My wife and I just moved to Japan. Your videos have been a great source of information. We have started to study Kendo and Iaido and we enjoy it greatly. Thank you for making great content!
As a regular kyudo practitioner in a French dojo following a warrior tradition (as opposed to a more ceremonial style, it makes actually a little difference in the way you hold the arrows or shoot), i'm so happy to see this video ❤️ it's moving, because Kyudo and Iaido are, here, in France, the only two martial art where the French federation cannot give the dans, so we have the honors to meet Japanese sensei once a year, and it keeps the practice really tied to the Japanese culture. I practice both European and Japanese archery, and kyudo actually influenced a lot my practice of European archery with its philosophy! So, yes, your video really warmed my heart! Kyudo is really an underrated martial art!
I'm an archer who has been shooting bows for several years and I've always wanted to shoot a Yumi. However, I heard on the archery discord that Kyudo schools spend months on form/kata before new students get to shoot a bow. Thought this was surprising since day 1 of any archery class lets you hold and shoot the bow
I’m a kyudoka. Don’t get your hopes down. if you find a teacher that isn’t hyper strict about the “traditional” teaching methods you can begin shooting a bow on your first day. But they will make sure you spend lots of time on the form too.
Yeah it kind of depends on who you find to teach you. I’ve done both in America and my sensei knows Americans can get bored and leave so we do a bit of both weekly.
I started shooting from the first day, but I spent a long time with the basic moves. Unlike conventional archery, in Kyudo it's not that important to hit the target. "You have to hit yourself even before you let go of the arrow".
As a practitioner of horseback archery. I have nothing but respect for this discipline. It takes the idea of form to the next level and is absolutely beautiful to behold.
Nice shot for Kyudo archery! I once attended archery extracurriculars in junior high school from 2017 to 2019 But due to the pandemic in 2020, my classmates of middle and I were not allowed to take extracurriculars to prevent the spread of Covid 19
This must have been recorded a while back if you're wearing a jacket 😅 Great video as always - People seem to forget that this has less to do with accuracy, and more to do with self discipline and focus
We do a lot of this kind of stuff in the UK when it comes to archery and raft building it’s something that usually happens when kids are going to school and they will have field trips or go to mediaeval festivals for summer holidays.
I came across this one day a year or so ago. It was a women's competition. I found it very interesting. It had already started so if there was information/instruction I missed it. This really helped. Awesome.
I just started training in Kyudo a couple of months ago and I still have a hard time remembering all of the terminology and steps, so it was really impressive to see y'all do it all on the first day. I haven't been able to shoot an arrow yet as we're still practicing our form, but this video made me excited to shoot one once I understand the basics a little better.
Thank you for this video and the charming insight into a hidden mini-dojo! The owner looks so patient and calm, I would love to have the experience of practicing kyudo in Japan! In my country we only have a small selection of shooters. But as we have seen, all you have to do is make something like a garage with a makiwara your own training spot! ❤️
I traveled and met the same person, he taught me Kyudo and then that same day I met Shibata Kanjuro who was only a 10 minute walk from my hotel. He was such an excellent teacher even to people who don't know any Japanese. I have done traditional archery for 12 years but that was my first time doing kyudo and I plan on dedicating time to learn more back in America
Thank you for sharing this wonderful video. I have been studying archery with a Rendezvous period correct long bow on and off for about 3 years. I love it. I tried it for the first time in 2019 at a Northeastern Primitive Rendezvous and I fell in love with archery. I bought my first bow at that event. I would love to learn more about about Japanese archery and to experience it one day.
Shogo I started to practice back in my days but now I just look at videos I love the last samurai the discipline you must have to do it right thanks Shogo
I think this instructor has the right idea. Months of waiting might have worked when everyone lived in villages & had nothing to do until harvest. But times have changed and how can people care about a traditional form when they never get to try it?
I have "Zen and the Art of Archery" in my personal library. It is all about being able to let go without trying. Eugene Herrigel found it took him a long time to learn Kyudo.
Nice! I was actually looking for something like this maybe a couple of years ago and couldn't find anything that was accessible to foreigners/tourists just in country on vacation. I'll definitely have to add this to my list of things to check out for my next trip
Funnily enough. It’s actually kind of enforced in the rules. I forget the numbers but you HAVE TO wait between tests. But that’s kind of easy cause tests don’t happen very often. EDIT: I just looked it up. For high ranks it’s about a year wait between tests. And for different teaching levels it can be about two years between tests.
I tried archery once (had around five lessons) and I can say it's hard in general be it Japanese version or not, hitting target on day one is almost impossible unless you have natural skill
Thanks! Kyudo as a sport and cultural art has historical and rhetorical meaning with the content of Japan subject matter that context uses technical jargon. The cultural use of property is very important with special libraries of information as the knowledge base. The mutual concern for digital reference libraries and geo-political science has the preservation of this as importance with all legislative fact within the Japan Government. Public and special private libraries have the concern when this involves foreign non-native language and other technical jargon as subject matter and content. The Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare when the Local Autonomy Act (Japan Law), and National Tax Agency of Japan discern worker rights with property rights. This was in part my experience with Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo Area when book stores and business corporations involve business expense reports for digital archive subscriptions, books, and materials.
Nice. I have to check that out next time I go to Kyoto. I'm already headed down the path of Kenjutsu, but I always wanted to try Kyudo. But like you said, even after a long time of training, one is rarely shooting at a target at regular Kyudo
I trained one weekend Kyudo for beginners but we were not allowed to use a real bow or arrow. We trained the basic movement and use a simple plastic sling. Such a dojo would have been great to start with the real stuff. Honto desu. My friend who was with me, she continued later on but with normal archery.
I live in Las Vegas but my wife is from Kyoto, and I have shot a few arrows, ya, at this Dojo. The owner if very friendly but does not speak much english so be ready with your Japanese. The shop is a bit had to find but your there when you see the big Mato on its side.
I visited this place in Feb 2020, glad to see it is still in business. later on in the same week I went to Tozando and purchased a Yumi and had it shipped back to the UK. In my county there is a martial artist who runs a Kyujutsu dojo. I don't suppose you ever see any value for money bamboo arrows for sale in Kyoto?
But what a wonderful video, congratulations! I loved it, I was looking for information about these practices with bows, and I was in doubt about a modality, you would know something about "Kyubado" thank you in advance.
Both. After the introduction of guns it moved to being almost completely mental. But even before that (dating to the time of Confucius) it was used to judge and train once’s mentally.
Ei cara se poderia fazer um vídeo contando como era um velório samurai ou que acontecia com uma armadura samurai? Existe uma armadura usada no período Sengoku ?
I'm curious, are there any clubs or societies in Japan who shoot with Tannegashima-Teppo? Seeing as how Kyudo is so meditative in style, I wonder if there might be a similar approach to the aquebus as well. 😁
I have a friend that has one. I’ll ask about it. But I’m pretty sure his was messed with to make it not work anymore. It may be a similar thing with any that aren’t in a museum.
As someone who doesn't speak Japanese, is this something you would still recommend? I really want to try but don't know if I would be able to understand instructions and the theory without knowing the language
I've been practicing archery for 4 years before moving to Japan and I really want to try shooting arrows with a Japanese bow. It is my understanding that it is illegal to have bows and arrows (or arrows only?) unless you are part of a dojo...can anyone confirm this please? What if I make the arrows without a stingy metal tip, and just put some weight at the end?
Japanese term for a martial arts training facility or school, usually with one or more teachers, and also usually following one of many different schools of thought about any given martial arts. What makes it a "dojo" is the residence of a teacher and specific form of martial art. The term comes from the Japanese words dō "way" and jō "place." Or in other words, a "place" where one learns a "way," or "skill." A dojo could as easily be a barn, or a shop in a strip mall. Or in this case, the cluttered up basement of an old man.