Dark Luther
12-15-2006, 11:08 AM
The Yumi - general name for the range of Japanese bows including the Daikyu - for longbow, and Hankyu - for shortbow.
This bow is particular to Japanese archery,
along with the art of Kyudo...
The bow is generally made from bamboo, wood and leather - in a design particular to Japan and quite differant from classical bows found in the West, and even other oriental cultures.
The yumi is asymmetricly designed with the grip at about one third of the distance from the bottom tip than the one above.
This is believed to be a result of the bow being used particularly on horseback - making it easier to shift the bow's targetting direction from one side to another over the horse.
The string will commonly be made from hemp or horse hair - though now synthetic materials are more commonly used.
Strings were often not changed until they actually snapped or broke - because to remove a string one would need to pull the bow the opposite direction, which if done too often is bad for the bow's health.
Kyūdō technique ( from Wiki ):
All kyūdō archers hold the bow in their left hand and draw the string with their right, so that all archers face the higher position (kamiza) while shooting.
Unlike occidental archers (who, with some exceptions, draw the bow never further than the cheek bone), kyūdō archers draw the bow so that the drawing hand is held behind the ear. If done improperly, upon release the string may strike the archer's ear or side of the face.
Immediately after the shot is released, the bow will (for a practised archer) spin in the hand so that the string stops in front of the archer's outer forearm. This action of "yugaeri" is a combination of technique and the natural working of the bow. It is unique to kyūdō.
Kyūdō technique is meticulously prescribed. The All Nippon Kyudo Federation (ANKF), the main governing body of kyūdō in Japan, has codified the hassetsu (or "eight stages of shooting") in the Kyudo Kyohon (Kyudo Manual). The hassetsu consists of the following steps:
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 approximately half his body height. A line drawn between the archer's toes should pass through the target after the completion of the ashibumi.
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.
Yugamae, readying the bow. Yugamae consists of three phases:
Torikake, gripping of the bowstring with the right hand.
Tenouchi, the left hand is positioned for shooting on the bow's grip.
Monomi, the archer turns his head to gaze at the target.
Uchiokoshi, raising the bow. The archer raises the bow above his head to prepare for the draw.
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.
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.
Hanare, the release. The bowstring is released from the right hand.
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.
While other schools' shooting also conforms to the hassetsu outlined above, the naming of some steps and some details of the execution of the shot may differ.
Personally, I've just begun to practice the art -
I have a bow and am getting newer arrows ( the ones I have suck ) - while I'm being taught how to make new ones.
It is quite a change from ninjutsu or any other art in general.
In fighting arts and with the use of weapons - you have an opponent and you must learn to controll yourself and more importantly control the other person.
But with this art and weapons - you must completly focus control on yourself, and it is only up to you for the weapon to work.
There are similarities though, surprisingly - where in a relaxed mental state is needed -
and I have actually picked it up quite quickly thanks to the use of Kamae from ninjutsu ( as I have now seen the truth that the basic body motions work in everything ).
For now I'm an incredibly new novice - so I will not go too much into detail, but be sure within some time I will visit Kyūdō again - and speak with great length...
Sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyudo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumi
http://www.zenko.org/
It's getting close to the end of the year and this will be the last one until 2007 - I'm going to be leaving soon so I won't be able to write new ones anyway.
So at the end of this one tell me what you guys have though on the weekly thread.
At the beggining of the new year I will no longer do these weekly, I'll separate them along side other semi-weekly threads ( so there will be something a week ).
Coming up will be threads talking about:
Warrior ways,
Fighting and Weapon Styles,
Along with match ups of concepts and weapons...
See you guys next year...
This bow is particular to Japanese archery,
along with the art of Kyudo...
The bow is generally made from bamboo, wood and leather - in a design particular to Japan and quite differant from classical bows found in the West, and even other oriental cultures.
The yumi is asymmetricly designed with the grip at about one third of the distance from the bottom tip than the one above.
This is believed to be a result of the bow being used particularly on horseback - making it easier to shift the bow's targetting direction from one side to another over the horse.
The string will commonly be made from hemp or horse hair - though now synthetic materials are more commonly used.
Strings were often not changed until they actually snapped or broke - because to remove a string one would need to pull the bow the opposite direction, which if done too often is bad for the bow's health.
Kyūdō technique ( from Wiki ):
All kyūdō archers hold the bow in their left hand and draw the string with their right, so that all archers face the higher position (kamiza) while shooting.
Unlike occidental archers (who, with some exceptions, draw the bow never further than the cheek bone), kyūdō archers draw the bow so that the drawing hand is held behind the ear. If done improperly, upon release the string may strike the archer's ear or side of the face.
Immediately after the shot is released, the bow will (for a practised archer) spin in the hand so that the string stops in front of the archer's outer forearm. This action of "yugaeri" is a combination of technique and the natural working of the bow. It is unique to kyūdō.
Kyūdō technique is meticulously prescribed. The All Nippon Kyudo Federation (ANKF), the main governing body of kyūdō in Japan, has codified the hassetsu (or "eight stages of shooting") in the Kyudo Kyohon (Kyudo Manual). The hassetsu consists of the following steps:
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 approximately half his body height. A line drawn between the archer's toes should pass through the target after the completion of the ashibumi.
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.
Yugamae, readying the bow. Yugamae consists of three phases:
Torikake, gripping of the bowstring with the right hand.
Tenouchi, the left hand is positioned for shooting on the bow's grip.
Monomi, the archer turns his head to gaze at the target.
Uchiokoshi, raising the bow. The archer raises the bow above his head to prepare for the draw.
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.
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.
Hanare, the release. The bowstring is released from the right hand.
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.
While other schools' shooting also conforms to the hassetsu outlined above, the naming of some steps and some details of the execution of the shot may differ.
Personally, I've just begun to practice the art -
I have a bow and am getting newer arrows ( the ones I have suck ) - while I'm being taught how to make new ones.
It is quite a change from ninjutsu or any other art in general.
In fighting arts and with the use of weapons - you have an opponent and you must learn to controll yourself and more importantly control the other person.
But with this art and weapons - you must completly focus control on yourself, and it is only up to you for the weapon to work.
There are similarities though, surprisingly - where in a relaxed mental state is needed -
and I have actually picked it up quite quickly thanks to the use of Kamae from ninjutsu ( as I have now seen the truth that the basic body motions work in everything ).
For now I'm an incredibly new novice - so I will not go too much into detail, but be sure within some time I will visit Kyūdō again - and speak with great length...
Sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyudo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumi
http://www.zenko.org/
It's getting close to the end of the year and this will be the last one until 2007 - I'm going to be leaving soon so I won't be able to write new ones anyway.
So at the end of this one tell me what you guys have though on the weekly thread.
At the beggining of the new year I will no longer do these weekly, I'll separate them along side other semi-weekly threads ( so there will be something a week ).
Coming up will be threads talking about:
Warrior ways,
Fighting and Weapon Styles,
Along with match ups of concepts and weapons...
See you guys next year...