The first time I tried Combat Archery (also known as Archery Tag) at Archers Arena in Toronto was for a friends B-day. I enjoyed it, but the main thing I noticed was how quickly it went by and how good of a workout it was. It’s a really good workout. I was surprised. After a few hours of running around and pelting my friends with arrows, I was absolutely exhausted, sweating, and my crotch region hurt a lot. This is because I didn’t take the website’s advice and wear a jock, so I got pegged square in the nut sack a few times.

Disclaimer #1: Wear A Jock

Anyway, we happened to show up on a night called “Community Night”, which fell on a Friday. So there were other archers there, some new to the game like us, but also some more seasoned players. The vibe was friendly, and at the end of the evening the coach welcomed us back. They said something like “we do this every Friday”. On the drive home, I pondered. I’d wanted to make some big changes moving into the New Year and a workout routine was one of them. I asked myself if this could be a sport I could play every week, and the quick answer was “Hell Yes!” As the great Charles Bukowski once said, “go all the way.” So I went all in.

Disclaimer #2: Go All The Way

I made a promise to go play Combat Archery at least once a week, and was able to make that consistent. I played every Friday, and on Tuesdays sometimes too. The months passed, and just like with many things, as I put more time and practice in, I kept getting better. I was no longer as scared to face off against some of the best players. I even started entering into tournaments that took place in Toronto at Archers Arena, and in Ottawa at Archery Games. I met so many great people and incredibly skilled Archery Combat players at those tournaments. Players hailing from Montreal’s Combat D’Archers, folks from Archery Games in Boston, and from Vancouver’s 6 Pack Beach, which I even got to go visit and and join in their community night on their awesome indoor sand court. Now, I’m not trying to pretend like I went to some Archery Combat boot camp where I did nothing but breath, eat, sleep, and poop the sport until I came out a hardened archer warrior… but I did immerse myself in the community, and I was consistent.

Disclaimer #3: Be Consistent

With anything in life really, to see progress, you have to be consistent. Chip away at it, slowly but surely. That’s why I feel that if you’re interested in diving into Combat Archery, or another passion of some sort, really give it time. Understand that you’re going to fail a bunch, that’s part of the fun. Honestly, I’ve listened to an unhealthy amount of motivational speakers in my lifetime and I would say that one of the most common threads in all of the conflicting noise is that we must embrace failure. I’ve had my good days and bad days. For starters, I can proudly say I’ve worn a jock every time since that first fateful day when my gonads were threatened. See, I learned from my first fatal error, adjusted, and improved. There were lots of these little improvements, and still are. The gang is starting to call me the “human net” because I catch everything, but you think this was always the case? I was pummelled with foam arrow after foam arrow until I really started to hone my catching skills.

Disclaimer #4: It’s About The Community

When it all comes down to it, it really is about the community. It would be fun to take all the credit for how far I’ve come in this sport, but that would be a flat out lie and I’d deserve to be full drawed at point blank in the tallywacker (no cup). It’s the community that has kept me coming back, the coaches, the regulars, the newbies, everyone. Without getting too sentimental, there are many great people who come and go from Archers Arena, as well as some just as great people from other facilities that we’ve competed against along the way. We all come from so many different backgrounds, careers, and life experiences. However, we are brought together by one common thing, the love of Combat Archery.

Disclaimer #5: Find a Common Goal

For whatever reason, us Combat Archers enjoy aggressively launching foam arrows at each other, or maybe it’s the games, or the competition we love. Either way, it’s amazing how this shared interest can bring out such a wide array of people. We go to battle on the court, but in between it’s all smiles. It makes me think about our species, and this wacky time we live in. It makes me wonder if we’d all be better off, and much happier, spending our moments on this earth focusing on the ways we’re the same rather than the ways we are different.

Disclaimer #6: We’re All In This Together

I’ve been playing this sport for over a year and a half now, and honestly, I have more fun every time I come out. As things are opening back up and regulations are loosening over group activities, I understand that times have changed. All businesses that host Combat Archery are having to adjust the ways they operate. The good news is that by the nature of this sport being a group activity with shared equipment, these establishments have been ahead of the curb on cleanliness and safety. I know that if we all work together, and learn from each others communities, we will get through this uncertain time. In doing so we’re going to come out of this pandemic stronger and safer than ever. Looking forward to the day when we can all join together again for another epic tournament, but until then, much love, and keep aiming!

Written by: James McDougall

Visit www.ArchersArena.com to learn more about Combat Archery and many of the other activities you can try out at Archers Arena in Toronto.