"Fighting!!!" A man's shout rings out at the archery stadium of the Tokyo Olympics. Then a player pulls an arrow and shoots. And the commentator says. "It's a gold medal!!!" The Koreans who are watching the broadcast also scream. Four out of six gold medals won by Korea at the Tokyo Olympics came from archery events. Korea is having an archery boom now.
Do you know archery?
Archery is a sport in which winning and losing are a result of shooting a bow at a target from a certain distance. The target is 122cm in diameter for long-distance use and 80cm in diameter for short-range use, and the well-known target consists of five-colored concentric circles. Competitive archery dates back to 1538 when King Henry VIII of England held an archery competition for entertainment purposes. However, the bow was originally created in ancient times for hunting or fighting wars. The bow used in the Olympics originated from the Mediterranean bow. The International Archery Association was established in 1879, with a small-scale international archery competition. A modernized version of archery was introduced as an official Olympic sport for the 20th Munich Games in 1972. In 1987, the 34th World Championships in Australia saw the first Grand Round competition. In order to make the game more exciting for viewers, the Olympic Round method was adopted and implemented by applying the 1:1 tournament rule from the 25th Barcelona Olympics in 1992. In archery events with such a history, Koreans are interested in archery thanks to the good result of winning four gold medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
In particular, Korean women's archery has won a total of nine finals from the 1988 Seoul Olympics up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Moreover, in the Mixed Team event at the Tokyo Olympics, Kim Jedeok and An San teamed up to win first place, and An San won the gold medal in the women's individual event. It was also said that the Korean Archery Association's constant interest and support were behind Korea's domination of the sport. Also, Yecheon, the hometown of Kim Jedeok, is famous for its bow. Yecheon, in Gyeongsangbuk-do, has long been known as the home of bows. With this backdrop, the players worked harder and won valuable medals. The Korean people were honored by the valuable beads of sweat. It may have occurred to people that they wanted to pull the bow themselves instead of just watching the archery game. Therefore, the SMT reporter visited an archery cafe to learn the sport easily and play games.
Pull a bow with concentration
This reporter visited a place where people can enjoy archery indoors. When SMT contacted Robin Hood, an archery cafe located in Shinchon, it was told that it was difficult to make a reservation in advance on weekends because many customers were visiting at that time due to the influence of the Olympics. Therefore, a reservation was made for a weekday afternoon. When this reporter entered the archery cafe, the staff were welcoming. First of all, in the archery cafe, belongings can be left securely. The beginner intermediate course and the number of games were set and paid for. The SMT reporter decided on the beginner's course because she was new to archery and chose a regular game, not a mini game, because she wanted to shoot as many arrows as possible. Regular games consist of a total of 36 shots. The coach prepared the equipment, and led the way to the practice room. In front of the practice room, there was a step-by-step guide for shooting the bow along with pictures. The coach explained how to shoot an arrow and corrected the shooting posture, letting this reporter continue to shoot until she felt more comfortable. The coaching lasted about 20 minutes, so even though this reporter was experiencing it for the first time, it was able to take up the challenge without burden. After practice, it was time to go to the game room where two people can play at the same time. Entering the game room doesn't mean you have to start the game right away. The coach advised this reporter to keep practicing until she could shoot as close to the 10-point position as possible. If the bows are skewed to one side, the coach will adjust the small point of view with the left eye closed. If one shoots an arrow after the adjustment, it may hit near 10 points. This reporter kept practicing in order to adjust the equipment to fit her body. If she keeps her posture, the arrows that she shot gather in one place. However, if the posture is not held, the arrows are shot in all directions. After a long practice, this reporter started the game in earnest. The game was played as follows. A player shoots 6 arrows and removes the arrows herself from the target. And she enters her score with the keyboard. Shooting six arrows also required tremendous power and concentration since the posture should not be changed and one has to aim every time one shoots one arrow. Only when the combination of strength, concentration, and stamina was well-harmonized did the bow head toward 10 points. Therefore, people can take a rest and shoot slowly while enjoying the café's beverages. There is no need to be impatient. Whenever one needs to correct posture, ask the coaches. Before this reporter visited there, she was apprehensive and worried about experiencing it for the first time, but she felt a sense of accomplishment whenever she shot an arrow because she could learn while doing it.
Special experience
At the Olympics, the archery athletes instilled tremendous power in the Korean people. In particular, Kim Jedeok's shout of "fighting" may have sounded like he had a mysterious power to make people do what they thought they could not do. If you are familiar with archery but have not tried it yourself and have been hesitating to visit an archery cafe, SMT suggests readers try it without hesitation. Since it is possible to learn step by step from the beginning, it can be enjoyable without burden. Why don't you shout fighting and enjoy the thrilling game?
