Kyudo Magazine excerpts:  9/25/2016

Post date: Oct 10, 2016 8:23:58 PM

By : Yoshiko Buchanan

The Kyudo Magazine September edition has a very useful article  about “Muscles for kyudo” but it is quite academic and the technical terms are difficult, so it was hard for me to summarize the entire contents.

I hope someone can work on the article.  But I would like to introduce other articles from the May edition

that may catch your attention here instead.  I would like to introduce the explanation of the muscles as well as I can read and understand enough to tell you.

Anti-Doping regulation:   Even quite a while before the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro we were exposed to the heavy publicity on the Russian doping problem.   Doping problems have been around us world-wide whenever sport events take place.  The ANKF (Public Interest Corporation All Nippon Kyudo Federation) is going to join the “Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA)”.  The article does not mention the specific date that the ANKF will join JADA however the ANKF seriously thinks that it is time to take action.  

The Sport Basic Law (via Google translate) encourages "cleanliness, fairness and rightness” among the national sport community.  Such encouragements are extended to junior athletes and senior athletes.  Kyudo is now globally introduced, spread and practiced.  In order to maintain the spirit of kyudo and pursue the goal of kyudo study the ANKF shoud follow the guidelines of the Sport Basic Law and the JADA.  Currently Judo, Kendo, Naginata and other Budo organizations are already members of the JADA.

As of 9/17/2016 it is confirmed that the ANKF joined JADA in June, 2016.  According to the ANKF office the IKYF will join WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency/https://www.wada-ama.org/) - Confirmation by YB

It is desirable that the IKYF/ANKF introduce the details of the Anti-doping regulation to all the IKYF members once it becomes official.

Note:  The ANKF does have the Medical/Science Committee (translated by YB) that consists of 6 members including a doctor(s).

The ANKF Chief Instructor Seminar and the ANKF Instructor Seminar for the fiscal year of 2015:   Both seminars are considered as one of the most important projects for the Public Interest Corporation (Koeki Zaidan Hojin) Zennihon Kyudo Renmei).

They take place annually, however they were not held last year for some reason and this year’s seminars were more focused on the topics of the ANKF teaching outlines to be discussed.   The discussion about anti-doping and the decision surrounding the decision to join JADA were a part of this seminar.

The attendees were 13 Hanshis for the Chief Instructor Seminar and 22 Hanshis and 17 8th dan Kyoshis for the Instructor’s Seminar.  It took place at the Chuo dojo from March 9th to the 12th, 2016.  Attendees of these two seminars are the higher rank teachers who form the core of the ANKF and are responsible to the overall ANKF teachings on shooting technique and the principles of the spiritual aspects, which means that what they study at the seminars will be brought back to the regional groups and such teachings then form the basics of the generally accepted teachings and thereby support the regional groups to improve their own kyudo study. 

Some portion of the seminar contents seem to be similar to the IKYF/US seminar: Yawatashi, sharei and the basics.  However the intensity and strictness of instruction were far more than what we receive at our seminars.  All the attendees trained themselves seriously and intently.