FAIRFIELD —
These days you can find just about anything on Google. There is, however, one thing you can’t find: How to shoot a bow and arrow with no arms. But in the end it didn’t matter; Matt Stutzman learned how to shoot anyway.
Stutzman, who was born without arms, has become a world class performer in the sport of archery. He is a better shot with his right foot than most people are with either of their arms.
The man known as “The Armless Archer” is so talented that he will represent Team USA at the London Paralympics in archery competition. The paralympics runs from Aug. 29 to Sept. 9 and the archery competition begins Aug. 30.
Aside from qualifying for Para United States Archery team, Stutzman also has the world record for most accurate shot ever in his sport — He managed to hit a target from a jaw-dropping 230 yards away; the equivalent of two football fields.
Saturday Stutzman demonstrated his other-worldly skills and answered questions in the local Hy-Vee parking lot in Fairfield.
He shot — with the bow and arrow he will be using in London — big balloons, tiny balloons and multiple balloons at the same time during his demonstration. Stutzman told the crowd he was the only person in the world classified to shoot a bow and arrow without arms.
At the paralympics, Stutzman will shoot 72 arrows 77 yards.
“The last time I shot that target I missed the world record by one point,” he said.
Despite his immense skill, the Fairfield resident is as down to earth as they come with a great sense of humor to boot.
He gave a humorous account of an experience he had with a police officer who, not knowing Stutzman’s situation, said “Sir, put your hands where I can see them.”
“I played soccer and got called for hands one time,” the man known as The Armless Archer joked at one point.
Stutzman’s parents Leon and Jean, as well as his sister and his wife’s parents were all on hand during the demonstration.
“This kid was motivated from the day he came into the home,” Leon Stutzman told the crowd.
Stutzman’s biological parents put him up for adoption when he was four months old. He was adopted by the Stutzman family and brought to their home in Kalona in 1983 when he was 13 months old, according to his official website. Stutzman credits his parents with teaching him he could do anything he set his mind to.
“I was born without arms but was blessed to have been raised by two incredible (and incredibly patient) parents who taught me long ago that impossible is a state of mind ... and not one that I should choose to embrace,” Stutzman wrote on his website.
Even if you don’t take his lack of arms into account, Stutzman would still be an enigma. Though he’s only practiced archery competitively for 2 1/2 years, Stutzman is more accurate than most people who have been involved in the sport for more than a decade.
“I feel I’m just blessed with a gift to shoot,” he said.
The “Armless Archer” said he practices two to three hours a day plus two hours of mental practice. When he first took up the sport, Stutzman said he practiced eight hours a day.
After he finished his demonstration, Stutzman signed autographs and engaged in conversations with people both young and old.
While he aspires to win the gold, Stutzman said representing Fairfield, the state of Iowa and the United States proudly transcends this goal in importance.
Sports
August 19, 2012
Stutzman, ‘The Armless Archer,’ demonstrates skill
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