2007-06-06

Long Bow Hunters.

On Monday, I had the privilege of attending 弓道 (Kyudo=Japanese Archery).

From Wiki, here's the Kyudo technique or the hassetsu (or "eight stages of shooting"). The hassetsu consists of the following steps:

1. Ashibumi, placing the footing. The archer steps on to the line from where arrows are fired (known as the shai) and turns to face the kamiza, so that the left side of his body faces the target. He then sights from the target to his feet and sets his feet apart so that the distance between them is equal to his yatsuka, approximately half his body height. A line drawn between the archer's toes should pass through the target after the completion of the ashibumi.
2. Dozukuri, forming the body. The archer verifies his balance and that his pelvis and the line between his shoulders are parallel to the line set up during ashibumi.
(a)Yugamae, readying the bow. Yugamae consists of three phases:
(b)Torikake, gripping of the bowstring with the right hand.
(c)Tenouchi, the left hand is positioned for shooting on the bow's grip.
3. Monomi, the archer turns his head to gaze at the target.
4. Uchiokoshi, raising the bow. The archer raises the bow above his head to prepare for the draw.
5. Hikiwake, drawing apart. The archer starts bringing down the bow while spreading his arms, simultaneously pushing the bow with his left hand and drawing the string with the right, until the arrow is level with his eyebrows.
6. Kai, the full draw. The archer continues the movement started in the previous phase, until he reaches full draw with the arrow placed slightly below his cheekbone. The arrow points along the line set up during ashibumi.
7. Hanare, the release. The bowstring is released from the right hand.
8. Zanshin, "the remaining body or mind" or "the continuation of the shot". The archer remains in the position reached after hanare while returning from the state of concentration associated with the shot.
(If you want definitions of the above, seek them out yourself. What am I a dictionary?)

Oh, and the title of this post refers to this. My favourite Green Arrow storyline and what got me hooked on Oliver again.

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