The American Sport Blowgun Association
by Bruce Bell, ASBA Founder
The American Sport Blowgun Association was the first competition blowgun organization in the United States that was affiliated with the then-named International Sport Blowgun Association (now known as the International Fukiyado Association or IFA). The IFA is based in Japan. The ASBA was founded by George Fisher in the late '90's and continued until approximately 2001. Due to various issues, Mr. Fisher disbanded the organization. The membership records were not retained.
In 2003, I (Bruce Bell) participated in the creation of another United States-based blowgun organization, the National Sport Blowgun Association. The genesis of that organization was a passing conversation that I can hardly recall in which I told a former co-worker, Dave Sustak, about my blowgun 'collection'. Dave developed a serious interest from there, making contacts around the world and doing loads of research on blowguns. He approached me in late August of 2003 with his idea to partner together to create the NSBA.
Dave wrote vast amounts of content about blowgun history, blowgun shooting methods, organizational rules and much more, then did the HTML coding to get the website up and running. I developed the various graphics for the website and created the logos, targets and score sheets over time for the NSBA and IFA as well as for other U.S. affiliates and international organizations. We discussed rules and policies and it all came together in September 2003. The website for the NSBA went live on 9/15/03.
As time went on, it was clear that Dave and I had developed a different focus and philosophy on the sport and how the organization should operate. The management conflict between us led me (in August of 2004) to contact the original ASBA founder (George Fisher) for permission to use the ASBA name to start my own organization, which he granted. Some two years after, I decided to branch out on my own and re-form the American Sport Blowgun Association (ASBA). Shortly after my initial announcement about restarting the ASBA (7/14/06), Dave announced that he would disband the NSBA (7/18/06).
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Purpose
Like the IFA and the former NSBA, the ASBA was formed to promote Sport Blowgun competition, raise awareness, and encourage the safe use of blowguns where it is legal to own and operate them**. The ASBA website is not intended as a comprehensive blowgun reference site. It is merely a website about the ASBA and blowgun competition in the United States and abroad.
** - Note that at the time of this writing, it is legal to own and use blowguns in 48 states, California and Massachusetts being the only exceptions, along with Washington D.C. Go to ASBA website for more info. |
World Distance Record Set with a Blowgun
Purchased from Stun-ning Sales
Bruce Bell shot at a standard long-distance 24 cm diameter target, and hit one out of three shots at 36 Meters. This was witnessed by Charles Brighthaupt and David Sustak. Bruce used an "Amazon" Tuf-Ram 4 ft. long .40 caliber blowgun, using a standard .40 caliber wire Target Dart, which he purchased from Stun-ning Sales. This now sets a new world distance record for the sport of blowgun target shooting. (Note: this record was surpassed in the summer of 2006)
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