, a tool, a piece of sports equipment, which is native and integral to virtually every tribe, culture and civilization of the world. Australia is the only populated continent to which archery is not indigenous, but even there archery has flourished since its introduction. Every nation has its own unique history of archery, and many would appear to have invented the bow independently.
My own introduction to the sport of archery began in the Melanesian archipelago of Vanuatu, while visiting there with my family in 2003. There, on an island enrobed in rainforest, a native man made me a bow and a set of arrows. The bow was a long rounded staff of pale wood, tapered to sharp points at both ends where the cord of twisted banyan-tree bark was tied and looped. The arrows were of a straight, light, smooth cane, notched at one end to fit the string and bearing a large hardwood blunt on the other, which was traditionally intended to stun birds. It was with these, the most primal of weapons, that my love for archery was born.
Returning to my hometown of Victoria, British Columbia, I sought out an archery club where I might be able to pursue the sport further. I was fortunate to find the Victoria Bowmen, an international level club that had hosted several prestigious competitions and had an excellent Junior Olympian Program (JOP). There I received much beneficial coaching and integrated into a diverse group of fellow archers. Members of the club practiced all forms of archery, from traditional longbow to modern compound, and were of all ages and walks of life. I made friends not only of my own age, but also some as young as eight and as elderly as eighty. After a year in the club I began volunteering as a Junior Representative on the board of directors, helping to organize fun-shoots and other activities for the JOP. I also took courses in Judging and Coaching and became certified in both. This led me to become an assistant coach at several recreation centers in town, and to continue the cycle of teaching and learning.
Once I had gained a suitable degree of skill, experience and confidence I began to shoot in notable tournaments. The challenge and experience of the tournament inspired me to travel around the Province and compete on various levels. After less than a year of formally practicing I was off to Kamloops to take part in the B.C. Summer Games, which put me to the test and introduced me to young people of many disciplines of archery. It was a very educational experience which I enjoyed greatly.
Archery offers these experiences – and many others - to everyone. I myself am able to enjoy it despite having poor distance vision, and in my time coaching I have taught people with fused wrists, others with stiff backs, and one with no fingers. Other successful archers of whom I know shoot from wheel-chairs, or with the aid of a mechanical release mechanism due to the loss of an arm. Archery stands among the first sports in which women were permitted to compete in the Olympic Games, and an archery club in Ottawa was the first sports club in all of Canada which was intended solely for women. Throughout its history, archery has proven to be a remarkably inclusive, democratic sport.
Today, archery brings a discipline, a stillness, a communication to the mind, body and soul in a world where the ability to find that space is all too rare. Far from being the flashy, violent, exertive activity portrayed in films and video-games, it is a sport which allows young people to take control of their bodies and quite their minds. When one places an arrow upon the string of a bow and draws it to the jaw, one becomes aware that their entire life has lead up to the immediate moment, and that the ensuing shot bears the weight of all history. All of the hurry and rush of the modern world must come to a halt when the bow stands bent with the energy of a coiled snake. Then, without a sound, the string is gone. It is said that when one finds the space in which the arrow leaves the bow they have found the enlightenment of the universe.