Archery Lesson#1

From Wikipedia: Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow! 

Like you don't know what Archery is, right?! Everyone knows that it requires the use of a bow and arrows. But not everyone knows that it is not an easy sport! Looking at pictures online or seeing it in movies, seems like it is as easy as 1 2 3! But when I tried it yesterday... let's just say that my left arm and shoulder and a part of my back are still aching today..

I, together with two other friends, went to Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range! We rode the bus and walked from Meralco Ave to Gandiva.

Bestfriends Zaicy and June and Me

We didn't have a hard time looking for the place since they are located in one of the high rise buildings in Ortigas along Julia Vargas, One Corporate Center!

Lili, one of my fav bloggers, thought that we were just playing with the name! Ganda+Diva=Gandiva lol! 

Before starting,  we decided to eat first to gain the much needed energy that this sport requires. We ordered the 18" Hawaiian Pizza! Interestingly, their food are all vegan! I wonder what the "ham" is made of, it tastes like vienna sausage to me.

After the quick brunch, we're now ready for the real challenge! Safety first! We were made to wear some protective gears!

We have a leather shield for the left arm (which makes it hard for you to bend your arm), metal+leather thingy that you put on the 3 middle fingers (the ones you'll use to pull the bow string) of the right hand, and the "pouch" where you put the arrows! Sorry but I don't know the technical names for these stuff, I'll do some research later! 

Another safety reminder is you have to wait for everyone to shoot their last arrow before you get yours from your board.

Katniss Everdeen Peg! :)

I look sexy, right? Lol! But there are a couple of right and wrong things here (these are just based from what I recall, but definitely not in a professional point of view):

-Position is right; sideways from target (check!)

-Left arm is good; should be straight as it is (check!)

-Holding the bow right (check!)

-Right elbow is good too (check!)

-Right hand should be just chin high (wrong: a bit too high!)

-Only the 3 middle fingers should pull the string (wrong: bad pinky!)

-There should be equal weight with left and right foot (wrong: hips!!! I'm putting all my body's weight in my right foot!)

Any improvement with the second photo? A very little tiny bit!! I know what to do, I just can't do them right! It's hard to think of the position of your left arm, right arm, left hand, right elbow, fingers, left and right foot all at the same time!

Other challenges were that I think the string is too tight! My instructor thought about loosening it up a bit after half an hour of practice.. that's when he noticed that I am already having a hard time keeping my hands steady! He also said that I should use my right eye to focus on the target, which was a bit difficult for me because I can't wink my left eye. Oh, that little orange hole that you use to peek thru your target? It was a bit high for me too! I should have asked the instructors to make adjustments so I was more comfortable..

My last 3 shots!

Those were like the best shots that I had! Yes, they were the best! The worsts? One arrow went past the board and was out of sight! Another one went to someone else's target board! Haha!!

It was a fun yet a tiring experience! After the one hour training, we went for the real "Hunger" Games peg! We went to Megamall and ate in J.Co and Teriyaki Boy!

Forest Glam, Coco Locco and Tiramisu

Philly Cheese Rolls

Will there be Archery Lesson#2?? We'll see...

Love love!