Traditional archers warming up for the competition recently.
KOTA KINABALU: Traditional archery is becoming more popular amongst youths in Sabah.
Compared to modern archery, the traditional ones involve simpler and easier-to-handle archery tools, cheaper materials, more flexible and easier to learn, said the president of the Kota Kinabalu Traditional Archery Association Md Suhaimi Sapiee.
“In terms of discipline, traditional archery is far more flexible because we can fire the arrows while standing, sitting, backwards and also on horseback riding,” he said.
The 45-year-old who only started getting active in this sport in 2016 said the act of just shooting from the traditional bow and arrow was somewhat more "stylish" and "cool".
“So these are some factors why we see traditional archery getting more traction in Sabah,” said Suhaimi, who also leads the Kota Kinabalu Kesatria Archery Club (Kelab Memanah Kesatria Kota Kinabalu).
Material-wise, he said it was easier and cheaper to find and produce locally made bows and arrows such as epoxy fibreglass in the various districts in Sabah, including from Keningau, Papar, Kota Belud, Sipitang, Pitas, Tawau and Semporna.
He said this after a state-level traditional archery competition at the Likas Archery Field on Jan 21 and 22.
The competition saw a total of 326 contestants from a total of 41 traditional archery clubs statewide taking part, where some 112 were women.
“This competition is for us to select a total of 20 men and 15 women to compete in the national level traditional archery competition later this year,” said Suhaimi.
He said the competition format was based on the national traditional archery league involving distance and descending shooting.
He said for men, the distances in the contest were 60m, 50m, 40m and 30m whereas, for women, it is 50m, 40m, 30m and 20m.
“The level of physical and mental stamina of a contestant as well as their accuracy and speed when shooting their arrows are all taken into account in the marking,” Suhaimi said.
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) corporate communication centre director Dr Jakaria Dasan who officiated at the event said traditional archery has the potential to grow and become more popular among the people, although it is still considered a new form of sport in Sabah.
