Olympic and indigenous archers trade bow and arrow

Oct 29, 2015 Brazilian Olympic archer Marcus Vinicius D’Almeida recently dropped his professional Hoyt Carbon Quattro for a wooden bow and arrow at the Indigenous World Games.

The 17-years-old Brazilian archer will be shooting for gold when his nation hosts the Olympic Games next year. As the pressure mounts, he delved into his country’s rich indigenous culture for inspiration.

According to the young Olympian, it was a chance for him to learn more about the roots of the sport.

“I have always loved learning about new cultures, and indigenous culture fascinates me. I think it is important; we have a lot to learn from indigenous people. My sport comes from times of war, not just from indigenous people. So there is a huge possibility of exchange between the professional discipline, “archery”, and “bow and arrow”, the indigenous version,”

The exchange took place in Palmas, at the first ever Indigenous World Games. Already the youngest person ever to qualify for the competition, D’Almeida stunned onlookers by taking two-time champion Brady Ellison to a shootout, where he lost by one arrow.

Speaking on his preparation for the forthcoming games, D’Almeida said:

“It is a sport based on repetition, and if you are repeating 99 percent, then you are not at 100 percent. I think that is what fascinated me, I have to be dedicated to always be at 100 percent, I can’t arrive at training and sit down, no, I have to repeat, repeat, repeat. It has to be as natural as walking,”

D’Almeida wasn’t the only one testing out new hardware, as Maoris from New Zealand, native Mongolians and Mexicans mixed and shared techniques.