| Name: | David Kenneth Mason |
| Nickname: | Daibhidh na Cleugh Fiddich |
| E-mail: | wild.side@worldnet.att.net |
| Newsgroups: | alt.archery |
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Some very interesting people out there. For those of you who do not know this secret, people who truly possess some secret for making money do not share that information, they are too busy making money. Ignore them.
My American longbow is old, was purchased at a flea market, has no arrow shelf and is great fun to shoot (that is the point, right?). The arrows burn as they launch, so the tactile sensation is sublime. It is easier to "become the arrow" when you can actually feel the arrow. No shelf means I can practice with both hands.
My recurve was obtained by trading a cowboy revolver that somebody traded me for something I no longer recall. It is an old Hoyt and I have added all the whistles and bells to make it a tack driver.
So, if anybody has stuff to trade let's talk. Am looking for a Magyar or similar composite bow, or any other piece of ancient style gear or tackle. If you make things by hand, even better. Trades only, it is more fun than using money.
It all began with black and white television. The opening scene of the old Robin Hood series still gets me excited, and I am old enough to remember seeing this the first time it was on TV.
Haven't posted a picture yet, because I don't want people to know my true identity as Oliver Queen. I am supposed to be dead after all.
There has been no time since my childhood there wasn't a bow lurking about my belongings.
Practice. Has anybody found a more pleasing archery activity than sticking arrows in targets, throwing stuff in the air to shoot. Practice!
Here is my favorite trick shot practice. Get some wiffle golf balls (those plastic things with holes in them) and have a partner launch them with a golf stick. Use fluflu arrows with blunts and knock them from the sky. It takes a bit of practice, but is a trick that makes people go WOW when you get it wired.
This skill is part of "the way of the warrior" which was chosen for me before I was old enough to know better. It is satisfying to understand our primal relationship with the arrow as an instrument of war. However, my true satisfaction came upon learning the use the arrow has in health and competition. It was learning to harness and control the energy of wood that advanced our species. The challenge is now to learn where else the arrow can take us. Peace be with you.
