RULE NUMBER ONE OF ARCHERY:
 You have to look good.

RULE NUMBER TWO OF ARCHERY:
Don’t miss.

RULE NUMBER 3 OF ARCHERY:
Don’t suck.

                Day one.
I’m given a red assembled Optima bow, 6 abnormally long Jazz arrows, an arm guard that doesn’t fit, and a hair tab that smelt kinda funny. Master Brian’s directions, “Have fun and don’t shoot anyone” still echo in my head to this very day as I remember going into panic mode not knowing what to do. Let’s disregard the copious amounts of broken arrows that day; I didn’t know it at the time, but this was the start of my great archery adventures.

It’s hard to believe that just a few months ago, I was shooting the white T-REX the club loaned to me, let alone even remember shooting the Optima for the first time (For free, of course. Perhaps that is what allured me to the club in the first place. Free equipment AND training? AWESOME!) But since then the ‘Rex has been passed down to Linda, a newer member who’s being trained for competition as well, to inherit my awesomeness.

Now, I’m sporting a white 25” Nexus, and 34# MK Korea Vera limbs.

Rule number one? Check.

I’d mention the other two rules but I’m still working on them. But for someone who made a jump from 22# to 34#’s and only a semester’s worth of experience, I’d say I’m doing pretty well right now.  (We can’t all be as good as Master Brian who began shooting mid 200’s after his first semester. I will take my 225’s happily.) Of course, this never would’ve happened without the guidance of our senior members. I literally started with zero experience. After practicing with the great President Keith, hardy training regiments from Master Brian, tips and pointers from Commander Wen, tuning from the famous Patrick Uy, and support from Mister Andy, I’ve got a lower 200 average, a sexy bow, a great sense of Zen, and a butch arm. But more than that, I feel as though I’ve gotten a little family. That’s probably the best part.

                I remember when I was shooting terribly at the beginning, but President Keith urged me to continue and to keep shooting. I remember when Master Brian shot with us separately on Friday’s and whooped us into shape. I remember when little Alex lent me his arrows and I broke them! I remember when one of the members got into a car accident in the pouring rain and we were all there with him in soaked clothes while we moved everyone to our car and drove them back on campus. I remember playing “Chubby Bunny” during our dinners at Roth and then throwing marshmallows at each other afterward. (Phancy Steven made a marshmallow tomahawk!)  There was also the time we took the entire archery gang to Buffalo Wild Wings and ordered Blazin’ Wings for everyone as a rite of passage. Had it not been for archery, I would still be that little hermit with no life. Archery has become a prominent hobby and a great social outlet for me.

                And now that it’s the second semester, we have many competitions up ahead. The Ti Yogi Mid-Hudson shoot is just up ahead on the 20^th. Fifteen club members are signed up to shoot competitively. More than half of the members shooting are newly trained members from this year. We will definitely be walking away with more than one trophy. Not only that, but April 30^th marks the Stony Brook University Archery Invitational. Baruch? You’re going down. Not only are we beginning a completely new training regimen to improve our scores, our club has been buying better equipment to loan out for competitive shooters. We’ve beaten them for the past two semesters; let’s go for three!

                But it won’t end there, of course. There are other competitions that we will one day be participating in: Nationals, New York State competitions, and perhaps Gold Cup. Even more, many of our members are graduating seniors next year so the pressure is on to keep the competitive spirit of shooting alive! One day, the club will be in our hands and it’ll be our job to train those who are in our position now. Until then, I will be a sponge and soak up all that there is to learn from our senior members.

RULE NUMBER ONE:
 You have to look good.

RULE NUMBER:
Don’t miss.

RULE NUMBER 3:
Don’t suck.

                Let’s keep the momentum going, yeah?

                                              Hien Nguyen, Random Asian girl with a sexy bow.