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ARCHERY has long been part of our culture since its historical inception as a weapon used by our ancestors to its rise in popularity as an Olympic sport.
In an effort to gain more insight into the world of archery, The Vibes speaks with Puan Siti Rahimah A. Kechil, mother, entrepreneur and archer from Kedah, who runs the Mahabbah Archery Club (MAC).
What started as a husband-wife activity in 2017 has now evolved into a family activity.
“We have been interested in archery for some time and in 2015, we decided to finally take on the sport.
“However, it was tough to find a mentor who’d make a good fit, and it wasn’t until 2017 when we moved to Sungai Petani that we met our neighbour, who eventually became our mentor,” shares Mrs Rahimah, who also goes by the name, Cikgu Imah.
Since March of 2017, the couple have not ceased their practice of traditional archery and have participated in numerous tournaments under the MAC. In fact, their two sons are also invested in the sport,
“After spending almost three years looking for a mentor, it was worth the wait.”
In today’s Olympics, the only discipline of archery featured in this prestigious sporting event is recurve archery, which differs from traditional archery by the type of bow that is used.
In recurve archery, bows are equipped with various mechanics, such as stabilisers and aiming devices, which sets it apart from traditional archery.
Before the onset of coronavirus lockdowns, Cikgu Imah had ventured into horseback archery, beginning with her eldest son. Despite it sounding like a novel activity, horseback archery has been in our generations for centuries, going back to the time when battles were fought on horseback with a bow and arrow.
Recently, many groups of traditional archers have shown genuine interest in bringing back this ancient tradition. It not only benefits athletes physically – by enhancing upper body strength and improving hand-to-eye coordination – it also benefits them mentally by training them to stay calm and focused.
Coupled with the added challenge of balancing oneself on horseback whilst in movement, the benefits are numerous, to say the least.
Another point to note is that traditional archery is closely related to the will of God.
According to the founder of the Yeop Mahidin archery academy, Mr Zaharudin Rastam bin Yeop Mahidin, the “underlying principle is to accept that wherever the arrow lands, it is where Allah wants it to land”.
(Click on this video link to find out more about horseback archery at https://youtu.be/ZWe_bbpIGX0)
Although traditional archery has normally been performed as an outdoor activity, the inception of lockdowns has altered traditions a fare bit.
In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, Cikgu Imah expanded her horizons this past month by competing in an international online archery tournament, which was organised by Indonesia and involved participants from seven countries.
(Click on this Facebook link to discover more at https://www.facebook.com/MahabbahArcheryClub/photos/a.1545185422475293/2935506550109833)
Through the use of a camera, proper archery equipment and a fair amount of indoor space, all the contestants need to do to participate is document their attempts and submit their videos.
One of the key benefits with online archery is the absence of wind.
(Click on this TikTok link to see what we mean by no wind at https://vt.tiktok.com/ZGJAN4VYo/)
As of today, the MAC is registered with both the National Sports Council (Majlis Sukan Negara) as well as the Registry of Societies (ROS).
Yet their biggest accomplishment is the recognition afforded to them by the Education Ministry after successfully incorporating traditional archery into the extracurricular activities of schools in Malaysia.
Cikgu Imah hopes that this initiative will serve to attract more traditional archery enthusiasts to join the fold. − The Vibes, July 30, 2021
