Put a bow on it this Christmas

By Eliot Sekuler

For the TODAY

Gift cards for discounted archery sessions, a festive holiday stocking stuffed with archery gear and handcrafted penguins are among the items in Lincoln City Archery’s quiver as the Lincoln City Outlets shop prepares to celebrate the first holiday season since opening its doors in May.

Operated by Jenya and Shad Engkilterra, the spacious center features a four-lane training range for archers to hone their skills, an assortment of archery gear and packages of lessons suitable for all skill levels, from expert marksmen to those who have never before pulled a bowstring.

“A 15-minute session is generally enough to get someone started,” Shad said. “We start with basic safety rules, some of which are common sense, like ‘don’t point your bow at anyone’ and then we teach the basics of body positions. The skills of traditional archery flow from the correct positioning of the body.”

For those who wish to take up the sport, LCA offers two series of lessons. The introductory course continues with the finer points of body position, the “Mediterranean draw” and “instinctive archery.” Students learn to shoot in different stances, including one from a kneeling position. Among other skills, they’ll also learn to shoot with both their left and right hands. A second-level, more in-depth class will include instruction on the advanced skills of shooting at moving targets and different  arrow “releases.”

“All classes are tailored to students’ needs,” Shad said.

During the summer months, a majority of LCA’s participants consisted of visitors who came upon the center during shopping trips to the mall. Shad said he now hopes to focus more on local participation. One idea he hopes will attract interest is the formation of an archery league which he and Jenya aim to launch in January.

Many archers are initially drawn to the sport for its meditative qualities, including Shad, who was introduced to archery while studying for a Master’s degree on the Mediterranean island of Malta.

“We are so inundated with media and smartphones and distractions that cause us stress,” he said. “I use archery for exercise but also for the mental focus that it involves. When you’re shooting, you focus on staying in the moment, on what your body is doing, on your form. You have to be present.”

In addition to archery gear, LCA sells books. A large wall is lined with racks of independently published books and on a recent Saturday afternoon, the shop featured a book signing. A good many of the titles on display were written by Shad, whose interests as a writer extend beyond archery to include such wide-ranging topics as “Disneyland is Creativity,” which draws upon his academic background as a student of creativity and innovation and includes photo-illustrations by Jenya; and “My Life in The Peace Corps: Letters home from Guinea, West Africa and the toughest job you’ll ever love,” which draws upon Shad's 28 months of service as a Peace Corps volunteer.

In all, Shad has authored 12 books, including several children’s books.

Archery is as ancient as human civilization. Archaeologists have found evidence of archery in Africa dating back to about 10,000 BC, when it was adopted by Nubian and early Egyptian cultures for both hunting and warfare. The bow and arrow features prominently in Greek mythology, which depicts the god Apollo as the king of archers, the goddess Artemis as the huntress and, of course, Eros, AKA Cupid, as a romantically pesky bowman.

Roman legions enlisted regiments of “Sagittarii,” specialized archers on foot and on horseback and images of mounted native American warriors firing arrows at a gallop figure vividly in American western lore. In modern times, the image of the bow and arrow already featured prominently into popular culture when Errol Flynn swashbuckled through Sherwood Forest in 1938’s “Robin Hood.” And archers as fictional heroes — Katniss Everdeen of “The Hunger Games,”  “Green Arrow,” and Legolas in “The Lord of the Rings” — are fixtures in our media landscape.

“I hear a lot of `I want to shoot like Legolas,’ but I don’t teach CGI,” Shad joked. “Robin Hood is still surprisingly popular, and people come in and talk about shooting an apple off of someone’s head like William Tell.” Shad discourages the latter practice but admitted to a fondness for the Marvel character Hawkeye, featured in "The Avengers" franchise.

“Hawkeye is interesting because he shows us that a regular person with a wife and family can also be a superhero,” Shad said. “His superpower is a dedication to archery.”

LCA cannot promise superhero status, but those wishing to make a start on that path, or to explore the meditative aspects of the sport, to improve their skills or simply to sample the ancient martial art of archery can go to penguinate.com for more information and pricing.

Lincoln City Archery is located in the Lincoln City Outlets at 1500 SE East Devils Lake Road, open from 11 am to 7 pm daily. For details, call 503-409-8371.