We have a right to bear arms and, make no doubt about it, any sort of adult bow and arrow has the capability to be a deadly weapon. The first bows were only used to kill game birds and animals but, once humankind invented warfare, the hunting bows came into their own as a means of killing your enemies without having to get close enough for them to kill you first. For thousands of years, warfare was the primary reason for people to take archery lessons. This situation only ceased with the introduction of firearms in recent years (historically speaking).
Once people were no longer required to learn and practice the art of shooting arrows as a duty to their lord, king or country archery went into a decline. Although there were archery clubs in Britain as early as 1688, these were something of a minority interest. The Company Of Scottish Archers is amongst the world’s oldest sporting clubs.
However, archery as a social pursuit for the aristocracy saw a revival in England towards the end of the 18TH Century This fashionable revival was led by the Toxophilite Society which was started in London in 1781 under the patronage of non other than George, the then Prince of Wales. (Toxophilite was adapted from the made up word used in the title of a book about archery written in 1545 by one Roger Ascham – it was the first scholastic instruction book to be written in the English language instead of the more prevailing use of Latin).
If we ignore the use of bows and arrows by the Native Americans, it took until 1961 for organized sports archery to begin to flourish in the US. This was largely thanks to the Pope and Young Club that concentrated on bowhunting rather than competitive target shooting. The latter has slowly grown in popularity following its introduction into the Olympics in 1900 but it wasn’t until the 1980’s that competitive archery really took hold on the American imagination.
The Right To Keep And Bear Arms
This remains an important part of our Constitution but it also carries a requirement to use them responsibly. In the case of owning, transporting and using bows and arrows in LA, responsibility will specifically cover where the bow can be fired (without harming others) and that bow owners should know how to correctly handle their weapons – even if only shooting targets. It follows therefore that before becoming an archer in LA you should sign up for some Archery Lessons In Los Angeles.
Anyone interested in taking Archery Lessons In Los Angeles should look up their nearest Archery PRO instructor. Instruction can be one on one, in classes or, even by video and the internet.