Archers for a Day

Also known as: An archery lesson of sorts

I realize it’s been more than two months since this happened but I never posted about it. I think I need a little break from the serious entries here, so let’s talk about something fun and not that serious.

Last June, our book club discussed J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring. Our venue was at Gandiva Cafe and Archery Range in Ortigas, this vegetarian restaurant and the only (?) archery range in Manila. We were supposed to try the archery but we did not get to because of time constraints and there were no lanes left for us to use. I wasn’t really that hot for archery, but when I saw a Groupon for archery + food in Gandiva a few weeks later, I told my friends about it jokingly. Turns out they were serious about it, so I got several coupons that we used a few months later.

I honestly had dreams that archery would be easy because it looks easy on TV. I’m not saying it’s easy-peasy, but it should not be that hard, right?

Well, I was wrong.

The Groupon I purchased came with food, so my friends and I had late lunch before the actual archery session. Once we were done, we headed over to the archery area and got ourselves oriented and then started shooting. Oh, wait I made it sound easy, but there were actually several things you have to remember with archery, and it’s really important to focus on your form so you can hit the target right. Apparently, we’re also supposed to be quiet, but of course, we weren’t. :P

Ahoy pictures!

Here is the proper form (Hi, Angus!):

So the rule in the archery range is no one can just keep shooting. Once everyone on the floor has ran out of arrows, someone would blow a whistle and everyone walks to the targets to get their arrows back. Oh, and we get 3 arrows per turn. :) There’s no prescribed way to walk towards the targets, but we made it look like a catwalk. (Told you we were the noisiest ones there haha)

Archery is hard. I mean it. It looks so easy on TV, but ugh, my arm ached so much after. There was a moment when I could feel myself getting frustrated for not getting it right — it’s not that I want to get a bulls-eye every time; I just want to hit the target paper. Most of my first few shots went too far below, until I finally relaxed. When I did, I finally started hitting the target paper. Yay.

Of course, there are photo ops in between the rounds:

This is JL and he’s been an Atenean / Blue Eagle for his entire life. But for that afternoon, he experienced (sort of) what it feels to be on the other side, as an archer. So, do you feel like being an archer again? :P

Earlier, while eating lunch, the boys were talking about having a bet on who will get the bulls eye. Being the totally non-competitive person that I am, I didn’t join the bet, thinking that I wouldn’t get it anyway. Alexa didn’t, too. Let the boys play, we thought. But guess who hit bulls eye among us first? :)

And then guess who hit it next? :P

I really didn’t know what I did. I honestly thought it was Beejay’s since his target paper was beside mine, since I missed where my arrow went. But when they said it was mine, I couldn’t contain my glee. Talk about unexpected hit. :D

Oh and I totally wore that shirt on purpose that day. Even if I don’t think I can include archery in my list of skills to use in the case of a zombie apocalypse.

The archery session was actually quite short, and I’m not sure if it’s because we got it using Groupon or not. But anyway, it was still fun, and we left the place with one bicep hurting. Yep, only one. Haha. It depends on which arm you’re using. Prepare for that if you want to try this. :P

Was it worth it? We paid Php 365/head for the meal and the archery session thanks to Groupon, so I think it was pretty worth it for the price we paid. Regular price is Php 600/head for an hour’s worth of archery, and Php 1000/head, I think, for an hour’s worth of archery + food. So if you can score a Groupon, then go get it. The only catch is you can only use the Groupon on weekdays that are not holidays, so you really need to take time off just for it.

Will I do it again? Probably. If I get several people to join me again. :)

Do I recommend it? Oh, of course. It’s not everyday you get to try archery here. :) And like I said, it might be a useful skill in the case of a zombie apocalypse. :P

Gandiva Vegetarian Café and Archery Range
Unit 704 One Corporate Center, Julia Vargas Avenue, Ortigas Center
Pasig City 1600
Tel #s: 6388771 or 6384549