It`s been almost a year since I took up archery. The paradox was that I`ve thought about starting it for another year or so, and even recommended the place to an acquaintance, but never visiting myself.
She was my spy. When I`ve asked her how it went, she was ecstatic.
This motivated me to finally try it out. It was a bargain: 250 lei per 10 sessions of archery initiation.
I found it interesting, being about the only thing in this small town besides boxing and other martial arts that cultivated discipline, minus the physical injuries. Also, this was the explanation that I was never any good at soccer/football in my teens, and I suffered from it. I felt worthy, just like I had been in Volleyball or ping pong, and even badminton.
Back to archery, this went on every two or so weeks and I found myself going there even if I was too tired, or had a fever, or didn`t really feel like going there. One time I was feverish and I still went there, because of my curiosity and the help toning my neck muscles which were stiff and weak from sitting down or from prolonged usage of my phone. There hadn`t been any excuses, especially when I found out that the following day all the hard and/or boring tasks were somehow more manageable.
After my club closed down, I needed the target practice like I needed water. Suddenly my dart board wasn`t enough anymore. During Easter time I got hold of a complete used archery set.
After my first 3D Target Archery Contest in Alba-Iulia, in which I underperformed, as expected, but I met the organizing team and instructor, that I resonated with. Fast forward three weeks later, I joined the club there and practiced for the next challenge: The Supreme Bowhunter Challenge @ Padurea Șopa, Șelimbăr, Sibiu.
The next two days were filled with thousands of steps and hundreds of kilometers of freeways, national roads and country roads.... that took me home inside myself, where in between the draw and the release of every arrow, my thoughts came to a halt, my mind was completely still and there was nothing besides myself and the target.
The first day...
I was part of a men only group, alongside two fellows that were older than myself, one of them could have been my father, and the other my big brother. Each one had his own experience (international vs local). They were helpful and supportive, but I was too tired from walking, traversing hills filled with bushes and steep downhill pathways, tired from the heat, even if the contest was held inside a forest, and also from the lack of enough food. In my defense I brought enough water. The blue eyed older one gave me two pieces of glucose that was a god send. He broke a tear and told me that archery saved his life, after a two timed stroke about four years ago. He recovered well, because the discipline helped him a lot, and because he had a family that took sports very seriously ( namely archery and triathlons).
What I liked: The fact that the times of the event were respected, and I had plenty of time to warm up my upper body.
I was fond of keeping score on the score sheets and adding numbers. They have always been close friends of mine, not going to lie.
I was grateful that I packed long black training shorts and switched those 3/4 ones that I had on.
Also, on the topic of gratitude: I found a flight feather on the trail. It had almost the length of my middle finger, black with eight almost perfectly round white spots near the edges. Could it be that my long lost passion in ornithology was creeping up on me?
What I didn`t like was that I didn`t take the time to fire those fifteen to twenty arrows just to get my archery motor juices flowing, so the targets were more than half misses.
Also, those two fellows had the string walking types of shooting, that measured the range with the handheld tab and almost every shot was a hit. As for myself, I didn`t have any guide, that`s why it`s called instinctive shooting. My biggest and most frequent problem was the range. I barely missed my targets, shooting too long or too short. At least the direction was good.
After four and a half hours, I came back to the basecamp exhausted from the wasteland, with some help from the grey clouds and their rumble. My watch face showed no more that 11.400 steps.
As I took shelter inside the wooden house with no windows, that 45 lei goulash wasn`t that expensive in my humble opinion. But when I arrived home, well, I screamed on the inside, much like the raven from Poe`s writings: NEVERMORE!
Even if I had taken that familiar road from Sibiu towards Sebeș, I had to stop more than once because I was too tired. Well, slowly and surely they say.
The second day was a big challenge for me,
I expected to be part of the same group, but I got assigned to a group that consisted of younger men than before. I didn`t feel the vibe. They were especially silent, some were awkward, or full preoccupied with themselves or their scoreboard. But the list of surprises didn`t end there. The announcer yelled at the mike just like in a boxing match: "C.M., you are the only male that will be part of a female type of group", and the crowd kept on laughing and applauding mockingly.
I was relieved, because I was better of anywhere else besides that new found group.
The women were of various ages, with enough experience in archery for me to feel slightly insecure. But when I managed to miss the first two targets, they weren`t judgmental, and they didn`t call it out.
I fine tuned into my senses and none of them was vibing to the sounds of separation. They knew how a beginner felt when he/she missed targets.
I felt understood, cared for, seen and there was a harmony that was spreading in each of the four corners of the group. Half of us were mostly talkative people, and the one that didn`t was the one that kept score:
She was in her mid thirties and was an example of grace. What she lacked in number of words she made up with her melodious and mesmerizing laughter. I complimented her on it, underlining the word colorful. She froze for a moment in order to process, smiled and came back with: "Hey, you could say it doesn`t lack personality."
Naturally, I was in charge with logistics. Having a larger backpack than the rest of them, I offered to carry the red clipboard with the scoreboard. Even though the zipper was open, she never took it from my backpack, waited patiently for me to take it and hand it to her. Then she accepted it with soft and fluid movements of the fingers and hands, offering each time a genuine smile accompanied with the deepest "thank you" s I`ve ever felt. This was gratitude at it`s finest. It was a nice teambuilding event when the whole group went in search for the missing arrows, one of them was in a ditch. I offered to go down and she was amazed of my kindness and protective initiative. Also, she lended me her fold knife to help cut the root in which the other arrow was deeply lodged in. She admired my skills as a former surgeon.
In comparison with the day before, not keeping score was wonderful news for me, because it had been a love hate relationship between in control and being judged for making a mistake. It was clear for me that it had been nothing more than a burden, a state filled with expectations and too much pressure.
The one that I resonated with the most was the life of the party, a red-violet haired late 40`s woman. You could tell her everything and she would get it, enjoy it and turn it up a notch in means of fun. We had a blast sharing short stories with her. I`ve found it interesting that we have found a common place of origin.
The third one, a mid 40`s short haired brunette, with perfect white pearled earrings, had a more serious, phlegmatic, almost bossy approach. She came to shoot, not socialize, but she wouldn`t say no to the waves of pure fun that the second one and myself were constantly spreading.
At the most difficult ones we even took a selfie! That made me feel included, something I struggled with most of my life. Thus, two hours and a half went by in the blink of an eye, and each of the 8500 steps was worth it!
After a delicious lunch and had a non-alcohol exotic fruit flavored beer, provided by the red-violet-haired one.|As I was sipping it, she enthusiastically told me: "I`m sure if you had been part of our group from the beginning, you would have had more success with your shots.
A half an hour later, It was my pleasure to support two of my colleagues during the finals.
They both got one gold and one silver medal! Even though my score was one of the last ones on the list, I am proud to say that I was part of the winning team!
I`m grateful for this event, because it`s not about the score, it`s about the wonderful people that are part of this community. I cannot wait to reconnect with my former group colleagues!
