Dan recently entered his first Kyudo competition. Kyudo is a form of Japanese archery, and a new love of ours! It is focused, calming and about having great form and a calm mind. If you show great form and hit the target, you have been successful. As a Japanese art form, Kyudo requires discipline and it has a long-history in both Samurai and Zen culture.

Our teacher, through a series of gentle nudges and language barriers, managed to convince Dan to take part. He had to fire four arrows and hit the target with as many as possible. It is very hard to hit the target in Kyudo, and Dan managed to hit once!

I sat on the sidelines watching the show – I didn’t fancy ritualistic and certain humiliation this early on in my new hobby! Luckily, Dan did, and he did us proud! Overall the team did not make it through to the next round, which for Dan was something of a relief, as this round required a new walk he hadn’t been taught. It was an interesting day indulging in this very Japanese hobby!