Rumble in Rembau

Taking a long distance shot at the last station at the Second Malaysian 3D shoot in Rembau, Negeri Sembilan...

The Legendary Tuan Bahar!

Mawaddah Archery is synonymous to 3D archery in Peninsular Malaysia. Why? Because Tuan Bahar and his team called Gabungan Pemanah Underground are responsible for the best 3D shoot money can buy. 
I took part at their first game in Seremban last year and vowed to return again because I had a great time.
This year, Tuan Bahar had raised the bar by investing heavily in procuring SRT targets from Italy through Excella Pro Archery shop in Alor Gajah, Malacca.
For starters, 3D targets are not cheap. Many pro shops in the Klang Valley took advantage of this by selling crappy products at cut-throat prices. This is not the case by Excella Archery which was created by archers for archers.
Okay, done with the plug. Moving on, our team had registered for the game in Kampung Ulu Kendong near the Malacca border. As usual, when we need to travel, we set off early.

Setting up

The crowd...

Jeb, cheerful as usual...

Positive response...

When we arrived near the 3D tournament course, the crowd was steadily building up. People from all over the country have convened to showcase their talent with their bows. This time round, Tuan Bahar had included the compound bow class, attracting a fair bit of people. Some, who came all the way from Kuantan, Pahang.
There, I met many old friends -- especially a group from the Meraga Sukma archery club in Terengganu. This gave me a chance to catch up with them and ask about up and coming archery events in that state.
When the time came, Tuan Bahar gave a briefing and long before we knew it, we were on our way to our respective zones. There were three courses divided for the 250-odd archers taking part.
My flight had 10 people, mostly traditional archers. There were only four barebow archers in our flight.
The first station was a 20-meter target on low elevation. I took three shots and landed only one. 
Then, we moved on to a more challenging station. On an animal hide. There was a pig placed downrange about 35-meters away. My goal was to land all my arrows without missing the target...

Shooting from a platform to a low elevation target

Jeb taking aim...

The flight leader taking scores...

For those who missed, they have a chance of "redeeming" points with smaller targets placed at a shorter distance. Most who thought this was easy missed. 
One of the toughest target was a jackal placed on a ledge. The animal's color blended with its surroundings. This made it difficult for archers to land their arrows on the scoring rings.
We covered as many as two zones before breaking for lunch.

Taking a shot at the jackal

Helping a fellow archer spot

The event was held on a hillside resort owned by an ex-sailor. It's surrounding hills proved to be pretty tough for those who are not in a good physical shape.
If you lug your arrows on your waist, by the end of the day, your entire lower body will be sore.
I used my proven Rancho Safari Cat Quiver. The load bearing capabilities reduces fatigue and does not restrict movement, especially when you have to go down to a rut to retrieve arrows.
But all this has taken a toll on our buddy Jeb. He was flat out tired. Coach Lau, my team mate and I continued to the last station and finished the course.

Two different shooting styles

Taking scores

Coach Lau at work...

Piglets at the last zone

Conclusion: Great fun!

After sending three arrows on a resting bear while standing on a rock, we made our way to the car to pack up.
I took out a bottle of beer, which was already getting warm and handed it to Jeb. Even Coach Lau had a few sips of the brew. It has been a long day and as soon as the event had ended, we made our way to the highway and headed straight back to Subang Jaya. I wished I could have a nice dinner with the gang in Tampin, but I had a family event to attend to.
The top barebow archer in the lot was from the Meraga Sukma club. Its no surprise since he won the Ompa Field Archery challenge in Benton about two months earlier. I was told that the Terengganu club will be hosting similar events in the months following Hari Raya Aidil Fitri. I can certainly look forward to that.
As for the second Malaysian 3D shoot, I had fun. It was a quality game, but the organizers were apologetic over the difficulty of the course due to the terrain it was in. As long as you are in a good shape, hauling ass and sending arrows downrange in the jungle should not be a big issue...
As I am speaking, I do look forward to another 3D shoot near Alor Gajah in Malacca this middle of June!