Seeking Olympic Gold in Archery-American Brady Ellison

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/ar...ts-gold-062012

This guy bowhunts and target shoots . Certainly not a tradional Archer but has to be admired for his talent and his spirit in my opinion.-Tyr


ArcheryFOX Sports Exclusive'You win or you go home' Brady Ellison is the top-ranked archer in the world. Share This Story

Reid ForgraveReid Forgrave has worked for the Des Moines Register, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Seattle Times. His work has been recognized by Associated Press Sports Editors, the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors.
MORE>> Updated Jul 5, 2012 1:02 PM ET
Certain Olympic sports rank exponentially higher on the badass scale than others


Boxing and taekwondo, for example, outrank rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. Weightlifting is more badass than table tennis. Take fencing and equestrian, with their military pedigrees, over rowing and badminton.

But there is one American badass who beats them all.

Brady Ellison doesn’t look like much: A husky 23-year-old country boy from Arizona who favors country music, shaggy hair and enormous belt buckles. The sport in which Ellison is the top-ranked athlete in the world, archery, isn’t the sexiest, either. Two archers stand 70 meters from their target and shoot a dozen arrows toward a bull’s-eye, 12.2 centimeters in diameter. The highest scorer moves onto the next round, and so on and so forth, until there’s one person left, and that’s your gold medalist.

Badass, America wonders. Please. Give us the head-pounding spikes of beach volleyball or the 10-seconds-of-glory adrenaline rush of the 100-meter dash or the nonstop pace of basketball. Archery just doesn’t sound like the sport for the American badass. Sounds like a sport dominated by some wienie country like South Korea, which in recent decades has actually been true.

But consider the badass credentials of one Brady Ellison, The Real American BadAss and the top-ranked archer in the world: At age 11, Ellison shot and killed his first bear, a 300-pounder, with a rifle on his grandfather’s ranch. He bow-hunts pretty much anything he can get a tag for: bighorn sheep, elk, javelinas, wild boar. He bow-hunts fish, for God’s sake. His favorite day of hunting ever was earlier this year, when Ellison and his father each bagged his own buck with a bow and arrow on the same day.

Ready to reconsider your definition of badass?

“My favorite hunting is elk,” Ellison said. “They’re big, they’re fun. If you get them in the bugle, you can call them in. They make a lot of noise. They’re a big animal. Especially if you’re in a thicket and you get a bull to talk, you’re bugling to them, he comes crashing through the brush at you — it’s an adrenaline rush, because he thinks you’re another bull.”

He paused a moment for you to shudder at the thought: There’s the 800-pound animal charging at you, and here are you, sitting in a thicket without a gun.

Ellison shrugged.

“Bows can kill anything, just like a rifle,” he said.

There’s something beautifully medieval about archery. Ignore the vast array of high-tech archery gadgets out there — from stabilizers to sights, from rangefinders to special silicone wax for high-tension bow strings — and realize that at its most basic, archery is simply man propelling pointed stick through air, heading toward animal. There are few things more primal. Before archery was a sport, archery was man’s survival.

At this primal sport, Brady Ellison is the best, with three World Cup wins in a row heading into London. He is Robin Hood. He is the Greek god Apollo. He is Hawkeye from “The Avengers.” He is Katniss Everdeen from “The Hunger Games.”

And the No. 2 archer in the world, Im Dong-Hyun from South Korea, who won a team gold medal in 2008, has him in his sights.

The adrenaline level at a big-game bow-hunt vs. a big-time Olympic archery matchup is, well, different. First of all, at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London — home to the Olympic archery competition and replicated in Ellison’s father’s backyard for practice — there will not be an 800-pound animal chasing down the archers. (Though, come to think of it, that would be pretty badass.)

But there will be distractions. There will be pressure. There will be seven years of training bearing down on Ellison, since 2005 when he switched from shooting a compound bow to shooting a recurve bow, the only type of bow used in Olympic competition.

“Archery is a sport where it’s one-on-one, you win or you go home,” Ellison said. “It’s kind of like golf in a way. It’s a mental game, a lot of focus. And if you mess up, you’re more than likely not going to win. It’s a game of perfection. There’s just a draw to being perfect.”

Perfection means focus. Perfection means mental discipline. Perfection means Ellison’s 20/10 vision staring down at a target for hours on end. Perfection means body control, which hasn’t always been the easiest for Ellison, who spent a year of his childhood in leg braces because of Perthes disease, which was eating away at the head of his femurs. (Perhaps it’s not surprising that, Forrest Gump-like, this Olympian ran straight out of his braces, breaking three or four sets by the time doctors said he was OK without them.)

And perfection means heading to London and coming back with gold. And nobody can dispute that would be very, very badass.

[Shadow]

http://msn.foxsports.com/olympics/ar...ts-gold-062012

This guy bowhunts and target shoots . Certainly not a tradional Archer but has to be admired for his talent and his spirit in my opinion.-Tyr


ArcheryFOX Sports Exclusive'You win or you go home' Brady Ellison is the top-ranked archer in the world. Share This Story

Reid ForgraveReid Forgrave has worked for the Des Moines Register, the Cincinnati Enquirer and the Seattle Times. His work has been recognized by Associated Press Sports Editors, the Livingston Awards for Young Journalists, and the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors.
MORE>> Updated Jul 5, 2012 1:02 PM ET
Certain Olympic sports rank exponentially higher on the badass scale than others


Boxing and taekwondo, for example, outrank rhythmic gymnastics and trampoline. Weightlifting is more badass than table tennis. Take fencing and equestrian, with their military pedigrees, over rowing and badminton.

But there is one American badass who beats them all.

Brady Ellison doesn’t look like much: A husky 23-year-old country boy from Arizona who favors country music, shaggy hair and enormous belt buckles. The sport in which Ellison is the top-ranked athlete in the world, archery, isn’t the sexiest, either. Two archers stand 70 meters from their target and shoot a dozen arrows toward a bull’s-eye, 12.2 centimeters in diameter. The highest scorer moves onto the next round, and so on and so forth, until there’s one person left, and that’s your gold medalist.

Badass, America wonders. Please. Give us the head-pounding spikes of beach volleyball or the 10-seconds-of-glory adrenaline rush of the 100-meter dash or the nonstop pace of basketball. Archery just doesn’t sound like the sport for the American badass. Sounds like a sport dominated by some wienie country like South Korea, which in recent decades has actually been true.

But consider the badass credentials of one Brady Ellison, The Real American BadAss and the top-ranked archer in the world: At age 11, Ellison shot and killed his first bear, a 300-pounder, with a rifle on his grandfather’s ranch. He bow-hunts pretty much anything he can get a tag for: bighorn sheep, elk, javelinas, wild boar. He bow-hunts fish, for God’s sake. His favorite day of hunting ever was earlier this year, when Ellison and his father each bagged his own buck with a bow and arrow on the same day.

Ready to reconsider your definition of badass?

“My favorite hunting is elk,” Ellison said. “They’re big, they’re fun. If you get them in the bugle, you can call them in. They make a lot of noise. They’re a big animal. Especially if you’re in a thicket and you get a bull to talk, you’re bugling to them, he comes crashing through the brush at you — it’s an adrenaline rush, because he thinks you’re another bull.”

He paused a moment for you to shudder at the thought: There’s the 800-pound animal charging at you, and here are you, sitting in a thicket without a gun.

Ellison shrugged.

“Bows can kill anything, just like a rifle,” he said.

There’s something beautifully medieval about archery. Ignore the vast array of high-tech archery gadgets out there — from stabilizers to sights, from rangefinders to special silicone wax for high-tension bow strings — and realize that at its most basic, archery is simply man propelling pointed stick through air, heading toward animal. There are few things more primal. Before archery was a sport, archery was man’s survival.

At this primal sport, Brady Ellison is the best, with three World Cup wins in a row heading into London. He is Robin Hood. He is the Greek god Apollo. He is Hawkeye from “The Avengers.” He is Katniss Everdeen from “The Hunger Games.”

And the No. 2 archer in the world, Im Dong-Hyun from South Korea, who won a team gold medal in 2008, has him in his sights.

The adrenaline level at a big-game bow-hunt vs. a big-time Olympic archery matchup is, well, different. First of all, at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London — home to the Olympic archery competition and replicated in Ellison’s father’s backyard for practice — there will not be an 800-pound animal chasing down the archers. (Though, come to think of it, that would be pretty badass.)

But there will be distractions. There will be pressure. There will be seven years of training bearing down on Ellison, since 2005 when he switched from shooting a compound bow to shooting a recurve bow, the only type of bow used in Olympic competition.

“Archery is a sport where it’s one-on-one, you win or you go home,” Ellison said. “It’s kind of like golf in a way. It’s a mental game, a lot of focus. And if you mess up, you’re more than likely not going to win. It’s a game of perfection. There’s just a draw to being perfect.”

Perfection means focus. Perfection means mental discipline. Perfection means Ellison’s 20/10 vision staring down at a target for hours on end. Perfection means body control, which hasn’t always been the easiest for Ellison, who spent a year of his childhood in leg braces because of Perthes disease, which was eating away at the head of his femurs. (Perhaps it’s not surprising that, Forrest Gump-like, this Olympian ran straight out of his braces, breaking three or four sets by the time doctors said he was OK without them.)

And perfection means heading to London and coming back with gold. And nobody can dispute that would be very, very badass.

I like the idea of bow hunting. Kinda primal like was stated in the article. A person needs a certain skill to hunt this way (archery is a kind of art form too). Right conditions are needed or accounted for with skill. I like the following quote....sums it up for me.

There’s something beautifully medieval about archery. Ignore the vast array of high-tech archery gadgets out there — from stabilizers to sights, from rangefinders to special silicone wax for high-tension bow strings — and realize that at its most basic, archery is simply man propelling pointed stick through air, heading toward animal. There are few things more primal. Before archery was a sport, archery was man’s survival.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I like the idea of bow hunting. Kinda primal like was stated in the article. A person needs a certain skill to hunt this way (archery is a kind of art form too). Right conditions are needed or accounted for with skill. I like the following quote....sums it up for me.

I agree wholeheartedly with it being an art form . Redstate and I both bowhunt. I being a tradional archery guy only shoot the longbow or recurve while my friend Redstate shoots all three longbow, recurve and compound. I've been shooting bows since I was five years old. First bows I shot were made by my Indian grandfather. Now I shoot custom made longbows and very finely made recurves! Bowfishing is great fun too. Redstate hunts a great deal more than I do as I 've mainly just target shot since my son Justin was born and had all the health problems from being so pre-mature. Still shooting is shooting. Archery has been a passion of mine since I was kneehigh to a grasshopper!--Tyr

[logroller]

I grew up shooting bow and arrow; always had a few stacked up bails of straw in the yard. My dad still sets up a target and practices daily. Whenever I'm there I'll shag his arrows and inevitably shoot just one or two, besting him every time-- really ticks him off.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I grew up shooting bow and arrow; always had a few stacked up bails of straw in the yard. My dad still sets up a target and practices daily. Whenever I'm there I'll shag his arrows and inevitably shoot just one or two, besting him every time-- really ticks him off.

You shoot longbow, recurve or compound?
I bet it does tick him off. I have since about 7 years old shot better than my older brother, he lies about it and it pisses him off to no end. He can easily beat me in a fist fight but shooting bow or guns I ace him out everytime!
When at family gatherings the subject comes up he quickly finds a reason to leave the room. He knows his denials dont cut it with family as they know the truth of it.-
We shot empty cereal boxes at 20 , 40 and 60 paces. Later we shot up to a 100 paces , didnt measure at all with a tape. We also used hay bales as backstops with those old cheap deer posters tacked on. Later I bought life size deer targets to use. Even started shooting flu flu's at birds on the fly. Killed quite a few of them when I was in my early teens. All of it was great fun and I've never stopped loving archery.-Tyr

[logroller]

Recurve and longbow. Ive used a compound but don't hunt, so I never really took to it; something magically primitive is lost with the compound in my perspective. If I hunted I'd be more apt to use the compound; but then I'd just use a rifle mor than likely. Side note: my first hunt wasn't a clean kill, so I sorta lost the sport of it all. Now my kills are merciful or when otherwise necessary.

[Shadow]

I agree wholeheartedly with it being an art form . Redstate and I both bowhunt. I being a tradional archery guy only shoot the longbow or recurve while my friend Redstate shoots all three longbow, recurve and compound. I've been shooting bows since I was five years old. First bows I shot were made by my Indian grandfather. Now I shoot custom made longbows and very finely made recurves! Bowfishing is great fun too. Redstate hunts a great deal more than I do as I 've mainly just target shot since my son Justin was born and had all the health problems from being so pre-mature. Still shooting is shooting. Archery has been a passion of mine since I was kneehigh to a grasshopper!--Tyr

I think I would like the target shooting in archery best. Not so much the bow fishing though. I like to fish...but if I catch something I prefer to release it after rather than kill it. Doubt I would be a good hunter either for the same reason. I'd rather just observe nature I think.

[logroller]

I think I would like the target shooting in archery best. Not so much the bow fishing though. I like to fish...but if I catch something I prefer to release it after rather than kill it. Doubt I would be a good hunter either for the same reason. I'd rather just observe nature I think.

Hunt and release..lol

Ive been getting back into backpacking and been checking out some trails/ areas and various rules and such. Fishing rules vary, where certain lakes/ streams allow taking, while others are release only and some are take only nonindigineous species. It gets so complicated, I start thinking why bother, just release. Then I came across critics of releasing--no joke-- I think Switzerland and maybe germany (?) have made it illegal not to take what you catch...saying its cruel, that too many fish die after being caught anyways, all kinds of crap. I think it's funny, really. I think people just don't know how to fish; ie the proper use barbless hooks, and their removal.

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Recurve and longbow. Ive used a compound but don't hunt, so I never really took to it; something magically primitive is lost with the compound in my perspective. If I hunted I'd be more apt to use the compound; but then I'd just use a rifle mor than likely. Side note: my first hunt wasn't a clean kill, so I sorta lost the sport of it all. Now my kills are merciful or when otherwise necessary.

I havent hunted in almost 7 years now. Not even with gun. I had only hunted that which I was going to eat for decades. No trophy taking for me as my hunting was for the joy of it, being out in the woods and of course the harvesting of game. My Indian blood demands that I eat the game that I kill. Now that my son's health has improved greatly perhaps I will bowhunt this coming deer season. I do not release anything because I'm there to harvest and if blessed with a kill I eat the harvest or else give it to others that will do the same. -Tyr

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

I think I would like the target shooting in archery best. Not so much the bow fishing though. I like to fish...but if I catch something I prefer to release it after rather than kill it. Doubt I would be a good hunter either for the same reason. I'd rather just observe nature I think.

Target shooting is great. I've been target shooting only for over 6 years now. Bow fishing is great fun and if one is careful to shoot the right fish the eating is great too! Although it was fun to try to get the huge gars too, that feed on the game fish. Some people even eat gar but I never did. I always took them to a friend of mine that would eat them. For me killing game to eat is as natural as breathing. It is man's heritage and it soothes the soul to go back to the primitive state of being where harvesting game was how we survived. That has also been a part of nature as long as man has been around! No different that the big predators (lion, tiger, bear, wolf, etc.) that kill to eat and to survive. Harvest only what you will eat and you are just a part of nature IMHO. My Indian grandfather taught me that and I've never forgotten it. -Tyr

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

My friend just called about doing some target shooting this coming weekend. He shoots a longbow , a bamboo take down custom made. It is lightning fast. Speed matters but he still can not outshoot me.

[red state]

I think I would like the target shooting in archery best. Not so much the bow fishing though. I like to fish...but if I catch something I prefer to release it after rather than kill it. Doubt I would be a good hunter either for the same reason. I'd rather just observe nature I think.

Well, Shadow, you could arm your arrows with dye tips. Then you could video the animal that you could have killed but chose not to. I can't believe this hasn't caught on...especially big ranches that could support ALL kinds of clients. I have a friend in church who hunts ONLY with a knife. They go head to head with wild boar! I don't know if he's stupid or simply taking the PRIMETIVE aspect of hunting to an awfully dangerous extreme!!! I don't hunt with a knife, spear or gun...and I don't go sticking my arm in a hole or old log under water either!!!! I'd rather remain the HUNTER! HA!! Good thread TYR! I hope it has a long life and is full of positive posters!

[red state]

EAT!!!

Tyr, I'm not a big fisherman (at all) but I do believe there are too many regulations out there...especially in one of the most liberal States in the South (Florida) where they have banned Red Snapper. It wasn't until recently that they have allowed it during specific seasons. I believe in keeping what I catch with a limit if the need for conservation is necessary. As for you catch and release, I agree that folks need to know how to fish BUT in many cases the fish tires, goes into shock and either dies or is an easy target for other fish. I hate seeing a nice Red Snapper caught and then released cuz I know the chances of that fish NOT MAKING it is extremely high. Just saying.

Now, back on topic, I lie all kids of archery...even bow hunting for pesky carp and alligator gar. They don't "EAT" but those rascals sure put up a great fight. If I stock my lake (that I've placed Florida Bass in) I always put in hybrid carp...they can't breed and they are very good for your lake so don't shoot!!! HA! As for harvesting game for the table....I'm all for it (whether you use a cross bow, compound or longbow/recurve). I shoot them all and I also prefer to tag that exceptionally antlered buck over a doe. They eat just a good (usually) and I like looking at the "memory" on my wall for years and years. Working on a new drop-down/man cave / billiard room now for all my "memories". HA!!!

OK...back to your regular scheduled broadcast!

PS: By the way, my son has won several archery tournaments and has been shooting since he was 3!!! I'm sure he would have made an Olympic team if he had been in the right location....just not much in the way of archery much where I live and he's got so much going on with baseball and his first year in college coming up. Sadly, I may need to put his PSE Millinium (electric blue) tournament bow. NO! I'll keep it and hang it amongst the other "memories"...he took two bob cats with that bow last year.

[red state]

My friend just called about doing some target shooting this coming weekend. He shoots a longbow , a bamboo take down custom made. It is lightning fast. Speed matters but he still can not outshoot me.

Put your money where your mouth is...
I know it will probably never happen but I'd like the opportunity to be your younger brother and give your older brother something to stay in the room over. HA! Seriously, you would probably beat me in EVERY way and with ANY weapon but I must warn you that I've shot most everything and from every KraZy positions possible....it really gnaws at my son (who is really a better shot) but can not beat the 'old man' (IF there is a distance limit). I don't/can't shoot long distance any more because of my shoulder and eyes. I started a boy shooting those little toy bows at paper grocery bags. We'd put old brown Big Star bags over two stick that were stuck in the ground and shoot up to 60 paces (we were under 10 or 12 years of age). I later shot at the local archery club and it wasn't unusual to shoot 90 yards. I always shot a compound in my teen and adult life but most of that was shot with very little let-off and without sites. This is very much like shooting a recurve and it makes for great bow fishing. These new bows that practically draw and shoot for you are not really the best pick when bow shooting or shooting a moving target that requires a quick response and release. If I hunted big game such as grizz, tiger or lion...I'd rather have a more primitive weapon (if the hunt is on fair terms and the animal isn't tamed down with feeding and constant supervision). A simply weapon will keep you alive whereas a complicated weapon will get you killed. I have all kinds of guns but I only take a revolver out to town and it has an empty chamber. But back to archery....I hope like the dickens that the USA makes us proud in ALL events (but especially in ARCHERY). I sure wish we had MMA...we'd probably kick @$$ in that field like we usually do in Basketball. Tyr, my 'challenge' was in good humor....although I would appreciate the opportunity (although I am now shooting very little). Haven't picked my bow up since the last time I talked to you....that's too long! Bow season is just around the corner now!

[Tyr-Ziu Saxnot]

Put your money where your mouth is...
I know it will probably never happen but I'd like the opportunity to be your younger brother and give your older brother something to stay in the room over. HA! Seriously, you would probably beat me in EVERY way and with ANY weapon but I must warn you that I've shot most everything and from every KraZy positions possible....it really gnaws at my son (who is really a better shot) but can not beat the 'old man' (IF there is a distance limit). I don't/can't shoot long distance any more because of my shoulder and eyes. I started a boy shooting those little toy bows at paper grocery bags. We'd put old brown Big Star bags over two stick that were stuck in the ground and shoot up to 60 paces (we were under 10 or 12 years of age). I later shot at the local archery club and it wasn't unusual to shoot 90 yards. I always shot a compound in my teen and adult life but most of that was shot with very little let-off and without sites. This is very much like shooting a recurve and it makes for great bow fishing. These new bows that practically draw and shoot for you are not really the best pick when bow shooting or shooting a moving target that requires a quick response and release. If I hunted big game such as grizz, tiger or lion...I'd rather have a more primitive weapon (if the hunt is on fair terms and the animal isn't tamed down with feeding and constant supervision). A simply weapon will keep you alive whereas a complicated weapon will get you killed. I have all kinds of guns but I only take a revolver out to town and it has an empty chamber. But back to archery....I hope like the dickens that the USA makes us proud in ALL events (but especially in ARCHERY). I sure wish we had MMA...we'd probably kick @$$ in that field like we usually do in Basketball. Tyr, my 'challenge' was in good humor....although I would appreciate the opportunity (although I am now shooting very little). Haven't picked my bow up since the last time I talked to you....that's too long! Bow season is just around the corner now!

HAHA, You would likely beat me if I shot my very heavy Tom Cole custom longbow. That 86 pound monster I loved but can no longer shoot accurately enough with because I find it about ten pounds too heavy! But I simply love it for its beauty and smooth shooting, takes a real hoss to shot it well! Since my heart attack 15 months go I can only shoot a few rounds with it before it exhausts my muscles and the accuracy goes out the window. If we get the chance to shoot I'd probaly shoot my 65 pound custom Lofton. It shoots fast and smooth too! Of course I knew your challenge was in good humor my friend. Man, sure wish my brother's bamboo takedown wasnt a righthanded bow. Being a lefty I have had to pass up dozen of deals on fantastic custom made longbows and recurves! Had a chance to buy a Blackwidow recurve early last year for $400.00 cash but it was a righty, I couldnt shoot it!! Probably should have bought it for resale and made about 5 or 6 hundred dollar profit on it. Was too busy and that was about a week or two before I had my heart attack. Still I could shoot my Bandito recurve if we shot short or intermediate range only. I think the poundage is a bit too light for any really long distance shooting.
Bro' you better stretch those shooting muscles. I shot in my backyard about half an hour last weekend, using a light Ben Pearson longbow. Didnt want to injure that shoulder that gave me such problems last year! I'm already getting myself shot in! -Tyr