One at a time, seven children inside the Hale Halawai Community Center pulled back the string of their bows and released them, confidently watching their arrows shoot across the stage Wednesday. Their arrows repeatedly pierced the rainbow-colored bull’s-eye target, as
One at a time, seven children inside the Hale Halawai Community Center pulled back the string of their bows and released them, confidently watching their arrows shoot across the stage Wednesday. Their arrows repeatedly pierced the rainbow-colored bull’s-eye target, as well as popped balloons, even if only a few at a time.
The sharpshooters, ages 9 to 14, made archery look effortless and fun.
The majority were beginners who said Suzanne Collins’ best-selling young adult novels and the blockbuster film, “The Hunger Games,” didn’t influence them to learn the sport. Nor did the recently released film “The Avengers,” which features the bow-and-arrow-slinging superhero Hawkeye. Most claimed archery was something that had previously piqued their interest or was just something new they wanted to try this summer. All were participating in a free, three-week-long archery class offered by the county Department of Parks and Recreation.
Hale Halawai Recreation Director Marshall Tohara said the department traditionally offers the sport at least once a quarter as a part of its activities for youth and is moving away from more mainstream sports, such as soccer and basketball. He thinks the department’s archery classes, which typically have 10 to 20 participants, have been gaining popularity ever since films like “The Lord of the Rings” saga have come out.
During the class, Tohara gives an archery safety lesson, as well as instructions on taking a proper stance, drawing the 15- to 25-pound bows, shooting and retrieval. He said archery takes a lot of discipline, patience, concentration, focus and practice. He spoke about the importance of breathing, an essential part of the archer’s control.
Tohara has been doing archery since he was a boy, when he used to regularly hunt with his brother for pigs on Mauna Loa. He was also exposed to the sport through his participation with the Boy Scouts of America, which still offers archery. He said his proficiency in the craft came with practice and experience.
Not only does archery get youth doing something active and outside, it also builds a good foundation for life and can become a lifelong sport, Tohara said. He said several past students have taken up hunting with their families.
Expertise in any sport takes time to develop, but it was evident Wednesday that students had mastered the basic skills as the giant target was not missed once. The best part, Tohara said, is seeing the big smiles on the children’s faces and their confidence grow as they take down target after target.
In her first attempt Wednesday, 10-year-old Gabriela Freire of Kailua-Kona drew the bow back past her ear, adjusted her body position, tilted her head and let the arrow fly. The arrow soared through the air, hitting just inches from the bull’s-eye. Tohara encouraged her to square off the target, draw the bow’s string all the way back and take her time. She did, successfully popping a red balloon near the center.
“It feels good hitting the target. Each time, it’s like, ‘Yeah! I got it,’” Freire said. “To be a good archer you have to concentrate, have good timing and not go so fast.”
For 12-year-old Eagan Okuna of Kailua-Kona archery is more than just hitting targets, though that does make it “really fun and cool.” Okuna said archery gives him an opportunity to do something he really enjoys — hunting for birds with his grandfather. He hopes to get a bigger, better bow this summer so he can really get into the sport.
“More kids should take advantage of classes like this because you learn something new, you feel like you accomplish something each time you hit the target, it’s lots of fun and you may get to continue to do what you love,” Okuna said.
