When Kevin Costner split an arrow in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, cynics everywhere rolled their eyes. But now a Danish archer has matched that feat and much more besides — even splitting an arrow fired directly at him at high velocity.
Lars Andersen has spent a decade honing his archery skills to levels seen only on medieval battlefields, using ancient texts and tapestries for guidance. This video shows the 50-year-old firing at moving targets, from moving targets, using his feet, spearing soft-drink cans, hitting the ring-pulls from soft-drink cans, and much more besides. He can even catch an arrow fired at him and shoot it back in one swift movement.
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To capture his grand finale — splitting a moving arrow — took years of preparation and 14 takes. The trick, he says, is to hit the target arrow just behind the head so that the shafts fluctuate against each other, splitting the bamboo (while not flinching at the thought of impending death, of course).
“The arrow fired at me was not fired with a very powerful bow, though it was definitely dangerous enough,” says Lars in a statement. “I hope to try it again using a proper high-speed camera.”
Give it your best shot, Lars!
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