So, talking about ‘trigger sports’… honestly, I wasn’t exactly looking to get into anything like that. For years, I was pretty much happy just chilling, you know? Physical stuff, sports… just wasn’t my scene.
How It All Began
It really just happened out of the blue. I remember I was at this local fair, just wandering around, looking at stalls. Then I saw this small setup, a ‘try archery’ kind of thing. Never thought twice about archery before. Watched a few people give it a go. Some were terrible, some were okay. But there was this one older guy, super calm, just thwack, thwack, hitting near the middle each time. Looked so focused.
That image kinda stuck with me. It wasn’t some big revelation, more like a little itch I suddenly needed to scratch. Could I do that? It looked hard, but also… really centering? Don’t know how else to put it.
First Steps and Fumbles
Decided I’d actually try it properly. Found a beginners’ course nearby. Signing up felt a bit weird, like I was pretending to be someone else. Showed up on the first day feeling completely out of place. All the gear looked complicated.
They gave me a bow and some arrows. Tried to copy the instructor:
- Get the stance right. Feet so-so apart.
- Nock the arrow (felt clumsy doing this).
- Pull the string back (way harder than it looked!).
- Aim… somewhere?
- Let go.
My first arrow? Flew way off target, missed the whole boss thing. Pretty bad start. My fingers hurt from the string, arm felt shaky. Thought maybe this was a dumb idea.
Getting the Hang of It (Slowly)
But I’d paid for the course, right? So I kept going back. It was slow progress. Really slow. Some days felt okay, I’d hit the target, maybe even near the yellow bit. Felt like a huge win. Other days, it was like I was back to square one, arrows spraying everywhere.
The instructor kept saying, “Relax. Breathe. Don’t fight the bow.” Easier said than done. But slowly, bit by bit, I started to get what he meant. Finding that anchor point, the steady pull, the clean release… it forced me to just be in that moment. Block everything else out.
That became the real ‘trigger’ for me. Not just letting the arrow fly, but triggering that switch in my head. Shutting off the noise for a bit. Focusing on one simple, physical task.
I wouldn’t call myself an archer, not really. I still only go sometimes. But that initial random encounter at the fair definitely triggered something. It pushed me to try something new, something physical, something that needed focus. It’s been a weirdly good thing, this whole trigger sport journey. Didn’t see it coming at all.
