As we can see in the above table more than 98% of the kyudoka, having at least a kyudo dan/kyu, belong to the Japanese federation. This shows how, although other federations are by now active from various years, kyudo is still a martial art not so popular and relatively little practiced outside Japan.

It’s interesting the distribution of kyodoka between the several federations except the Japanese one. It emerges that nearly half of the non Japanese practicing belongs to the German federation.

The data is updated at the end of October 2005.

Source: official website of International Kyudo Federation (IKYF)

kyudo

Kyudo, literally meaning “way of the bow”, is the Japanese art of archery. Kyudo is a rare sport in the sense that it is not dependent on age or sex. If the practitioner is dedicated, male or female, they can learn at any age. It’s never too early or too late to learn Kyudo. Although one could learn Kyudo at any point in their life, it can take a lifetime to perfect.

In its most pure form, kyudo is practiced as an art and as a means of moral and spiritual development. Many archers practice kyudo as a sport, with marksmanship being paramount. However, the goal most devotees of kyudu seek is seisha seichu, “correct shooting is correct hitting”. In kyudo the unique action of expansion (nobiai) that results in a natural release, is strived for. When the spirit and balance of the shooting is correct the result will be for the arrow to arrive in the target. To give oneself completely to the shooting is the spiritual goal. In this respect, many kyudo practitioners believe that competition, examination, and any opportunity that places the archer in this uncompromising situation is important, while other practitioners will avoid competitions or examinations of any kind.

From: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia