Japanese Archery (Kyudo- The Way of the Bow)    NEW!

What is Kyudo? 
In Japanese, the word Kyudo means "the way of the bow." With its distinctive asymmetrical longbow—over two meters in length—Kyudo is the Japanese martial art of archery.
Unlike other forms of archery, hitting the target is important but not the goal of Kyudo. Instead, the goal is achieving self-perfection. An archer hits the target successfully as a result of their physical and inner state in harmony.  In other words, when an archer shoots with correct physical application of the technique and with a virtuous spirit toward everything and everybody, beautiful shooting realizes itself naturally.

Why study Kyudo? 
Kyudo is an excellent way to achieve physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. It helps to improve mind-body coordination, posture, balance, muscle tone, and general physical fitness. Even more importantly, it gives the student a sense of joy and accomplishment. It is an art that is especially beneficial as an antidote to the noise and hectic pace of modern life.

Students will learn to perform Kihontai: stand, walk, sit, and turn in a Kyudo fashion as well as learning to handle the bow and arrow in an eight-step process called Hassetsu. After learning the basics of kihontai the new student will learn the basics of Hassetsu by using a ‘rubber’ bow and then graduating to handling a bow and arrow and shooting to a straw target about 2 meters away, then onto the mato-target that is 28 meters away. 

No equipment is necessary to start practice. We will have ‘dojo’ equipment for students to use during class time.

Students should wear:

1. a loose fitting dark color pants (no shorts)
2. a plain white t-shirt with no graphics or messages
3. a pair of white socks. 

It is encouraged to bring a notebook to class for notetaking.