Globe-trotting archer sets the stage ablaze, shooting flaming arrows with her feet
- 8 months ago
Meet the woman who is travelling the world performing as an archer - shooting a flaming bow and arrow with her FEET.
Orissa Kelly, 28, began learning gymnastics at the age of three - advancing to performing circus acts and stunts in her teenage years.
She honed her skills on aerial hoops hanging from ceilings, but still wanted to push herself further.
So she kept trying new things - until she discovered a bow and arrow.
Orissa, from Watford, Herts., said: "Out of every weapon I’ve ever worked with, archery bows just felt the coolest.
"At one point I even tried doing a handstand with a sword! It definitely wasn’t the best idea!"
"I wanted to be so different that no one else could even compare to me - so I came up with an act that no one else was doing.
"When I left school, I knew I wanted to perform and I gave it my all, I never got a second job or had a plan B.
"I’ve never had any other job than being a performer.
"I’ve never handed in a CV, never attended an interview and only found out what HR was a few years ago.
“I’ve performed on every continent in the world and have seen some amazing places and also a lot of really crazy places too.
“I get to see these extravagant lives and stay in cool villas in the Maldives but then I get to come home back to my loving family, so it’s the best of both worlds."
Orissa visited a local hunting shop in February 2015 and purchased a bow and arrow, with the motive of creating an act that no one else had done before.
She said: "I loved action films, and was always obsessed with Mulan or Kill Bill.
"I remember watching them and thinking, what if these cool stunts were actually real, and I think this is where I really got the inspiration from."
Alongside a bow, she also tried wielding various other weapons including swords, but found archery to be her calling.
She started practicing foot archery for six hours a day for six months in an open cricket field - braving all types of weather.
She said: "I learnt to shoot with my feet before I could shoot with my hands.
"I still consider myself more accurate with my feet.
Orissa said her training was sometimes "excruciating."
She said: "My most common injury was from the bow string on my calf, the string would repeatedly hit it, causing it to bruise, swell, and bleed.
"I would also get cuts and bruises in between my toes from gripping the bow with my feet.
"The worst pain was actually from the cramps in my feet through - this is something I still get if I take some time off of foot archery. It’s my body’s way of telling me I’m not training enough."
And she added: “Sometimes my toes would go numb so I would go back to my car and sit in front of the heater for 10 minutes before going back out again."
But her persistence paid off with Orissa going on to compete on Britain’s Got Talent in 2016 - where she was described as “brilliant” by judge Alesha Dixon.
Orissa Kelly, 28, began learning gymnastics at the age of three - advancing to performing circus acts and stunts in her teenage years.
She honed her skills on aerial hoops hanging from ceilings, but still wanted to push herself further.
So she kept trying new things - until she discovered a bow and arrow.
Orissa, from Watford, Herts., said: "Out of every weapon I’ve ever worked with, archery bows just felt the coolest.
"At one point I even tried doing a handstand with a sword! It definitely wasn’t the best idea!"
"I wanted to be so different that no one else could even compare to me - so I came up with an act that no one else was doing.
"When I left school, I knew I wanted to perform and I gave it my all, I never got a second job or had a plan B.
"I’ve never had any other job than being a performer.
"I’ve never handed in a CV, never attended an interview and only found out what HR was a few years ago.
“I’ve performed on every continent in the world and have seen some amazing places and also a lot of really crazy places too.
“I get to see these extravagant lives and stay in cool villas in the Maldives but then I get to come home back to my loving family, so it’s the best of both worlds."
Orissa visited a local hunting shop in February 2015 and purchased a bow and arrow, with the motive of creating an act that no one else had done before.
She said: "I loved action films, and was always obsessed with Mulan or Kill Bill.
"I remember watching them and thinking, what if these cool stunts were actually real, and I think this is where I really got the inspiration from."
Alongside a bow, she also tried wielding various other weapons including swords, but found archery to be her calling.
She started practicing foot archery for six hours a day for six months in an open cricket field - braving all types of weather.
She said: "I learnt to shoot with my feet before I could shoot with my hands.
"I still consider myself more accurate with my feet.
Orissa said her training was sometimes "excruciating."
She said: "My most common injury was from the bow string on my calf, the string would repeatedly hit it, causing it to bruise, swell, and bleed.
"I would also get cuts and bruises in between my toes from gripping the bow with my feet.
"The worst pain was actually from the cramps in my feet through - this is something I still get if I take some time off of foot archery. It’s my body’s way of telling me I’m not training enough."
And she added: “Sometimes my toes would go numb so I would go back to my car and sit in front of the heater for 10 minutes before going back out again."
But her persistence paid off with Orissa going on to compete on Britain’s Got Talent in 2016 - where she was described as “brilliant” by judge Alesha Dixon.