Archery is an old skill, memorialized in epic poetry from
Homer’s “Iliad” to the medieval tale of “Rabunhod,” or Robin
Hood. It was an arrow, after all, by which the mighty Achilles
fell to Paris during the Trojan War. The power and respect of
the bow, though, is not confined to mythology or folklore. In
“Toxophilus,” a defense of the English longbow, Robert Ascham
writes, “(H)ow fit shooting a bow is for all kinds of men; how
honest a pastime for the mind; how wholesome an exercise for the
body; not vile for great men to use, not costly for poor men to
sustain, not lurking in holes and corners for ill men at their
pleasure to misuse it, but abiding in open sight and face of the
world.” This was written in 1545; a few decades later, in 1583,
the first recorded archery competition was held in Finsbury,
England, with more than 3,000 participants. This tradition is
continued still today in a time when archery is considered
either a means of hunting or a sport. It requires skill,
precision and the utmost concentr