The November 2020 Beginners class is cancelled due to the recent executive order limiting gatherings for 3 weeks. December is still on the calendar pending any further executive orders.

It’s that time again! The Winter Youth Competitive League (friendly competition!) is getting close!

Registration starts on December 1, 2020 and all of the necessary information can be found by clicking here.

This league will fill up fast so don’t hesitate to pre-register young shooters as soon as possible!

Important: This is not an instructional league like the fall youth league so it’s important to understand the format and what is expected of the young shooters before registration.

FUNDRAISER DONATIONS NEEDED!!!

It’s that time of year!!! Annual Kids League Fundraiser! Kids League hosts one of the biggest fundraisers for the Bowmen Club with bucket raffles. We’re looking for any and all kinds of donations that men, women and children would be interested in: gift cards, sports memorabilia, hunting stuff, toys, gift baskets, etc.

If you or your business has something you would like to donate to continue support this family oriented not-for-profit, please email me at brandi.z.britton@gmail.com. You support is greatly appreciated! 🎯

30 Target 3D Shoot

Saturday and Sunday

August 8th and 9th

9am to 3pm

Prices:Members

Adults $10

Youth $5

Prices:Non-Members

Adults $12

Youth $6

All seniors are $7

Kids league Information

In this crazy year of 2020, we are going to try to have the kids’ instructional league in October like normal.  We are prepared to make changes to comply with the state guidelines.  Pre-registration will start on August 1.

Unlike previous years, we are not requiring people to pay at the time of registration, in case the league gets cancelled.

Another big change in 2020 is John and Lori Smith will not be running the Saturday league.  John has been running this league for over 25 years, and Lori has been with him for about 12 years.  They are planning on helping when they can, but they will not be running it.  We all want to say, “THANK YOU, John and Lori” for all they have done to make Saturdays in the fall so much fun for thousands of kids!  They will be missed.

Since Lori will not be doing registration this year, Mike Alexander will be doing the pre-registration.  Please either call him at 810-655-5670 (not after 8:00 P.M.) and leave a message, text him at 810-240-1338 (anytime) and leave a message, or email him at lealexander@comcast.net (anytime) to confirm your child’s spot.

Depending on the Covid19 restrictions, we may not be able to have as many kids shoot as we have in the past, so register early to lock in your spot.  We also expect to be limited on how many people are allowed in the club house, so we may be allowing only one parent to come with their child and no siblings unless they are shooting.  We will know more before we start in October.

Thank you for working with us and understanding the difficulties this year has brought to Flint Bowmen.

Registration Form for 2020

Flint Bowmen Fall 3D League 2020

8 Week League / July – September**

Registration Times:

Tuesday   —         10am – 12pm, 4pm – 7pm
(No registration between 12pm and 3pm)

Wednesday –     4pm – 7pm

Thursday   –        4pm – 7pm

**No League the week of the Annual Fall Shoot August 4 – 6

A member with full league dues paid at the start of the league can shoot their league score at any time on the three days the course is set up for shooting.  The added days also allow participants the opportunity to avoid having to shoot on a rainy day based on weather forecasts and allows for shooting the course multiple times each week (additional shooting fee required, and requires registration sign in) if someone wants additional practice.

20 Target course – with 4 different shooting stakes

White Stake – Max 20 yards

Orange Stake – Max 30 yards

Red Stake – Max 40 yards

Blue Stake — Max 50 yards

This league is a warm up and practice for the upcoming deer season.  Hunting set-ups will be no lens, clarifier, or stabilizers longer than 15 inches. No restriction on stabilizer configuration except the length.  Fixed pins and movable sights will shoot in the same class.  All youth classes are known.  Depending on the number of shooters in each class medals will be given out 1 place for every 5 shooters.  i.e… 15 shooters = 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place medals will be given out at the banquet.  If a metal is not wanted if you place please let the person at registration know so, the club doesn’t purchase one for you.

Shooting Classes as follows:

Youth under 9 – walk up and shoot from a comfortable distance

Youth 9 – 12 —  White Stake

Youth 12 – 17  — Orange Stake

Traditional — White Stake

Female Bowhunter / Female Bowhunter Known — Orange Stake

Senior Female Bowhunter / Senior Female Bowhunter Known – Orange Stake

Male Bowhunter / Male Bowhunter Known – Orange Stake

Senior Male Bowhunter / Senior Male Bowhunter Known – Orange Stake

Female Bowhunter 40  / Female Bowhunter Known 40 – Red Stake

Senior Female Bowhunter 40 / Senior Female Bowhunter Known 40 – Red Stake

Male Bowhunter  40 / Male Bowhunter Known 40 – Red Stake

Senior Male Bowhunter 40 / Senior Male Bowhunter Known 40 – Red Stake

Female Open / Female Open Known — Blue Stake

Senior Female Open / Senior Female Open Known – Blue Stake

Male Open /  Male Open Known — Blue Stake

Senior Male Open /  Senior Male Open Known — Blue Stake

Samurai Wisdom Stories

With the introduction of firearms, the art of bow shooting was in danger of disappearing. However, this art was one of the principal disciplines of bushido, the Way of the Samurai. As a means of keeping this tradition alive, the annual Toshiya archery contest was instituted. The site of the contest was a temple in Kyoto known as Sanjusangen-do, famous for its thousand buddha statues.

The shooting took place in a covered galley about sixty meters long. The difficulty for the archer lay in keeping the shot tightly arced enough to avoid the thirty-three cross beams that supported the roof joists and still allow for a shot long enough to reach the target at the end of the gallery. The bow had to be a strong one, but not so strong as to exhaust the archer; for the winner was the one who was able to shoot the greatest number of arrows into the distant target. The contest lasted twenty-four hours, from sunrise until the following dawn. It was a true ordeal, an ascetic exercise comparable to the austerities practiced by Buddhist monks, such as ten thousand prostrations.

Going beyond one’s normal level of output as was required here was more than a matter of technique and endurance. It was only possible through the force of mind that allowed the archer to enter into an altered state where another level of energy could come into play.

The best archers of Japan, and through them the schools of kyu-jutsu they represented, were matched against each other in this contest. In 1679, Hoshino Kanzaemon achieved the feat of hitting the target with eight thousand of the 10,542 arrows he shot. Seventeen years later his feat was still unrivaled and he remained “the First under Heaven.”

In 1696, a young archer named Wasa Daihachiro presented himself at the contest. He had trained assiduously for years in order to meet this challenge. He shot without stopping for many hours and then, already having planted five thousand arrows in the target, he allowed himself a short pause. When he tried to resume shooting, he no longer able to bend his bow. His shoulders and back were so swollen that the pain was intolerable. At this point, one of the members of the jury who was seated on the tribunal rose to his feet and approached the unhappy competitor. He reproached him for having stopped shooting and drew his short sword from its sheath. He made cuts in the swollen flesh, the blood flowed, and the archer was once again able to bend his bow. He finally succeeded in shooting more than thirteen thousand arrows, of which 8,133 hit the target. He became the new “First under Heaven” and has not been bested since.

Wasa Daihachiro, after having achieved this feat, walked over to the tribunal in order to pay his obeisance to the judge who had helped him.

“I am very grateful to you,” he said, “for having made it possible for me to surpass the record of the great Hoshino Kanzaemon. Would you be so kind as to tell me your name?”

The master archer on the tribunal replied with a warm smile.

“You know it already, since you have just said it.”

By enabling his rival’s victory through his noble gesture, Hoshino Kanzaemon became a part of bushido legend. On the Way of the Samurai, there is no greater achievement than conquering
oneself.

Story found on https://www.shambhala.com/samurai-wisdom-stories/