Kyudo

This guide to the spiritual and technical practice of this graceful martialrt, by 15th-generation master Hideharu Onuma, includes illustrations andare photographs.

The comic books that came out in the 1920s to get Americans to read more comprised of many action- and super heroes, such as Batman Superman, and Wonder Woman. Since 1968 Bruce Lee playing Kato and the Green Hornet, in 1973 the movie, Enter the Dragon will introduce Asian martial arts to the USA and the world. This book will show the superhuman feats of the Japanese archers psychologically and physically, and the records they achieved, in my opinion. These unsung people would be heroes today if more readers knew of these records that the Japanese have in their history. The impact of the mental and physical is so extreme that this information hopefully will garner THE WOW FACTOR!

Learn the ancient art of Japanese archery or Kyudo with this illustrated guide. The Japanese Art of Archery, is deeply rooted in tradition. It not only continues to enjoy widespread popularity in Japan, but is also attracting the interest of more and more foreigners, in much the same manner as Japan's other distinctive sports, such as judo, sumo, kendo, and karate. Kyudo: The Japanese Art of Archery offers a concise description of kyudo by an ardent American enthusiast, describing the aims, the techniques, and the philosophic basis of its ceremonial aspect, which is strongly influenced by Zen philosophy. Carefully illustrated, this is a practical text, giving all of the necessary fundamentals. The author clearly describes the basic difference between American and Japanese archery. He points out the superior neatness and schematic beauty of the Oriental full draw, in which the chest is fully extended and the shoulders are thrust as far apart as possible, inasmuch as the string is drawn to a point well back, as was done in the old English archery of Roger Ascham’s time.

The path to achieving Zen (a balance between the body and the mind) is brilliantly explained by Professor Eugen Herrigel in this timeless account. This book is the result of the author's six year quest to learn archery in the hands of Japanese Zen masters. It is an honest account of one man's journey to complete abandonment of 'the self' and the Western principles that we use to define ourselves. Professor Herrigel imparts knowledge from his experiences and guides the reader through physical and spiritual lessons in a clear and insightful way. Mastering archery is not the key to achieving Zen, and this is not a practical guide to archery. It is more a guide to Zen principles and learning and perfect for practitioners and non-practitioners alike.

‘Fighting Scholars’ offers the first book-length overview of the ethnographic study of martial arts and combat sports. The book’s main claim is that such activities represent privileged grounds to access different social dimensions, such as emotion, violence, pain, gender, ethnicity and religion. In order to explore these dimensions, the concept of ‘habitus’ is presented prominently as an epistemic remedy for the academic distant gaze of the effaced academic body. The book’s most innovative features are its empirical focus and theoretical orientation. While ethnographic research is a widespread and popular approach within the social sciences, combat sports and martial arts have yet to be sufficiently interrogated from an ethnographic standpoint. The different contributions of this volume are aligned within the same project that began to crystallize in Loïc Wacquant’s ‘Body and Soul’: the construction of a ‘carnal sociology’ that constitutes an exploration of the social world ‘from’ the body.

Here are the inspirational life and teachings of Awa Kenzo (1880–1939), the Zen and kyudo (archery) master who gained worldwide renown after the publication of Eugen Herrigel's cult classic Zen in the Art of Archery in 1953. Kenzo lived and taught at a pivotal time in Japan's history, when martial arts were practiced primarily for self-cultivation, and his wise and penetrating instructions for practice (and life)—including aphorisms, poetry, instructional lists, and calligraphy—are infused with the spirit of Zen. Kenzo uses the metaphor of the bow and arrow to challenge the practitioner to look deeply into his or her own true nature.

One Arrow, One Life is a classic treatise on kyudo, the art of traditional Japanese archery, and its relation to the ideals and practice of Zen Buddhism. With a solid introduction to the form and practice of Zen meditation, as well as a thorough description of the Eight Stages of Kyudo, One Arrow, One Life captures the subtleties of the complementary nature of thought and action, movement and stillness. Demonstrating the importance of bringing movement, posture and breathing into harmony, One Arrow, One Life interweaves Zen philosophy with daily experience and techniques, teachers, and the dojo, to give a name and face to kyudo. Beginning with its discussion of the breathing, posture, and concentration that is fundamental to both disciplines, then quickly moving on to the subtleties of advanced practice, author, Ken Kushner ties everything together into a personal testimony of the pervasiveness of Zen in everyday life. Illustrator, Jackson Morisawa's line drawings bring the art of kyudo to life. For those interested in Zen and moving meditation, kyudo practitioners of all levels, as well as students of the Way of martial arts, this volume is an indispensable guidebook.