Rei 

   At a recent seminar one of the instructors gave a beautiful explanation of “rei”, the bow. Regrettably it was beyond the means of the interpreter. I shall try to summarize his comments, as I understood them.

   On entering the dojo we should have a feeling of gratitude. We should be grateful that we have the opportunity to practice, test, demonstrate our kyudo etc. He said that when asked to do a sharei he was grateful to be so employed. He used the verb tsutomeru, which is literally to be employed, as in having a job. Sensei was so sincere that I actually got the feeling of employment vs. unemployment. It gave me a new perspective on sharei.

   To bow without this feeling is “kurei”, an empty bow. (In Kyudo you are judged on everything from entering the dojo to leaving the dojo. If you enter with a kurei and poor toriyumi shisei, then your test is over. The judges will simply ignore you.) If the bow is empty then the following shooting must also be empty.

   I felt that this was a wonderful teaching. When we enter the dojo most of us are worried about staying in step or even thinking about hitting the target. One thing at a time.

   Aaron Blackwell-Rokudan Kyoshi