Japanese Mounted Archery

On Thursday, I went to Kyoto for the day with a good friend of mine. He was competing in a kendo competition and intended to make a day of it.

One of the reasons he wanted me to go was to see Yabusame (Japanese mounted archery.) Yabusame is a religious ceremony, with the archers riding down a narrow track and firing at wooden targets.

It is quite spectacular with some of the horses at full gallop. Unfortunately I didn't get a good photo but did find this example online.

Iaido - my first steps

When I came to Japan, one of the things that I wanted to experience, was to train in one of the Japanese martial arts. Once we were settled, I started to make some enquiries. One night I was talking to Mel's boss and I mentioned that I was interested in seeing Iaido. The next thing I know, I had an invite to watch a class at a local dojo.

Mel was especially nervous when we went because she had to do the initial introductions. The sensei was very welcoming, but he was surprised that we even knew about Iaido. After the introductions were over, we were given seats to watch the training.

We were both blown away by the grace, power and almost meditative state of the practitioners. After the session, I was asked if I wanted to train. I immediately said yes!