Kyudo Club 1st meeting
We met Jan at the Cherry Blossom Festival this last spring, in the auditorium where demonstrations of Judo, carpentry, and kumihimo were being held. L had been doing kumihimo, Japanese braiding, since last summer, and that was a major reason why we were at the CBF to begin with. Jan was minding a table in the corner, a small TV playing a video on one side and several tall yumi (the bows) standing against the wall behind her. "Kyudo is very popular with girls," she assured us. Jan makes a good frontsperson. Her manner is quiet but cheerful; she is softspoken and, well, cute. The three of us -- queenpasiphae, L, & I -- signed the mailing list. The small kyudo club to which Jan belonged was currently meeting in Edmonds but was looking for a practice space in Seattle proper.
I had nearly forgotten about it until I received the email. It was just the right fit for my Friday evening though it meant, for me, hurrying out of work. (I don't normally work on Fridays, but I was filling in for someone else.) The email gave directions but no details about class fees, clothing, or anything else, and the website maintained the mystery. Still, I do like an adventure, and there was no other way than to go and find out for myself.
I managed not to be late. L was there already, and after a few minutes, Jo, another newbie, arrived. (A fourth woman, Tokiko, came in at six, but I'm not sure that she is really going to join up.) I noticed with amusement that there were only two women in the club, Jan and a beginner whose name I didn't catch. The club is a very small group: Yoshi, the instructor (he doesn't ask to be called sensei), Jan and her husband, Ashok (who is quite friendly), 3 more competition-level men, one intermediate, and two beginners -- an older man and a young woman.
L, Jo, and I joined the beginners (I don't count us as beginners yet, as you can see) in practicing the form. Unlike most martial arts, there seems to be just one form for kyudo, a slow pantomime (essentially) of stance, drawing the bow, and shooting an arrow. We didn't talk about the theory; we just jumped in and started. From paying attention and listening, I caught that the position of fully drawing the bow w/ arrow is called full kai. Of course, I'm just as interested in the names of things as in doing them.
In my office-girl habiliments, curiously paralleling the formal garb (white linen shirt to their white shirts, knee-length A-line skirt to their hakama, white socks to their white tabi), I followed the form's eight steps. The count is two slow breaths. From a straight standing position with hands-on-hips (as if holding a yumi and a pair of arrows), facing forward, it's a step out first left, then right, until one's feet are slightly wider than one's shoulder distance, knees locked (yes, ow). The second count brings the arms up, as if lifting the yumi, and looking left (always left) at the target. Third count raises the yumi ("like smoke rising") to a height were one's hands are higher than one's head. On the fourth count, the left arm draws the bow while hands remain at the same level. Fifth count, the right arm draws back.
In kyudo, the bow is drawn with both the right and left arms. The right hand position, the one pulling the string, differs from Western archery also. Instead of being palm-parallel-to-body, the hand is palm-parallel-to-floor, and nearly touches the right shoulder.
The count of six is full kai, full extension of both arms, chest wide open and body forward. Seven is the release of the arrow, where the right arm snaps back while still remaining level with the left, still extended, arm. A roll of the bow shifts its position. The eighth count is a return to the starting stance, and bringing the feet back together.
We don't get to use an *actual* yumi for a while. In fact, we won't even get to use a gomi, the practice tool made of a short stick and an elastic, until we've worked on the form for a while. But I was having fun imagining myself a Warrior Maiden... (shutupstoplaughing).
Meanwhile, the advanced archers were preparing for a competition that they are going to in July, and the intermediate was shooting arrows at very close range into a target made of many layers of styrofoam against a wooden backboard. He missed once. I hope no one notices the hole in the wall! The longer-than-western arrows were penetrating the target at a depth of about 12 inches.
The traditional target is a drum-like small cylinder covered in paper. I want to learn how to make those. Traditional shooting distance is over 100 feet. You can see why the club keeps looking for a good place to practice! If any of you know someone with a large indoor space, let me know.
The advanced archers were not actually shooting. The group of five were practicing the formal way of lining up, taking turns, and exiting the shooting area. They're not very good yet. {hides} But you can come down just to observe the class if you're curious. (The site asks that you email or call first.)
The club's dues are $60 per 3-month quarter, with an additional $20 annually. This covers shared equipment, and nothing else need be purchased except for a glove (eventually) and clothing, if desired. Yoshi said outright that he thinks it's "ridiculous to charge money to teach a martial art". He doesn't take a wage. I thought he was rather charming, a middle-aged Japanese man comfortable in his traditional clothing, a pack of cigarettes clearly visible in the front of his shirt.
And I still want to call him sensei.
(I did karate for a short while, so that isn't my fan Japanese acting up.)
I had nearly forgotten about it until I received the email. It was just the right fit for my Friday evening though it meant, for me, hurrying out of work. (I don't normally work on Fridays, but I was filling in for someone else.) The email gave directions but no details about class fees, clothing, or anything else, and the website maintained the mystery. Still, I do like an adventure, and there was no other way than to go and find out for myself.
I managed not to be late. L was there already, and after a few minutes, Jo, another newbie, arrived. (A fourth woman, Tokiko, came in at six, but I'm not sure that she is really going to join up.) I noticed with amusement that there were only two women in the club, Jan and a beginner whose name I didn't catch. The club is a very small group: Yoshi, the instructor (he doesn't ask to be called sensei), Jan and her husband, Ashok (who is quite friendly), 3 more competition-level men, one intermediate, and two beginners -- an older man and a young woman.
L, Jo, and I joined the beginners (I don't count us as beginners yet, as you can see) in practicing the form. Unlike most martial arts, there seems to be just one form for kyudo, a slow pantomime (essentially) of stance, drawing the bow, and shooting an arrow. We didn't talk about the theory; we just jumped in and started. From paying attention and listening, I caught that the position of fully drawing the bow w/ arrow is called full kai. Of course, I'm just as interested in the names of things as in doing them.
In my office-girl habiliments, curiously paralleling the formal garb (white linen shirt to their white shirts, knee-length A-line skirt to their hakama, white socks to their white tabi), I followed the form's eight steps. The count is two slow breaths. From a straight standing position with hands-on-hips (as if holding a yumi and a pair of arrows), facing forward, it's a step out first left, then right, until one's feet are slightly wider than one's shoulder distance, knees locked (yes, ow). The second count brings the arms up, as if lifting the yumi, and looking left (always left) at the target. Third count raises the yumi ("like smoke rising") to a height were one's hands are higher than one's head. On the fourth count, the left arm draws the bow while hands remain at the same level. Fifth count, the right arm draws back.
In kyudo, the bow is drawn with both the right and left arms. The right hand position, the one pulling the string, differs from Western archery also. Instead of being palm-parallel-to-body, the hand is palm-parallel-to-floor, and nearly touches the right shoulder.
The count of six is full kai, full extension of both arms, chest wide open and body forward. Seven is the release of the arrow, where the right arm snaps back while still remaining level with the left, still extended, arm. A roll of the bow shifts its position. The eighth count is a return to the starting stance, and bringing the feet back together.
We don't get to use an *actual* yumi for a while. In fact, we won't even get to use a gomi, the practice tool made of a short stick and an elastic, until we've worked on the form for a while. But I was having fun imagining myself a Warrior Maiden... (shutupstoplaughing).
Meanwhile, the advanced archers were preparing for a competition that they are going to in July, and the intermediate was shooting arrows at very close range into a target made of many layers of styrofoam against a wooden backboard. He missed once. I hope no one notices the hole in the wall! The longer-than-western arrows were penetrating the target at a depth of about 12 inches.
The traditional target is a drum-like small cylinder covered in paper. I want to learn how to make those. Traditional shooting distance is over 100 feet. You can see why the club keeps looking for a good place to practice! If any of you know someone with a large indoor space, let me know.
The advanced archers were not actually shooting. The group of five were practicing the formal way of lining up, taking turns, and exiting the shooting area. They're not very good yet. {hides} But you can come down just to observe the class if you're curious. (The site asks that you email or call first.)
The club's dues are $60 per 3-month quarter, with an additional $20 annually. This covers shared equipment, and nothing else need be purchased except for a glove (eventually) and clothing, if desired. Yoshi said outright that he thinks it's "ridiculous to charge money to teach a martial art". He doesn't take a wage. I thought he was rather charming, a middle-aged Japanese man comfortable in his traditional clothing, a pack of cigarettes clearly visible in the front of his shirt.
And I still want to call him sensei.
(I did karate for a short while, so that isn't my fan Japanese acting up.)