Originally published in On Target, Volume 1, Issue 2, Spring 1996.
My first exposure to SCA archery was at Aquaterra's Ursalmas three years ago. I felt odd wearing my mundane clothing around all the colorful SCAdians, but I wasn't about to put on garb (now I wish I could go "drag" all the time). I had just purchased my custom-made St. Charles longbow a year before and I was looking for a group such as these gentles to shoot with; others who also shared a love for the simplicity of a stick-and-string and the smell of cedar arrow shafts.
I was addicted to shooting, sometimes spending as many as five hours at the line at archery lanes and in the basement of my house where I had set up a target. My first year in the SCA I wanted to be the first on the range and the last one off, which of course caused strife with my lady who liked to shoot but didn't need it as much as I did.
Initially scores were all I cared about and I took steps to get that extra edge like using speed nocks and using an unorthodox shooting form that took me from Apprentice to Master Bowman in two months. At first I couldn't believe how a Master Bowman could be upset with him/herself if they scored less than a 15 from the 40 yard line when I was elated with a five. Then I made Master Bowman and found myself cursing if I didn't score 15 from the 40. To me, target archery in the SCA was all about punching the gold and nothing else mattered. Then I hit the wall.
That first summer in the SCA I placed in many tournaments. I was a longbowman holding my own against recurve shooters (if you shoot longbow you know what I mean) and I thought that as time went on I could only get better. My second season with the SCA proved me wrong. I had changed my shooting form over the winter looking for that edge to up my score but I just couldn't perfect it, nor could I find my old form. I raised my average a couple of points but I wasn't as consistent as I used to be. Last season was the worst. I finished #1 in the Longbow I division with my highest average yet (I even shot a 98) but that average didn't reflect what I was usually shooting, which was anywhere from ten to twenty points less depending on the day.
I began to look at the SCA and my role in it. What was I doing that couldn't be done in mundane clothing with a traditional archery club? Was I taking full advantage of my SCA experiences, the few I allowed myself off the range? No, I wasn't. I'm a history major at Seattle University with a future goal of being a high school history teacher. I love history, especially the history of the bow. Here I belonged to a medieval re-creation group with others interested in the history of the bow and yet there was no real movement towards consolidating our knowledge. Don't misunderstand me, many gentles have distinguished themselves making their own archery tackle and showing them. I've definitely seen a change away from scores towards authenticity in the last couple of years. Aquaterra even started the Aquaterra Corps of Archers, a group of archers from Aquaterra and neighboring Shires, Baronies and Cantons that meet to learn new skills from each other. The purpose of this journal is to bring the archery community closer by giving it a forum.
What An Tir needs is a genuine push for a Kingdom level guild. Archery isn't just something done off to the side anymore; Master Julian Edward Farnsworth's induction into the Order of the Laurel for his excellence in archery and the rising number of Arcuarii and Yeomen around the Kingdom attest to this. Now is the time to combine our skills and knowledge into an organized guild where we can learn by teaching. Let's get the most out of our SCA experience and see that the skills of the past are the skills of the future. Please write to this journal with your comments.
