[Ansteorra-archery] Static VS Combat

[Eadric Anstapa]

I have watched the banter back and forth and wanted to chime in and give my
2 cents on the subject of the two archery lists.

As has been mentioned there were people who requested the creation of a
Missile Combat list.   Notice that I said MISSLE COMBAT  and not Combat
Archery.   Missile Combat is not just limited to CA but also includes misc
missile weapons likes slings, javelins, throwing axes, and siege weapons,
and any other such things that fly through the air in SCA combat.

This past fall there were people who expressed the desire for a Missile
Combat list where Combat subjects and issues could be discussed without any
associated Target Archery traffic.  These requests can from Heavy Fighters
and Unit Commanders who are interested in Missile Combat but not at all in
Target Archery.  More importantly to me is that the request was made by the
formal command structure of our kingdoms army and therefore it was done.

Nobody is going to be forced to subscribe to the Missile Combat list  and
nobody should be berated if they post a CA related question to this list.
Subscribe to one or both as your interests suit you.  I do not believe that
there will be so much cross posting that it would ever be considered an
excessive amount of duplicate email and cause problems.

Do I feel that a second list was necessary?  No, I don't.  However, at the
same time I don't think that it does any harm and if it draws in even one
more person then that is a good thing.

Finally, what's this "Static" archery I keep hearing about?  Archery outside
of combat does not have to be "static".  Just because it is not in combat
does not mean that it has to be the same thing over and over again and it
doesn't mean that it has to be immobile.  Bowhunting is definitely not
"static" but definitely is period and definitely a suitable topic of
conversation on this list.

Personally I think that shooting at concentric rings on colored paper at
precisely known and unchanging ranges can get boring.  Sure it can be
challenging but that doesn't necessarily make it enjoyable to everyone. I
also believe that it has it's limits as to how much it can teach an archer
and is certainly limited in respect to how good of a recreation it is of
period shooting. DON'T BE STATIC.  Try something new, change things up and
experience more of what archery has to offer.  Try clout archery, flight
archery, wand shoots, poppinjay shoots, candle shoots, 3D shoots and animal
targets, archery golf, roving and field archery, bow hunting, bow fishing,
equestrian archery, and anything else that you can do safely to have fun and
improve your skill as an archer.

Regards,

Lord Eadric Anstapa
Kingdom Archery Marshal, Ansteorra
eadric at scabrewer.com