When I first began searching for a study abroad program in Japan, I already knew that I would like to try kyudo. I did not really think that I already liked kyudo, I just have an intense interest in archery no matter its form. I was mostly interested in how kyudo and archery compared to each other. More so than any other type of archery, kyudo has a unique asymmetrical bow and accompanying form. I wondered how the equipment affected practice and how the people who practiced it viewed it. As a result, doing it as a CIP in which I had to go and speak with people in Japanese seemed perfect as it combined language and cultural learning with something I already had a interest in. Kawaguchi-sensei of the Budo Center seemed perfectly happy to take me on as a student, and I really appreciate her putting up with me and my terrible Japanese. Although the other teachers and older member of the dojo spoke with me from time to time and offered some advice, Kyudo is primarily about individual practice. While I am used to practicing archery completely alone, I was a little surprised by the fact that even as a beginner, the teacher does not really help after showing you the proper form. Unlike western archery, the focus on kyudo is on improving yourself rather than your aim and, rather ironically, proper form is actually more important than in western archery. In archery, if you hit the bulls-eye every time, your form is good regardless of how “proper” it is, but in kyudo, you improve yourself through proper form and as an added benefit your aim will also improve. Unfortunately, I had some trouble getting into actually practicing kyudo because everything from the equipment to the stance to the way the bow is held is completely, if subtly, different. I felt frustrated by the teacher’s lack of involvement with the students because I did not just have to learn kyudo, I had to unlearn archery. Perhaps if I was going to be in Japan for a full year or more, I would have gone to kyudo as often as possible and really got a feel for it. But I feel I bit off more than I could chew, trying to learn an art that takes a lifetime to master in one semester, two days a week. Despite those feelings though, I really enjoyed my time at the dojo. Although people who prefer competitive archery may not understand the spiritual element of kyudo, as someone who practices archery for the fun of it, I really felt a connection between western archery and kyudo. The form it takes may be different, but I feel people who truly enjoy archery whether it be western or kyudo, understand how important patience and diligence is in both archery and life. I hope people across the world can continue to forge connections when they are similar and learn from each other when they differ. I hope can give kyudo another try one day and can give it the time and care it deserves.
「Private or Group Lesson (Sports)」カテゴリーアーカイブ
モラレス克己：弓道ー後半
今学期も弓道をしている。先学期も十二月に私とヘンスリーさんが弓道着を買って、その服を着て、一週間練習した。ヘンスリーさんは帰ったので、私は「これから一人で練習するかな」と思っていた。今学期はノナハンさんが弓道レッスンを始めたんだけど、私達の授業は全然違うから別々に行く。だから、今毎週一人で練習する。練習を始めてもう五、六ヶ月たつから道場に居る先生と生徒は私の事をもう知っている。先学期より他の人と話している。色々な事を気が付いた。時々先生に挨拶しようと思って待っている時に先生は他の生徒と話して、色々な事を教えていて、私と関係ない事かもしれないけど、私も聞いて学べると思う。いつも先生が話している時に耳を澄ます。最近、他のイベントもあった。二月十三日は川口先生の誕生日をだったので、練習している時に他の生徒が私に一緒に川口先生の誕生日を祝おうと言って、先生の生徒達と他の先生も小さい部屋に入って、ケーキやクッキーを食べて先生の誕生日を祝った。面白くて本当に楽しかった。私と他の新しい生徒以外の皆は長い間一緒に弓道をしているかもしれない。その時私はあんまり話さなかったけど、皆の話を良く聞いて、敬語の使い方に気が付いた。この場合には年齢がい一番大切だともう。先生と話す時はもちろん、先輩と話す時も「ですます」を使った。生徒達はほとんど大学生や友達みたいだけど、年齢の差があるから、その時は丁寧な言葉を使う。KCJSを終わりは近づいてくるから早く上手になりたい。後二ヶ月しかないから。
ケートリン・コナハン：弓道
私はアーチェリーが大好きなので、日本の文化についてを学び始めた時、弓道に興味を持つようになった。アメリカでも弓道をしてみたかったが、伝統的な日本のスポーツだからあまりなくて、わざわざ探してみたが、できる場所が見つからなかった。ＫＣＪＳに入ってすぐ弓道の場所を見つけた。運よく弓道をし始めたばかりの学生がまだいて、その学生が武道センターの川口先生に紹介してくれた。武道センターというのは色々な武道ができる所だ。例えば弓道を始め、剣道、合気道などのスポーツもできる。
毎週の月曜日と木曜日に練習する。月曜日にはモラレスさんと一緒に武道センターまで歩いて、木曜日にはバスで行く。月曜日にいる人と木曜日にいる人は違うから、皆の名前を覚えることは難しい。アーチェリーに比べると違うことがいろいろあった。弓も仕方も全く違う。始めは見ることだけで学んだが、三、四回後で弓と矢を使い始めた。川口先生と先輩たちはあまり話さないが、時々手の内とか引き方などを正して下さる。毎度平穏でいい気持ちがする。本当に楽しくて面白い。
Katsumi Morales: 弓道
I have been interested in archery from childhood, but until college, I never had the chance to experience it. However, once having experienced archery as a competitive sport, I realized that wasn’t even close to what I really wanted. I was never interested in sports, in competition or prizes. Although a lot of the motions and key points in 弓道 are parallel to those in the archery I practiced in the United States, being here, in this environment and practicing something fundamentally different, leaves me with a much more satisfied feeling after every hour I spend at the dojo, compared to the 2 hour practices I had back at my home institution which often simply gave me something more to feel stressed about. When I was a competitive archer, hitting the center of the target was the most important aspect, and everything that was done to improve your form was solely for that reason. Counting up points for scores and then comparing yourself to others always left me feeling like I was in the wrong place.
In 弓道 importance lies more in focusing and centering yourself. We are still learning and so most of our time is simply physical practice, but the feeling of the dojo itself and the environment created by the people there makes all the difference. The other day Jasmine and I had the privilege of watching our sensei and a few of our senpai shoot, and the formality and gracefulness of it simply reminded me of why I wanted to do this in the first place. Simple things like properly greeting our sensei make all the difference to me. The ambient in the dojo isn’t extremely formal, and I often hear my sensei chatting with some of her older students in a quite informal way. However when it comes to 弓道 itself, there is a formality which gives it weight, which separates it from any kind of sport. I watch others shoot in awe and respect because their every move seems perfectly calculated and the end result is quite beautiful. I have always felt the need to learn that kind of self-discipline, and so I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity not only to learn 弓道 but to learn it while being in Japan.
Jasmine Hensley: Kyudou
Before applying for KCJS, I read up on the program parameters on the KCJS website. Upon reading about the CIP assignment, I knew that I wanted to do kyudou because I had a previous interest in the martial art. Initially I had been concerned that I would not be able to do it because I am very petite young woman and was without any form of archery experience. Nevertheless, I pursued kyudou as my CIP, and began practicing every Monday and Thursday at the Kyoto Budou Center.
When I first entered the Budou Center’s kyudou dojo, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the archers were women around my size (though clearly much stronger than me from their years of practice). Our teacher Kawaguchi-sensei herself is a sprightly and strong older woman with a commanding presence. That is not to say that she was cold or unapproachable; on the contrary, she has been so kind and patient with us over the past few months, as have the other archers at the dojo.
Although practices are usually very independent, Kawaguchi-sensei and occasionally the other archers will offer tips and corrections to our postures. Because kyudou is so ritualized, requiring one to repeat the same pattern of movements before every shot is fired, it is crucial to correct one’s movements before they become too deeply ingrained to be fixed. I had very little upper body strength before starting kyudou here, so it took almost three months before I was strong enough and good enough to be allowed to move to a larger, heavier bow. I don’t think that I could ever have imagined how much pride and self-accomplishment I would feel for being allowed to exercise harder.
Kyudou as a whole has served as a catharsis during my months in Japan. This was my first time abroad, and the experience has been wonderful, but trying at times. As I’ve become more aware of my linguistic inabilities, I’ve found myself losing self-confidence very rapidly; however, kyudou is an activity that almost entirely transcends the language barrier. In addition, because there are other students who do not speak Japanese at all, I’ve gained some confidence in being able to translate between Kawaguchi-sensei and those students. Furthermore, it is a time apart from homework where one focuses only on the ritual of drawing the bow and one’s own body.
Kyudou is definitely a CIP that requires time and effort, but the rewards far outweighed any measly inconveniences. The support that I felt from Kawaguchi-sensei and the other archers, the atmosphere of the dojo, and the time for self-reflection not only helped rebuild and boost my self-confidence but also allowed me some peaceful time in my continuously active life in Japan.
Zalika Corbett: Weightlifting, Klexon (Language Exchange)
My CIP experience has a been a varied combination of people, venues, and activities.
After much searching, I finally came upon weightlifting. It was kind of a perfect fit, especially considering that I spent the first few weeks in Kyoto searching for some sort of sports-related CIP so that I could stay in shape. Weightlifting provided the perfect outlet to do this and, on top of that, the people there were incredible.
For instance, the first day I went, the main instructor asked me to perform a few basic excercises to check my form. This was not my first time weightlifting, but it was the first time that I had received instructions in such a detailed way. The instructor had video of professional female weightlifters doing the same exercise that I was and even drew diagrams on the board to explain exactly how to execue each lift. As a result, just a few hours into my first session, it became obvious that the main instructor and the student who taught with him were some of the the most knowledgeable trainers that I had ever met.
They were also some of the most patient. For instance, there was one excercise in particular in which I was disheartenly inconsistent. Sometimes I could execute the exercise reletively well, but on others it was as if I had never done the exercise before. Meanwhile, whoever was working with me gave me helpful, encouraging feedback.
Unfortunately, only a few weeks into weightlifting, I managed to injure myself in a way that prevented me from lifting for the rest of the sememster. As a result, I began to go to an international language exchange club, called Klexon. My first impression of the club was how organized it was. All of the English speakers were on one side of the tables, while the Japanese members were on the other. Then, every ten minutes, the Japanese members would rotate and start a conversation with another English speaker. The resulting process seem rather reminiscent of speed dating.
The second point I noticed was the variety of members. Initially, I thought that Klexon was mostly comprised of university students. However, I found that most of them were actually graduates with a wide variety of careers. During my time, there, I met doctors, salesmen, store owners, and that was just to start. In addition to the one-on-one session, we spent the last few minutes in small groups talking about set topics and then about whatever we so chose when there was a lull.
Overall, I think that both experiences, weightlifting and Klexon, were benefitial in their own way. I used Japanese more in the former, but there was not much in the way of conversation. Meanwhile, the latter was all about conversation, but the focus on English allowed for few opportunities to practice my Japanese until the final, group session. In the end, I am glad to have participated in both activities and, while I will miss weightliftng, I look forward to returning to Klexon to finish out the semester.
ヘンズリー･ジャズミン：弓道
子供のころ、日本の大衆文化に興味がありました。つまり、漫画とアニメが好きでしたが、他の日本の文化についてあまり知りませんでした。しかし、xxxHOLiC（ホリック）という好きな漫画が日本の民話と伝統的なことについての話だし、大学で日本の文化授業を取ったので、日本の伝統的な文化にも興味をもつようになりました。例えば、xxxHOLiCのキャラクターは射手だから、日本に来たとき弓道という伝統的なスポーツをやりたかったです。
九月から、京都大学の近くにある武道センターでかっこよくて強い川口先生が私ともう一人KCJSの留学生に弓道を教えてくださっています。弓道は難しいスポーツなので、初めは弓矢を使ってはいけませんでした。代わりに、上手な射手を見たり、射法八節という動きを練習したりしました。射法八節は「1.足踏(あしぶ)み｣、｢2.胴造(どうづく)り｣、｢3. 弓構(ゆがま)え｣、｢4.打起(うちおこ)し｣、｢5.引分(ひきわ)け｣、｢6.会(かい)｣、｢7.離(ばな)れ｣、｢8. 残心(ざんしん)｣です。しかし、早く覚えたから、三回目には弓を使い始めて、四回目には矢を使い始めました。むずかしいですが、川口先生はいい先生だから毎回楽しいです。
弓道をやることが好きで、弓道場で日本の言語的な経験ができることも好きです。川口先生は強い人だから、時々｢きみ｣などの日本語を使います(以前に、アニメと漫画ではだけ見たことがありました)。そして、毎回新しい体の単語を習います。それから、川口先生は日本語がを知らないドイツ人の留学生も教えているので、私は翻訳の経験もできます。
だから、弓道に興味があれば、ぜひしてみてください。弓道に興味がなければ、勧めますよ!
コーベット・ザリッカ : 京大ウェートリフティング
私はウェートリフティングのCIPをしています。どうやってこのCIPを見つけたかは面白い話です。スポ–ツなど運動のCIPをしたかったのですが、ちょっと運が悪かったです。実際は女性の運動の活動は見つけにくかったです。色々なグループに連絡しようとしましたが 、一つしか返事をもらえませんでしたし。それで、ロスさんが私にウェ–トリフテングを勧めてくれました。高校の時、リフティングをして、とても役に立ったし、身体をひきしめたかったし、リフティングは素晴らしい選択だと思いました。当初、私は女性ですから、させてもらえないと思いましたが、それは問題ではありませんでした。
だから、一週間に二回ロスさんとリフティングをしています。そこにインストラクター二人います。一人は日本人で、一人は同志社大学の留学生のドイツ人です。その人はとても優しく、知識も豊富です。実は、今まで教えてもらった運動のインストラクターの中で、そのインストラクターが一番知識が豊富かもしれません。例えば、リフティングではフォームが一番大切なことです。だから、インストラクター達はみんなに個々のフォームがよくなるやり方を教えてくださいます。インストラクターの一人が私達が何かリフトをしてみると、どうやって直すか見せてくださって、しかも私達の母国語で説明してみてくださいます。とても思いやりのある方だと思います。
それで、ウェートリフティングをするのが楽しく、次回のレッスンを楽しみにしています。
モラレス・克己：弓道
私は、長い間弓道をしたいと思っていて、日本に来たら、弓道のレッスンを受けたり、弓道の部に入ったり、絶対するだろうと信じていました。実は、大学に入った時に洋弓を始めました。ウェルズリー大学の洋弓部はよく大会に出て、運動部らしいです。楽しかったけど、私は運動より、武道のようなものに興味があったから、運動部の競争心があんまり好きじゃなかったです。弓道は運動ではなくて、武道だから体も精神のためにやりたいです。もっと有意義だと思います。
KCJSに着いて、色々な面白いCIPの機会があったけど、やっぱり弓道をしたいと思っていました。他のクラスメートと一緒に先生に連絡して、レッスンを始めました。武道センターと言う所でレッスンを受けています。初めは見るだけでしたけど、二週目から弓で練習し始めました。今は、まだ本当の的を使わないで、似ている別の的を使っています。一週間に二回行って、一つのレッスンで何回も矢を射ます。時々、私の先輩が教えて下さいます。今まだ本当の的を使っていないけど、その前に、練習しなくてはいけませんから、大丈夫だと思います。すごく楽しくて、面白いです。やっぱり弓道を選んだことは間違いではありませんでした
Xinru Li: Aikido in Kyoto Budo Center
Choosing Aikido, a Japanese martial art, as my CIP is one of the smartest decisions I made this semester. I have been practiced Aikido for 2 years in Brandeis and now I have a different experience in Kyoto Budo Center. I feel so lucky to practice Aikido in a traditional Dojo with people who are really into it.
At first, I was worried about whether doing Aikido will help me to get involved into a Japanese circle or improve my Japanese. After talking to students who was in KCJS last semester, I realized that I wanted to do something interesting so I could enjoy myself and learn more. So, I started to do Aikido two or three times per week. When I went to the dojo for the first time, I was shocked that there were so many old people and I hardly understood their Japanese because of their strong accents. Luckily, Aikido does not need too much spoken language. Basically, one learns a technique by watching sensei’s demonstration and practicing with different partners. This means you have to adjust your techniques according to the partner’s stature or strength. There is not competition or match in Aikido. All you need to do is to learn from your partner. Even though I have trouble understanding their Japanese at first, most of them are so experienced that they can show me how to improve my techniques.
Compared Aikido Club in Brandeis and Aikido dojo in Budo Center, etiquette is more strict in the Budo Center. I don’t even remember how many times I say arigatogozaimasu(thank you very much) and onegaishimasu(please teach me) in each practice day. Also, thanks to Aikido here, I can sit in seiza for a longer time. To some extent, etiquette connects us and makes us closer in here. When I follow the rules in Aikido dojo, I become a member of the group. Then I talk to the members there and make friends with them. During this process, I improve my listening and understanding of Japanese culture.
It is April now. I can see cherry blossom near Budo Center every time I go there. Even though there is less than one month left to enjoy cherry blossom and practice Aikido, I will remember this wonderful experience and keep doing Aikido in the future.