Aiming for Euphoria: Trying Archery

Artemis, Amazon women warriors, and Robin Hood represent everything I knew about archery. Basically, I knew nothing about the tension of a bow or how to let an arrow fly by rolling the string off the three finger tips holding it in place. I knew nothing about how to take a stance and take aim at a moving target. After trying archery this week, I should probably know more about those things, and I am not going to brag about how well I did because I don’t want to offend archery purists.  No, it was not “real” archery. It was virtual archery at BATL Grounds in Niagara Falls.  We could also have done knife or ax throwing, but I’ve already tried those two. 

The virtual archery experience, though, did involve real bows and real arrows and we hit a foam-backed screen from 5 meters away which meant I could maintain my vanity and not wear my glasses, however, given the number of dangerous skills I am acquiring through this challenge, glasses might be necessary to maintain my mild mannered appearance. 

The VR set up is called Archery Time. Produced by a German company, they bill the experience as “the evolution of archery.” The archery ranges can be found at arcades and entertainment complexes like BATL Grounds across Europe and North America. It’s a low stakes way to learn how to handle a bow and arrow. You don’t have to travel or wear special equipment (although I had to switch out my chunky heeled sandals for closed-toed shoes) and you don’t have to worry about the daylight or weather. A series of different games, all featuring targets based on a theme both fixed and moving, are projected onto the screen and the archers take turns trying to hit them. We alternated taking 5 shots per game before taking a break to retrieve the arrows and starting the next round.

It sounds deceptively simple. It sounds like playing a video game. Except it is not. 

One of the inspirations for starting this challenge was an experience I had with my friend Renee just over a year ago. She is an engineer who has a side-hustle as an acrobatic clown. Circus school and circus performances have become her creative outlet and she invited me to try out her gear in her back yard. The new physical movements, the activation of muscles I had not used in the same combination since i was a kid playing on the monkey bars triggered an absolute euphoria that lasted for about three days. 

I swim five days a week. Using my shoulders, back, core, arms and legs is habitually challenging and my muscles show it. An hour of virtual archery activated all of those muscles in new combinations, sequences and intensities. I know nothing about kinesiology, but I think that’s what triggered the same sense of euphoria that I experienced on Renee’s acrobatic hoop. 

100% would try virtual archery again.

This is what the Try New Things Every Week Challenge to Myself is all about. So far, I've been a model, tried infrared therapy and gone ecstatic dancing.