Posted on 10/27/2011 6:53:53 PM PDT by DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis
If you've ever wondered what determination looks like, take a good long stare at Matt Stutzman.
You wouldn't be the first.
Stutzman was born without arms, but he compensates with creativity and the will to succeed.
"Even at a young age, I remember always trying to do stuff and I'd ask for help with my parents and my parents would always tell me, in a nice way, 'Try to figure it out first before we help you,'" he says.
He turned his determination into success on the archery range.
Two years ago we figured out his unique release system.
Stutzman adjusts the bow with this toes, holds it with his right foot, and brings up the arrow with his left.
"My feet are my hands, so I just and hold it the same way they would with their hands," he explains.
Using a release aid, he hooks the string to his shoulder before taking aim and letting go.
He's vying for a spot on the 2012 US Paralympic Team.
In September Stutzman hit a shot from more than two football fields away.
230 yards to be exact, breaking a Guinness World Record for the longest shot on target.
It was 14 yards better than the old one set by a man who had both arms.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Very inspirational—and he seems to have a good sense of humor, too. I liked the way his parents raised him.
He’s sitting down. that’s cheating. seriously. You cant hold your body as steady standing up as you can sitting down.
>>> Armless archer setting world records
Impressive. He deserves to take a bow.
” You cant hold your body as steady standing up as you can sitting down.”
And you propose...what? Should he stand on his head?
He should take a bow with big red bow in his hair and bough around his neck while on the bow of a ship.
stand on one foot maybe? I really don’t know. I’m just saying he has an unfair advantage when seated.
I gotta get my eyes checked. I thought the headline said aimless archer.
You have a point there, although I am not sure that the word “unfair” applies. Maybe a competition could be held where all of the archers are wearing straight-jackets and sitting down.
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