Outdoor and Rec Athletics 0115 - Beginning Japanese Archery

Beginning Kyudo, Japanese Zen Archery: Archery was once considered the most elite of all samurai fighting arts. To be an archer meant you were beholden to defending your lord's stronghold from distant threats. After an era of great civil war had ended in Japan by 1600 A.D., the samurai class were left with dwindling ways to keep their practical skills honed on a battlefield. The need to repurpose their fighting arts turned them away from the emphasis of destruction and closer towards self-refinement. Students will encounter a standing form of Zen meditation or Ritsuzen, by way of the Japanese bow. At the beginning level, students will concentrate on learning the first step-by-step form called The Seven Coordinations, or Shichido. This precise form represents the basic method of firing a single arrow. Students will begin by becoming acquainted with the equipment through simulated shooting and gradually to live shooting from a short distance. The target, which is only seven feet away, serves the archer as a mirror, reflecting the status of his mind and spirit. Class will meet in the South Lounge, 2nd floor of the Robert Crown Center. 5-College students will be graded pass/fail.

This class may be used for CEL 1 credit.