I love practicing Japanese martial arts. My oldest love is shotokan karate. I began my shotokan voyage in 1977 in Madison, Wisconsin. At fifth dan, I feel like I'm just beginning to understand kihon.
Next came batto-do. Though I dabbled in kobudo, mastering, and understanding all those weapons seemed overwhelming. Batto-do, the art of the drawn sword, seemed like the right path for me, and I started that journey in 2017 in Tucson, Arizona.
I also took a few kyudo lessons when we lived in Tucson, Arizona. Like other Japanese arts, it is stylized and formal. I did archery for years with a 70 lb pull English longbow. Instinctive shooting means you pull back the arrow and let it fly immediately. No aiming, no holding, no exhalation, just let it go.
Kyudo has hassetsu, the eight individual stages of drawing and shooting an arrow (ya) with a yumi bow.
I've never internalized the zen philosophy that permeates many Japanese martial arts. The Roman Catholic faith is so full of meaning and superior in every way to zen emptiness, if you'll permit a little Catholic chauvinism. While I enjoy reading Funikoshi's 20 Precepts and Karate-Do My Way of Life, the Hagakuri, Musashi's Book of Five Rings, and the Bubishi, I choose not to internalize or adapt zen's influence.
In kyudo, zen insists that the objective is to replace the desire to hit the target by not thinking about hitting the target. What does that even mean? The point of shooting an arrow is to put it right where you want it to go. In most cases, in a bull's eye or equivalent. Of course the object of kyudo is to hit that target straight on. Why else pull back an arrow?
Over the next few posts, I plan to replace zen with Catholic insights, images, and comparisons as I attempt to teach myself the hassetsu of kyudo. Yes, a teacher is necessary to learn such a complex and challenging martial art, but there are none available to me right now. Besides, I am myself a teacher.
Step One: Ashibumi (stance, foot position). Stand perpendicular to the target with toes in a line pointed to the middle of the target. Feet should be like in shiku dachi with about a 60 degree angle pointing out, spaced about half the archer's own height, or the length of one arrow. In my case, this would be about 105 cm. In other words, get grounded well so your base supports what the arms, legs, hands, back, head, eyes, lungs, heart, and chest are about to do. This is like grounding your faith in Scripture, especially the Gospels. Jesus is not being obscure in the New Testament. He's laying it all out. Love God, love your neighbor as yourself, take up your cross, follow Him. Make a good, strong stance. Get ready.
