Japanese archery
  of central Florida

You need no prior knowledge to start practicing kyudo. We will take you through from all the initiating stages and set you on the road to your entire future kyudo practice.

The club will lend you equipment during the first period of your practice. But after a few months it would be desirable to buy your own equipment, starting with clothing, kake (glove).

The practice is open to everyone, male or female, from around 16 years of age. It is structured according to the recommendations and rules set up by the ANKF (All Nippon Kyudo Federation) and the IKYF (International Kyudo Federation). This means that we will take you through a program consisting of the following stages:

Rei
Attitude and etiquette in the kyudojo (shooting place), including relationships to others and safety aspects. These are very important for your kyudo practice, in our own dojo and internationally. It is impossible to separate rei from the actual shooting.

Kihontai (kihondoza/kihonshisei)
The basic form of kyudo—how to stand, sit and bow, and how to move in a kyudojo.

Hassetsu
The physical technique of kuydo is deceptively simple. The shooting process consists of eight stages (Hassetsu). These stages are never deviated from, no matter at which level you practice. They have been formed by centuries of experience at archery, and will ultimately allow for a perfect shot that naturally hits the target.

Awareness
Parallel to the technique of shooting, involving the body and the bow, it is important to practice mental awareness, in order to develop the presence and calm which is essential for proper kyudo practice. For this there is no one way of doing it. Every practitioner has to find her or his own way. But the purpose is to find one’s own way to the perfect harmony of the three elements—body, bow and mind (sanmi ittai).

Shooting Practice on Makiwara
A makiwara is a straw target, which is shot at from a distance of about 2 meters. The principal is that if you execute everything properly at the makiwara, you will have a good chance att hitting the target (mato) at full distance.

Shooting Practice on Mato
Mato is a paper target, 36 centimeters in diameter, placed at 28 meters. This is the traditional shooting practice in a kyudojo (kinteki). Our practice hall may not allow for the full 28 meters. In that case we practice at a slightly shorter distance. (There is also a more unusual form of shooting at 60 m with a larger target—enteki)

These stages will ultimately be combined so that you will be able to do sharei (ceremonial shooting) by yourself or in the traditional tachi (group) practice.

National Seminars
Once a year a national seminar is arranged, visited by highly graded teachers from other countries, because we do not have anyone of Hanshi (Master level) grade in the US. These seminars are open to all kyudo clubs in The Americas is a great opportunity to deepen your practice.

Regional Seminars
In the US, several state renmei host seminars several times throughout the year.

Examination
During your practice you will be able to submit to shinsa (examinations). These examinations determine your level and experience into formal grades (dan). Dan examinations can only be done in international (shinsa) settings, as they must be judged by hanshi (masters) from Japan.

These examinations are, of course, voluntary but examinations provide excellent opportunities for personal challenges as they are often quite stressful.

NOTE: In The Americas, National Seminars and Examinations have been held in the US and Canada.


Facility training

Location - Ocala, Fl
                OTOW Archery Range (Wednesday, 3pm-5pm)
                OTOW Commons (Wednesday, 4pm-7pm)
Presently we split our training time to two different locations. The fourth Wednesday of the month we are at the Commons, the first, second, and third Wednesday we are at the Archery range




                                                                          Law of Toriyumi and the Law of Sanjujunomji

The LAW of TORIYUMI
Toriyumi - bow holding posture.


The LAW of SANJUJUMONJI
Sanjujumonji - the three crosses.