Going from Kariss to Katniss with Archery Fit

Here’s something I don’t think I have mentioned on the blog before, I really love archery!  Not that I am any good mind you.  Several years ago myself and some of my uni friends started doing outdoor archery lessons regularly at the university and it was so much fun.  Soon several members of the group were buying their own bows and getting competitive with each other, we were hooked!

Sadly the archery group closed down we never found another one, and we all seriously miss it.  There is something that is really relaxing about taking the time to focus so much on your stance and breathing to try and line up the perfect shot.  It really helps shut out the stresses of the world, so when I got the chance to pick up a bow and give it anther go in London recently I was thrilled!

Archery Fit is an indoor archery cub in Greenwich which was recently voted Community Club of the Year and they really know there stuff.  Unlike most of the indoor clubs I’ve visited in the past that often look like run down community centres Archery Fit is fresh, modern and inviting.  Our group was invited to settle in while the staff members went through a safety briefing and taught us all the different types of bows available to use at the centre and what to expect.  As we were a group almost exclusively of newbies we were given the compound bows to use for our session.

Soon we met with our trainer, archery champion Kristina.  She helped set us up with our equipment and we were ready to get going!  Each bow is named after a marvel Character so if you come back you can ask for it by name and know it’s the right height and strength for you.  She did a great job of explaining all the fundamentals before we took our first shot including how to hold the bow, the importance of stance and the best ways to release to improve aim.  She then allowed us all to take our first shots one at a time so she could advise us on how to improve to get our arrow grouping down.

Once we had done this we were allowed to shoot to our hearts content as the trainers watched and gave us advise along the way.  After a while of doing this, we then reset our bows and doubled distance for an increased challenge.  Strangely I actually found this somewhat easier then the shorter distance.  Next up balloons were added to our target practice so we could try and hit them, sadly I missed!  Finally we were given a challenge to see who could get the most points using the traditional archery scoring system, despite not being great throughout somehow I came third!  It is hard not to feel like a bit of a bad ass as you prepare to take your shot!

The 90 minute session seriously flew by (pardon the pun) and left my desperate to come back for more.  Archery Fit run a group of sessions to train you to become an independent archer which lets you try all the different bows and how to shoot independently from £125 and our testing session was just £25 for the 90 minute session and it was worth every penny!

I was invited to try out this session by Love Pops London, all words and opinions are my own.