Watch: Changing lives one arrow at a time

• Largest archery store in B.C. is in Kelowna
• Life lessons are learned via the sport

A bow and arrow were once just a weapon of war.

But for Ken Garwasiuk, it has evolved well beyond that.

That’s why, if you ask him, archery can change lives one arrow at a time.

“You take a bow in your hand and it’s just so calming and relaxing,” he told Kelowna10. “I go in the range whenever I can and you just block out your bills, your troubles, anything that maybe bothers you.”

Garwasiuk is an avid outdoorsman and has shot bows for over 40 years.

As archery requires complete focus once the string is pulled, he said, it can almost be meditative.

For this reason, he’s used the sport and his business, Hardcore Archery, to assist veterans. Because of the focus and calming effect, Garwasiuk said it’s a valuable resource to an individual suffering with PTSD.

No one knows this more acutely than Mike Bourgeois.

The veteran was trained by a pair of Hardcore Archery shooters and has competed on the world stage and overcome various injuries. Bourgeois lives with a severe spinal injury, among other ailments.

“[Archery] gave me something that I could just throw 100 per cent of my focus into and the little things don’t matter as much,” Bourgeois previously told Kelowna10.

“When you’re sitting with nothing to work towards, every minor nuisance is chaos.”

The staff assisted him when he broke his shoulder ahead of the Invictus Games and were among the first to congratulate him on performing the best of any Canadian there.

The store has also had an impact on individuals with autism, Garwasiuk explained, recounting the story of one young man, who he said gained confidence to look people in the eye.

Garwasiuk not only instructs archery, but he also certifies schools and makes sure strict safety protocols are followed to the letter.

“I instruct my instructors that we have such a perfect record since 2001, you don’t want to be the teacher to spoil that perfect record,” he said. “When you have that above your head, I think you as a teacher will do a good job.”

Nine schools in the region are part of a partnership with the National Archery in the Schools program, which teaches the sport to over four million children, annually. Garwasiuk said an independent investigation found archery is as safe as ping pong in school.

Garwasiuk not only treats archery as an engaging individual sport but as way to teach meaningful life lessons to youth.

He likes to play a game that involves having just one balloon on a target, and kids only have one opportunity to hit it.

“In life, make the most of your opportunities just like archery,” he said. “Make the most of every arrow in your quiver.”