Archery in and of itself is quite entertaining which is one of the reasons it is once again becoming so very popular, but for some, it is not enough to just practice archery for archery’s sake. To those in this category, I present to you a branch of archery that is seldom considered in archery discussions which I like to call Entertainment Archery.
Entertainment Archery breaks down into a few different categories, but really encompasses anything that involves archery, but is more about the activity than it is about the archery. Things that fall into this category are activities such as historical reenactments, Live Action Role Playing or LARPing, and archery tag, to name a few. If you’re an archer primarily, it’s possible that you’ve not heard of some of these, or at least haven’t considered how you as an archer could get involved in them. As that is likely the case, we’ll take a look at these three major activities (though these are certainly not all the activities that could fall under this category) and give you a little more information on each one.
First, we’ll take a look at the role of archery in historical reenactments. Historical reenactments are typically done for either education or entertainment and seek to recreate an event from history, either in part or on a more grand scale. Often these reenactments will be or will include battles from history. This is where archery can enter into the picture. Quite frequently these battles will include those that took place between the English and Native Americans, or just between warring Native American Tribes. These reenactments will obviously include archery and many archers who are interested in history take part both to educate and inform others as well as to provide entertainment for others and for themselves. This type of entertainment archery also encompasses the theatrical application of archery, though these are less common due to typical stage sizes being too small to make use of true archery technique.
Next, we look at Live Action Role Playing or LARPing. LARPing takes typical RPGs or Role Playing Games and adds a more active component having participants dress in costumes and use themed weaponry (non-lethal of course) including bows and arrows. While the arrows are a little different, real archery technique can actually come into play as the ability of the participants does play a role in deciding hit and miss chances. If role playing is something that you’re interested in or if you just like getting dressed in costume than LARPing may be something for you to look into, groups exist all over and are typically very inclusive.
Finally, we take a look at archery tag. We all remember how much fun tag was as kids. Now as archers we have this new option called archery tag. This uses all the same equipment as normal archery, with the exception of the arrows. Special foam tipped arrows are used that bounce off those hit by them rather than impaling them, leaving the target aware that they’ve been hit by something, but unharmed. Essentially, this is an archery version of paintball and all the same play variations used in paintball could be played out in a game of archery tag.
So if you’re looking for a new way to practice your archery prowess, or are just looking for a way to spice up your archery experience, you may wish to look into one of these types of entertainment archery.
Research for this article was conducted at the following sites:
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