Hello everyone.
This is NUSensei.
In 2016, I ran a competition in which I invited archers from around the world to share their
archery stories, highlighting their struggles and their successes.
Three winners were selected, and each received a Shot Trainer from Astra Archery.
Now that we are in a new year, I would like to take the opportunity to share the stories
that represented the passion and inspiration of the archery journey.
Our first story comes from our primary sponsor, Tyler Benner, founder of Astra Archery and
co-author of the book “Total Archery: Inside the Archer”.
Tyler was a natural at archery, training at a local private club in rural Pennsylvania
and later at Texas A&M University under US Olympic Coach Frank Thomas.
However, a bicycle accident resulted in a shattered shoulder.
For seven months, Tyler could not lift his arm over his head or exert any force.
Tyler underwent surgery to remove part of his clavicle and reattach many ligaments.
Tyler began shooting again barely 3 weeks after the surgery.
5 weeks later, he was competing at the 2004 College National Championships.
With his skills developing again, he was able to pursue his archery goals and trained with
US Coach Kisik Lee at the US Olympic Training Centre in San Diego.
In 2015, Tyler experienced another life-changing discovery after learning that his feet had
become deformed due to narrow footwear, and spent the follow years undergoing rehabilitation,
relearning how to stand, walk, run, and shoot.
Tyler continues to conduct seminars in teaching archery, and has designed his own chairs for
improved posture and comfort.
Tyler loves transitions as an archer.
He believes in embracing the beginner mindset and tackling the challenge of shooting as
though it is all new.
The challenge of archery has been getting to know mind and body and going through setbacks,
wrong turns and mistruths.
Raymond started shooting two years ago.
A riding accident in 2014 left both of his legs paralysed.
Unable to enjoy horse riding, he continued his archery exercises.
With help from his physiotherapist, Raymond has been focusing on improving his back muscles,
arm strength and posture.
He currently shoots using a stool for assistance, and hopes to be able to stand straight enough
to shoot without one.
Tom, from Mexico, enjoys archery in a park with a group of friends.
In a country with a minimum wage of $4 a day, bows like the Hoyt Buffalo are out of reach.
Instead, Tom practices with his PVC bow and has made his own arrows and accessories.
As a Christmas present, he bought himself a Jandao recurve.
However, the park administrators banned the group from using the corner of the park to
practice, and the group was only able to make an arrangement on the condition that they
only use blunt arrows and PVC bows.
Tom is aiming to save up enough money to buy a car so that he can drive out of town to
find a safe place to shoot with his friends.
Nicole is a high school senior with aspirations to make the National and Olympic teams.
Over the past year, she has been training for the nationals using heavier limbs.
However, she experienced increasingly severe shoulder problems, resulting in a numb, tingly
feeling in her arm.
She was diagnosed with shoulder separation, medial scapular winging and an impingement.
Impatient and terrified of losing the use of her shoulder in archery, Nicole maintained
her commitment to the sport through the use of a mouth tab.
This simple tool allowed her to go through her recovery period.
She is now able to shoot again with both hands, though still fighting through pain on some
occasions.
Her scores have improved since, and she is now training for a national team qualifier
event.
After facing the daunting prospect of losing everything she had worked for, Nicole has
learned that one's value does not lie in physical ability, and you can't let your circumstance
define your reality.
Chris began archery as a teenager, finding joy and thrill and wanting to compete, happy
with his good results.
However, during a school exercise, he fell from a trampoline and injured his shoulder.
He was unable to lift even a pen without agonising pain.
In recent years, Chris has regained some use of his arm, and dusted off his old, broken
bow.
After returning to his training and picking up a new bow, Chris finished 2nd in his club
competition after a 10-year hiatus.
Chris wonders why he even left archery in the first place, and now it has helped him
recover his fitness and confidence.
Chris’s moral is that if you start to fall, pick yourself up and you will be back on top.
An injury may hinder a passion, but it should never destroy a dream.
Wai left Hong Kong to study in America.
He was a passionate archer in Hong Kong, but found it difficult to maintain his training.
His school had an underdeveloped archery team and he did not have the means to seek further
training.
In a Skype conversation with his childhood friend, he was embarrassed to admit that he
had dropped his archery career.
Chastised by his friend and encouraged to take the opportunity while he could, Wai was
inspired to look further, finding a JOAD team and a retired Olympian to coach him.
The lost time was crippling to Wai’s development, and he was unable to prepare enough for the
state and national events he needed to make the national team.
Wai has since helped develop his school’s archery team, helping his members obtain equipment
and prepare for bigger events.
Wai’s message is to persevere and be diligent in achieving goals.
Zac picked up archery at YMCA Camp Ernst in Kentucky when he was 10 years old.
He began working there in 2008 and, as part of his many exciting responsibilities, runs
the archery program.
He obtained a USA Archery certification to teach archery at camps, and through this he
became inspired and motivated to develop his own learning.
Using his instructor training as a foundation, Zac began to learn from many sources, reviewing
videos online and bringing many questions to his archery shop whenever he has the chance.
His biggest struggle was in learning not to imitate other people, and instead find what
is most comfortable for him.
Above all, Zac is proud of being part of the archery community.
In his words, Zac has “never met such a friendly community of individuals”.
And now the three main winners.
Bảo, from Vietnam, is a 17-year-old who has been obsessed with weapons.
From a young age, he made bows using firewood and rubber bands with arrows made from straws.
Since then, he has learned to craft PVC bows for himself and his friends.
Using an arc welder from his father, Bảo began to use steel in his designs.
Since then, he has made a compound bow, a stabiliser system for his recurve, and a crossbow.
His most recent bows show a very impressive level of craftsmanship.
He has just started selling bows and is using the money to develop more affordable bows
to spread through his country.
Despite numerous failures, Bảo has maintained his creative spirit.
His message is to try, try more, and success will come.
He hopes that archery will become cheaper, safer and easier to access.
Bob is a 78-year-old ex-serviceman who lost most of his sight in service.
While undergoing rehabilitation, he was encouraged to try archery.
Apart from overcoming his visual handicap, including the loss of most useful sight in
his right eye, Bob transitioned to shooting left-handed.
He proudly maintains his archery equipment and makes his own strings.
He acquires target distances by learning the number of clicks required to sight his optics,
assisted by his 76-year-old wife, Lorna.
Bob enjoys 18m indoor rounds and 40m field rounds with Lough Cuan Bowmen.
In Bob's words, "Life does not get any better than this".
Timo, from Finland, shares his experience as a parent raising his archery-obsessed 5-year-old
daughter, Mette.
Her love for archery was ignited by Princess Merida in Disney's Brave, and at 4 years of
age, she was putting together bows using sticks and strings, and miniature bows for her Barbie
dolls.
She learned to shoot by looking at frames from Brave.
Visiting the local archery club, Mette was by far the youngest archer.
The instructors expressed doubts about her ability to safely shoot a bow, but when handed
a 22lb flatbow, she drew and anchored perfectly.
For Timo, nurturing Mette's passion for archery has been a bonding experience.
As a parent, he has found it challenging to involve his children in sports that they can
enjoy equally.
He has become involved in archery himself, taking him away from the chains of his desk
job.
In Timo's words, "my Princess Merida makes me feel like a King."
Congratulations to the three selected winners.
Your stories were truly and uniquely inspiring.
Thank you to everyone who came forward to share their struggles, and hopefully this
inspires you to build on your goals and go further in your personal journeys.