Editorial

  It’s Perfectly Safe

The bow and arrow have been around since man discovered that launching a projectile at an animal was much less dangerous than getting close.  The device enabled them to bring down dangerous game without risking themselves in the process.  The bow and arrow was the latest military advancement for more than five thousand years.  Now, this is not the case.  The bow has become obsolete in face of the modern age’s firearms.  Consequently, shooting a bow has  become something of a pastime over the relentless pull of time.  People of all ages Some parents do not see it that way.  They restrict their children from learning to use a bow at what they consider to be too young an age.  

Learning to shoot a bow is thought to be extremely dangerous by most parents.  That is because the bow and arrow was originally designed to do one thing, kill.  In today’s modern age however, they have become used for shooting targets instead of living things.  Specially made arrows  are created to be less lethal, bullseyes are for sale in every sporting goods store, and millions around the globe tune in to watch Olympic Archery.  

I was taught to use a bow and arrow at ten years old, with the non lethal arrows, with tested targets, and with the Olympic Sport in mind.  Ten is the age that I think that children should be allowed to learn to shoot a bow.

During archery instruction, they do not teach you how to kill anything, least of all a human being.  The instructors do not teach their pupils where to aim to ensure a lethal shot.  Learning to shoot a bow and arrow is not the same as learning how to kill.  This is abundantly clear during instruction.  

The way I was taught was very structured.  Commands were given by whistle blasts, and any lapse in memory would result in a bow being immediately removed from someone’s hand.  Arrows were distributed only before firing at a target.  Pupils did not carry them on their person or on the bow.  The level of structure reminded me of the military, which is what the instructor was trying to emulate.

This high level of structure hammered the idea of discipline into my mind.  This was the first environment that I had been in at my age that really got the good habits into me. I was careful, I was observant, I was obedient, and above all,  I was always asking myself, “Is this safe?”  before my actions.  Just as jumping out of an airplane is one of the safest thing a man can do, provided he has the proper training, shooting a bow and arrow was the safest thing I did that whole week because of the discipline that I learned. Those lessons carry over to school and life.

There are a few qualities in a child that I want to acknowledge that might make him or her unsuited for a bow.  If the child is prone to, not paying attention, talking when they should not be, or aggressive in any dangerous way (ie. fighting, threats etc), then some consideration may be necessary.  However if they exhibit any of these qualities, then bow and arrow training could help them control themselves as it did for me and the other kids in the class.  I witnessed this firsthand with a boy who would not stop talking.  Over the course of the two week class, he became more serious, quiet and he seemed to pay more attention to the instructors than he originally did.  

My point here is  that archery is a good way to help develop someone’s, especially a child’s, discipline, and parents should not see red flags when they think about their kids learning archery.  They should consider it with certain degree of caution and appraisal.  

The idea however, should never be discounted completely.  Believe me when I say that it’s perfectly safe.