Manly Skills: Archery Like You’ve Never Seen

created at: 01/29/2015

I’ve worked on and off for the past decade as a theatrical fight director and stunt coordinator and so I’ve spent a lot of time investigating historical uses of weaponry. Lars Andersen has spent years investigating and perfecting his period archery skills to attain an unparalleled level of greatness.   

As opposed to modern archers who have multiple gadgets and unlimited time to hit a stationary target, this truly mind-blowing video demonstrates the skill set historical archers needed on the battlefield, such as the ability to run and jump while hitting multiple targets within seconds. It’s s a true showcase of someone who has dedicated years of their life to perfecting a craft that most of us would simply pass over.  And while I have no intention of becoming an expert in period archery, I was inspired by the tenacity it takes to perform at Andersen’s level, regardless of the category.