Kyudo as a Budo
I have been thinking on the subject Kyudo as a Budo for several months and I have been having difficulty putting my thoughts and feelings on this subject into words. I recently realized that it has been because the way that I learned about Budo has been mostly through experience rather than verbal. There are many qualities that make up a Budo. During my more that 20 years of following the path of budo through the study of karate, aikido, and kyudo. I have learned many of the things that make an endeavor more than just physical exercise. They are loyalty, respect for all life, courage to do what is right without worrying about oneself first, compassion for others and self-discipline to do what needs to be done even when no one else will know whether or not it has been done.
Many
of us forget that Kyudo is a Military way. Some people think of it as
meditation, some a sport (archery), and yet others as spiritual
training. Leave
out any one of these aspects and you no longer have a budo. Kyudo is a
way of
spiritual, ethical and moral training. It is a way of life. The samurai
knew that
he might be asked to take a life or to surrender his own at any moment
and with
this knowledge a certain sense of urgency develops in ones daily life.
One of
the difficulties that I see is that as Americans we have not been
brought up in
the way of DO (d long o). In the Kyudo manual it says, “that we should
have
the warrior spirit which is prepared to bow unquestioningly.” Pg. 42
While I was in the lobby of the 2003 American Kyudo Seminar
someone of
higher rank called my name I answered in my usual” YES SIR!?” A little
while
later someone who had heard the exchange asked if I had been in the
military. My
response was no just Martial Arts training. One will “exert himself to
the
utmost, win with modesty, accept defeat gracefully, and constantly
exhibit a
temperate attitude.” Budo Charter.
The
teacher student relationship is built on mutual trust. The student
trusts that
the teacher is looking out for the welfare of the student and the
teacher trusts
that the student will not abuse the knowledge that is given. I trust
that my
instructors are watching out for my best interest and that they know
what it is
that I need to do to improve. Without this trust there will not be any
spiritual
or ethical training. From this relationship of trust a loyalty
develops. Loyalty
is an emotional bond that is not logical. It is a two way street, the
teacher is
loyal to the students and in return the student is loyal to the teacher.
I owe a debt to those who have taught me and my instructor also
owes
those who taught him. The only way I have to repay this debt to pass
what I have
learned on to the next generation. I trust my instructors and do as
they ask to
the best of my ability. When they make changes in my technique I try to
follow
through with them even when my initial impression is that my shooting
is worse.
I know that the teacher has traveled the path before me and even though
I may
believe one thing to be true they know differently.
Through the coordination of mind and body and bow we come to understand our place in relationship to society in general, individuals in particular and the universe as a whole. For an endeavor to be a budo there must be moral, and ethical instruction along with the physical instruction. The Budo Charter says, “The object of budo is to cultivate character, enrich ability to make value judgments, and foster a well disciplined and capable individual through participation in physical and mental training…” This is also the object of Kyudo therefore Kyudo is a Budo.
Maureen Reed - Godan