Whether you admire his skills, or think he’s dead wrong about literally everything that comes out of his mouth, you have to love Danish archer, Lars Andersen. Andersen’s wowed the internet with trick shots for years, and his creativity with a bow seems unparalleled. Now, the archer has done something that is, of course, both stunning, and controversial: pulled off—what he says—is the “most difficult trick shot ever.”
Andersen recently posted the video of the impossible shot to his YouTube channel. For those unfamiliar, the archer has been posting popular videos of spectacular bow shots for a decade, and they often involve him flying through the air, spinning, and even hanging from stuff. (His “new level of archery” video, which he posted in 2014, is now up to 57 million views.)
Andersen, who attempted the shot in commemoration of hitting 500,000 subscribers, shows that the shot consists of five steps: jumping up in the air; shooting in a “fast bow” motion; shooting through a keyhole; cutting a string with the arrow; and, finally, doing it all while wearing a blindfold.
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According to Andersen, it took under three hours to nail the shot—which actually sounds like no time at all. It’s hard to imagine how hard this kind of shot is to execute, but the combination of the blindfold and keyhole alone makes it seem like this shot would take weeks to accomplish.
As for proof this is indeed the most difficult archery trick shot ever? That comes down to Dr. Murat Özveri, who Andersen bills as being a “recognized expert” in historical archery. A cursory glance shows Özveri is an archery expert, and also knows how to work a bow like an elf. Özveri also says, categorically, that he thinks Andersen’s assessment of this shot is correct.
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Regardless of whether or not this is the most difficult trick shot ever, it’s good to see Andersen doing what he does best: creating the kind of controversy that’s actually fun. Now if he could challenge other extraordinary archers to come up with trick shots too, he’d really shake things up. And probably earn another half-million subscribers.
Feature image: larsandersen23