There are four different stances for the archer to use. Each has its good qualities and its shortcomings. Knowing the different stances allows you to choose which are best for you or under what circumstances to go into this or that stance.
To begin with there is the even stance. The even stance is a very natural and intuitive positioning. It is very easy to reproduce time and time again for the sake of your consistency and hence accuracy. However, there are a few drawbacks to using the even stance. You only have a small base of support in the plane of front to back. This makes it so that your body isn't really all that sturdily set; so if you're out shooting on a windier day you can actually be blown off balance. It is also easier to accidentally fall while in the even stance. And going into this stance lowers the area for string clearance, especially for archers with broad chests. The open stance gives the archer a very stable base of support. The open stance also cuts down on an the body's tendency to lean away from the target. However, this stance also tends to cause the upper body to twist towards the target. Not only that, but it tends to cause you to use your arms muscles instead of your back muscles to draw. You want to mainly use your back muscles for drawing and releasing.
You also get a stable support base with the closed stance. The closed stance gives excellent alignment of shoulder and the arm with the target. However, there are some drawbacks to the closed stance. This stance reduces the string clearance and makes it so that the string might actually strike against your body. This stance also tends to cause the archer to lean away from the target, thereby having to compensate by overdrawing the bow.
The stance that gives the greatest about of string clearance for when the arrow is released is the oblique stance. With this stance, your body is in complete equilibrium and the target can be seen very clearly. However, this stance is difficult to maintain. Usually, only expert archers use the oblique stance.
When you're practicing your stances, you want to start by marking the exact placement of your feet on the shooting line. There are some experienced archers who insist that stance deviations of even only a couple of inches can wreck your aiming and sighting, and this needless to say can begin to plague you with accuracy problems.
Really, the open stance and the oblique stance are the two best stances. Most experienced archers only use one or both of these. However, remember that individual satisfaction is the name of the game in archery. So, you can try out the different stances and see which one best suits your style. If you like the closed or even stance, then use them.
Once you have your stance down, you want to practice the four major shooting steps, which are nocking, drawing, getting your anchor point, and releasing and following through.
"Kyudo" is a Japanese word which translates as "The Way of the Bow". To many, the art of archery is the purest of all the martial arts. In ancient times in Japan, the bow was used for ceremonies, warfare, hunting, contests, and games. "Kyujutsu" is what kyudo was formally called in Japanese, a word which translates as "bow technique". This name encompassed all of the skills of the warrior archer. Some of the ancient schools of teaching archery still survive into modern times in Japan as do some of the ancient ceremonies and games, but the days when the bow was used as a weapon by Japanese soldiers are needless to say far gone. So, modern kyudo is practiced for the sake of discipline, mental development, spiritual development, and personal satisfaction.
It is unknown exactly when the term "kyudo" first came into usage, but by the time of the late 19th century, when the art of archery had come to be exclusively practiced for individual development, the word had come into acceptance. There are three objectives of the archery student in Japan in modern times. These are to acquire the intimate knowledge of truth, beauty, and The Good.
Truth in the art of archery in Japan is made manifest by shooting which is right-minded and pure. In such shooting, the three elements of movement, attitude, and technique are brought into oneness in a state of perfect harmoniousness. In kyudo, a shot that is pure or perfect is said to be one that does not strike the target's bull's eye; instead, it is a shot that existed in the bull's eye before the release of the arrow.
In the art of archery in Japan, beauty is found in the exquisite artistry and grace of the Japanese bow and in the exquisiteness of the traditional archer's garb, while at once being present in the refined etiquette that envelops the kyudo ceremony. Etiquette-the profound respect for others and for life itself-is a central practice of kyudo as well as the archery techniques. Beauty stimulates the mind and the spirit and makes life worth living. Archery practiced rightly brings about a great expression of beauty.
The Good, or goodness, comprises qualities like compassion, morality, courtesy, and peaceableness. In the Japanese art of archery, goodness is made manifest by the archer displaying correct behavior and attitude in every situation. A master kyudo archer is an individual who maintains her composure and is graceful even in times of great stress or terrible conflict.
Kyudo is not a religion by any means, but two Japanese religions have impacted it. One of these is Zen, which is a form of Buddhism that came from India through China and melded with Taoism. With Zen, it is understood that the key to understanding kyudo is to keep an open mind and realize that archery is just one small part of the great Whole that is life, the universe, and everything. Each individual archer's one of a kind style is a further reflectance of this fact. The other religion of influence is Shintoism. This is where the ritual of the use of the bow and archery comes from. A great deal of the kyudo ceremony, archer's garb, and the ritual of using the equipment and practice area stem from Shinto tradition.
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