Kyudo

=Kyudo (弓道)= toc

= = //Kyudo// is a Japanese archery that developed in both religious and cultural ways. It slightly differs from Western archery, from the equipments that are used to the manners and such. It requires a little technique and huge amount of practice. It is greatly favored among many Japanese as well as other nationals, because it helps you to concentrate on your //ki//, or the mind, while improving on your techniques. The gender and age are not the most important components in the //kyudo//, which is also the reason it is favored by many. Its objective, back in the ancient time, was the means of weaponary in the likes of war, but in modern times, it is considered one of Japanese traditional sports. media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=japan&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.681389,93.076172&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Japan&z=5&ll=36.204824,138.252924&output=embed" width="339" height="280" align="center"

History
//Kyudo// has been involved in the Japanese history for quite a long time. It was created back in the //Genshijidai// (原始時代), the primitive era, where it began to be developed by the hunters. At that time, the archers used shorter bows compared to the bows that are used today, which could as well be 2 meters high, way above people's height. When the warriors came from Mongol, the Japanese adopted some of their archery techniques to improve their skills. Because of the Chinese influence, //kyudo// began to be used in religious purposes, such as in Buddhism ceremony in temples called //jinjas// (神社). Later on, //samurais// (侍) also developed //kyudo// when they began to use it in the battlefields. In order to maintain their purpose of killing from a distance, they had to add few changes to the way of //kyudo// that already existed. These changes included adjusting the length of the bows according to the height of the horse of which they mounted, changing the weight of both bows and arrows so that they are light enough to carry, and to develop new armors that suited the new forms of //kyudo//. In //Edo// era, //kyudo// was less used in the battlefields due to the development of other weapons such as guns that were introduced by Portuguese. However, it was then developed culture wise. //Tóshiya// (通し矢) or //dosya// (堂射) was commonly favored by majority of Japanese in //Edo// era, as a means of entertainment. //Tóshiya// and dosya are the kinds of //kyudo// competition that went on for the whole day. In //tóshiya//, an archer is to shoot arrows from the south end of the room to the north end of the room until his time (24 hours) is up and the archers compete with the number of arrows that crossed the room from the south end to the north. The record has been set in 1686 by a samurai named //Daihachiró Wasa// (和佐大八郎), who got 8133 shots out of 13053 of his arrows to cross the room. This record has not been defeated since then. In 1862, the emperor banned the //kyudo// and all other //bujutsu// (any form of martial arts) from all the educational purposes, putting a stop to the Japanese traditional //bujutsu// educational system. In 1951, after the World War II, the ban on all the //bujutsu// as school subject has been lifted, allowing modern martial artists to rebuild the Japanese traditions again. [|Japan National Kyudo Association] (全日本弓道連盟) has been founded in 1947 by //Yósaburo Uno// (宇野要三郎) in order to set official rules of //kyudo// which differed from the region to region before the JNKA was founded. It sets the rules for the manner, distance and eight steps of //kyudo//. media type="youtube" key="OA2EnemzBpk" height="344" width="425" align="center"

Bows and Arrows
Longer bows are used in //kyudo// when compared to the archery developed in other cultures. The length of the bows may differ, but 221 centimeters bows are used most commonly throughout Japan today.The archer is to hold the bow where it is marked 1/3 of the whole length, as it is shown in the picture below. Most of the bows seen today are made of plastics, rather than of the stilts and trees that were common style back in the 1700's. The shafts are mostly made of either stilts or duralumin, while the arrowheads often consists of an iron. The fletching (where the archer holds the arrow) can only be made of the bird feathers, unless the arrows are for the practice use. In any //kyudo// competition, the archers are often provided with same kinds of arrows as other archers while they are allowed to use their own bows.

Eight Steps of Kyudo
Eight steps of //kyudo// consists of basic rules of //kyudo// that are set by the Japan National Kyudo Association. However, those pillars are not specific and the details differ from the //ryuha// (kind of group) to another. In any official competition, all the archers are to follow the steps strictly. 1. **Ashibumi** (足踏み): A distance and position of archer's feet when he sets himself ready for the shooting of an arrow. 2. **Doudsukuri** (胴造り): An action in which an archer stills his body on his feet before the drawing of an arrow. 3. **Yugamae** (弓構え): An action of drawing the arrow, before raising both arms. 4. **Uchiokoshi** (打起し): An action of raising the both arms along with the bow and the arrows. 5. **Hikiwake** (引分け): An action of drawing the string firmly after raising the arms. 6. **Kai** (会): A position an archer should be in after the first five steps, aiming at the target. 7. **Hanare** (離れ): An action of releasing the arrow towards the target. 8. **Zanshin** (残心/残身): A position an archer is in after he released the arrow.

Kyudo Survey
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Martial Arts In CAC WWW 2010
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Recommended Websites About Kyudo
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