For Koud’s spring well-being day activity, the staff voted for archery. Who wouldn’t want to awaken their inner Legolas? So, we reached out to Tampereen Jousiampujat ry, who offered our group a fantastic opportunity to try shooting with recurve bows.
After a satisfying lunch and a walk under the warm summer sun, it felt quite refreshing to head into the coolness of Osmonkallion’s civil defence shelter. We were greeted by a couple of instructors who first provided the necessary equipment, including bows and arrows adjusted for our height. Then, we gathered in a smaller room to hear about safety instructions, the structure of the bows, and technique tips. Once the theory had been covered, we started practising on a shorter range, and after gaining some skill, we had a light-hearted competition, followed by some practice on a longer range. The winner of the competition scored an impressive 114/120 points!
Shooting with a recurve bow is a skill that requires concentration, precision, the right technique, and a bit of strength. Apparently, this bow model is popular in both target archery and bow hunting, thanks to its size and features. Archery with a recurve bow takes practice, and we certainly noticed that during our well-being session. The correct tensioning technique, anchoring point, and release method were key to achieving accuracy. Fortunately, we had skilled instructors to help us with getting the right posture and adjusting our sights. Many of us also noticed that the typical office worker’s stiff neck made it slightly harder to find the correct posture and technique, but this sport was a great exercise for the upper back and neck. However, we do recommend addressing any severe neck stiffness before archery to make the results come more easily!
As the session progressed, participants began internalising the technique and the phases of archery, so not every arrow was shot at a 60-degree angle in all sorts of different directions, missing the target. We managed a nice number of repetitions, and we had plenty of time to make the most of the practice session. Archery as a sport was surprisingly easy to pick up, and not as physically demanding as we had expected. However, we still managed to get some good back stretches and muscle sensations! We were very satisfied with this sport experience, and several of us are already considering joining a course in the autumn. A huge thank you and a warm recommendation to Tampereen Jousiampujat from us at Koud!
