Kyudo Notebook: Teaching

So for reasons that are surprisingly complicated, I’ve been teaching lately, and it’s been both challenging and fun. The most challenging thing is having to communicate individually, and in words, things that I normally do without verbal thinking, and as part of a larger whole. Ask me a question about this or that part of the hassetsu, and quite often I have to do it with my body to “discover” the answer, rather than “retrieving” the answer from my mind as information. So, very interesting.

I’ve been trying to follow the same general sequence that my own teachers did, as best I can remember:

• Watch people practice, point things out, answer questions
• Practice the hassetsu without bow or arrow
• Practice the hassetsu with just a bow (no release)
• Practice the hassetsu with a gomu-yumi (release, zanshin)
• Practice the hassetsu with a bow and one arrow (makiwara)
• Add the second arrow
• Practice the hassetsu with a target

I think this is roughly the order in which things seem to go with the annual open class for the community. Sometimes due to time, a group doesn’t get all the way to shooting at the target, but those who want to continue will. One thing I changed from the above that seemed a little useful was to practice just a little bit with a bow and an arrow early on, so that a person gets a feel for it. Otherwise they have no idea what’s going on in yugamae, or how the bow will feel as they are going through the different movements.

Right now we’re still working with the gomu-yumi and playing the rest by ear! I hope it works out well.

Meanwhile our spring shinsa has come and gone, and soon things will start gearing up for the chuo-shinsa (for renshi) at our dojo in June. Several friends are participating in that one and I’m looking forward to (mentally) cheering them on. There’s also another regional shinsa in between where some other friends are testing. So, it’s a busy season!

And we have a total solar eclipse on Monday morning. It won’t be total here, but the path of totality does pass right over Tokyo, so it should be pretty spectacular for the people there… if the weather is good.

Kyudo Notebook: France Again!

It’s probably old news, but just for the sake of completeness, here are some of the official announcements for the events in Paris this July:

• 2012 International Kyudo Federation / European Seminar
• First Sekai Kyudo Koryu Enbu Kai
• Special Overseas Provisional Chuo Shinsa

The links are to English PDF files. More information and Japanese announcements are available in the IKYF Events page.

Kyudo Notebook: Overthinking

Yesterday we had a mini-taikai, and while I did OK I went through a strange phase where I was suddenly unsure about tenouchi. Normally it’s just automatic, and that was the problem: I started thinking about it. It’s like the story of the centipede that’s sits paralysed because it’s trying to think of which leg to move first. After a while I figured it out again, but it was a strange feeling, and it brought up something I’d been wondering about, the role of conceptual thought in shooting. Many Kyudo texts seem to echo Dogen and the Genjokoan, “To study the Way is to study the self. To study the self is to forget the self.” This sounds reasonable. It reminds me as well of learning a language. At first you have to think about grammar and word equivalents, but over time you learn to think “in” the language, which really means not to think about it at all. Ideas just come out. I expect the same is true in Kyudo, while also of course, we can still take a look at our words and shooting and fix mistakes, make improvements.

I seem to shoot best when I don’t think about it.

Kyudo Notebook: Courage

An interesting aside from my teacher today. He was talking to a bunch of us at a tutorial and mentioned that the way you progress is essentially a cycle of creation and destruction. You find a way forward, and it works, but rather than get attached to that you have to be willing to destroy it, otherwise you get stuck. He said that if you feel satisfied, then you stop moving forward, so you have to have courage, essentially (my interpretation) the courage to destroy the plateau you’ve reached in order to attain the next level.

I couldn’t help thinking that I was one of the recipients of this message. For a period of about three months I was hitting in the high 90% range, but since incorporating various changes from the international seminar and some tutorials/advice since then, that’s all evaporated. I do feel better about my shooting. Several things seem to be coming together better than before. But it’s hard not to feel a bit disappointed when the target eludes the arrows, even though these ups and downs should be familiar by now. I guess the thing is that, with each new plateau, somewhere in the back of my mind I still think/hope, “Now I have it!” But it’s just a plateau, and I guess a good teacher’s job is to push you off plateaus.

Kyudo Notebook: Shinsa Questions for 5-Dan

五段

The Kyudo Kyohon describes this level as, “The shooting form, the shooting technique, and the method of formal movement should be suitable for the level, with evidence of refinement in the shooting. In particular, progress should be shown over previous levels.” So here, in comparison to all that has come before, the judgement is more subjective, and essentially you’ve reached the 5-dan level when you shoot like someone at the 5-dan level. People testing for this likely know what that means but the questions may still be of interest to all. Some of these are a bit hard to understand because they refer to specific statements in the Kyudo Kyohon.

• 2011
  • (Trying to get these)
• 2010
  • 基本の三つの姿勢と八つの動作について列記して下さい
    List the three fundamental postures and the eight fundamental movements
  • 基本動作の留意点を八つ列記し、間について書いて下さい
    List the eight key points to pay attention to during the fundamental movements, then write about ma
  • 離れについて書いて下さい
    Explain about hanare
  • 弓道の最高目標について書いて下さい
    Describe the highest goals of Kyudo
  • 五段の審査基準を書いて下さい
    What is the judging standard for the 5-dan shinsa?
• 2009
  • 基本体形について書きなさい
    Explain what is meant by the basic body form
  • 基本動作の留意点を列記し、胴造りの重要性を書きなさい
    List the key points of attention for the fundamental movements, then write about the importance of dozukuri
  • 弓の抵抗力について書きなさい
    Describe the power of the resistance of the bow
  • 射礼拝観の意義について書きなさい
    Describe the significance of sharei haikan
    
  • 弦調べについて書きなさい
    Explain tsuru shirabe

Kyudo Notebook: Shinsa Questions for 4-Dan

四段

The Kyudo Kyohon describes this level as, “In addition to having the elements of the previous level, there should be correct breathing and the release should be sharp. Consistency should be reached in hitting the target.” That last sentence points to the rule of thumb often heard, that for 4-dan you should hit the target with both arrows, though from what I have seen it isn’t a strict a requirement. The other visible aspect of 4-dan is that it’s done wearing wafuku, kimono, so it introduces the whole matter of dealing with the left sleeve (men) or tying back both sleeves with the tasuki (women). These factors can be a bit of a distraction! The questions run deeper, too:

• 2011
  • 息合い・目づかいについて述べなさい
    Explain ikiai and mezukai.
  • 基本動作の注意点を述べなさい
    Discuss the important points of the kihon dosa.
  • 「射は正しきを己に求む」とはどういう事か述べなさい
    Explain the meaning of sha ha tadashiki wo onore ni motomu (“Proper shooting must be sought within oneself”)
    
  • 射法射技の基本について述べなさい
    What are the essentials of shooting technique?
  • 基本の姿勢と動作について述べなさい
    Explain the kihon shisei and kihon dosa.
• 2010
  • 射法射技の基本を五つ書いて下さい。
    What are the five fundamentals of shooting technique?
  • 息合いについて書いて下さい。
    Discuss ikiai, the harmony of breathing.
  • 会における伸合いについて書いて下さい。
    Discuss nobiai in kai.
  • 射即人生の意味を書いて下さい。
    Explain the expression shasoku jinsei (“Shooting is Life”)
  • 四段の審査基準を書いて下さい。
    What is the standard used to judge the 4-dan shinsa?
• 2009
  • 息合いについt書きなさい
    Discuss ikiai, the harmony of breathing.
  • 揖の心得とその動作について書きなさい
    Explain the procedures and mechanics of yū
  • 射即人生の意味を簡単に書きなさい
    Write a simple explanation of the expression shasoku jinsei(“Shooting is Life”)
  • 射法射技の基本を五つ書きなさい
    What are the five fundamentals of shooting technique?
  • 会の構成について書きなさい
    Explain the construction of kai.

Kyudo Notebook: Shinsa Questions for 3-Dan

参段

The Kyudo Kyohon describes this level as, “The shooting form is better established and the formal movement (taihai) is more stable. The breathing is ordered and the method of using shooting technique is correctly obeyed. The arrow should fly straight, and there should be more consistency in hitting the target.” So here it seems like a person has reached the point where the movements have become more smooth and refined. Consistency is rumoured to mean that at least one arrow should hit.

• 2011
  • 「基本の動作」を列記し本座での「座り方」を述べなさい
    List the fundamental movements and describe the way of sitting down at the honza
  • 残身（心）について述べなさい
    Explain zanshin
  • 弓道の最高目標について述べなさい
    Explain the highest goals of Kyudo
  • 日常生活が射に及ぼす影響を述べよ
    Describe the way in which everyday life affects shooting
  • 五重十文字について述べよ
    Explain the gojū jūmonji
• 2010
  • 五重十文字に書いて下さい
    Describe the gojū jūmonji
  • 縦横十文字について書いて下さい
    Explain the tateyoko jūmonji
  • 基本動作の中の歩き方について書いて下さい
    From among the fundamental movements write about walking
  • 失（弦切れ）の心得を書いて下さい
    Explain the rules for handling an error (shitsu) such as a broken bowstring
  • 参段の審査基準について書いて下さい
    What are the judging standards for the 3-dan shinsa?
• 2009
  • 五重十文字に書きなさい
    Describe the gojū jūmonji
  • 縦横十文字について書きなさい
    Explain the tateyoko jūmonji
  • 失のときの心得を書きなさい（弦が切れた場合）
    Explain the rules when handling an error (shitsu), in this case a broken bowstring
  • 基本動作の中の歩き方について述べなさい
    From among the fundamental movements write about walking
  • 会における伸合いについて書きなさい
    Explain nobiai in kai