The art and precision of any practice is magnified by the discipline and dedication one gives to it. Kyudo is an art like no other – both beautiful and spiritual.
‘Welcome to the way of the bow, Kyudo is the modern art of Japanese archery,’ is the phrase that Jade Fraundorfer would use to explain what Kyudo is. He is an instructor at the South African Kyudo Renmei, a dojo in Boskruin.
Fraundorfer said that many people confused Kyudo with zen archery. “People would mistake this as a meditative art, which it can be to some, but this is more of budo or ‘a way’.”
He explained that one can never really master the art. He recalled a story he once heard of an American man who travelled to a dojo in Japan. “There he did not tell anyone of his background in Kyudo and sat innocently as he watched the different classes. The first class was a young class, and after their class all the man could hear, were students boasting about how many hits they were able to make. The next class that followed was an intermediate class and after their session, the man could hear them recalling all their technical hits and misses.
“Then the senior students came and had their practice. After their session, the man listened to their conversation and heard them ask each other if their movements were fluid, and if it looked beautiful even though it was very hard. ‘Did it look like a dance?’ students would ask each other.” Fraundorfer explained that this is why Kyudo takes years to grasp. “You go through stages of wanting to hit the target, then move into wanting to deepen your technical skill and then you eventually understand shooting with technique improves the shooting, but shooting with spirit improves the man,” he expressed.
He added that a beginner student would start with, and over time refine Kihon, which is the foundation of Kyudo. Kihon is split into three categories. Then the student would move on to Shaho Hassetsu, which is the eight stages of shooting the bow.
Fraundorfer divulged that the dojo has been open for the past four years and caters to anyone from the age of 13 and older. Though some might see it as a sport or as a form of meditation, the fundamentals of Kyudo is Shin Zen Bi – truth, goodness, and beauty.
Details: South African Kyudo Renmei, www.kyudo.co.za
