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Indonesian samurai?: Practicing Japanese military archery with Heki Ryu Indonesia
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The teacher: Tomotsugu Goka is observing some members of Heki Ryu Indonesia. (Courtesy of Heki Ryu Indonesia) (Courtesy of Heki Ryu Indonesia/Courtesy of Heki Ryu Indonesia)
A
ccording to Muyedobotongji, a martial arts manual from ancient Korea: the Chinese have perfected their spears, the Koreans their bows and arrows and the Japanese their swords. Little did many know, however, that bows and arrows were the primary weapons of the samurai.
Archery has been with humanity since antiquity. Bows and arrows accompanied men in warfare and hunting throughout history, winning them decisive battles and earning them resources. There are many ways of shooting the bow, from the fast-paced shooting one commonly sees in Turkey to the slow and ceremonial schools of Japanese archery.
Heki-ryu is a school within kyudo. Kyudo refers to traditional archery as practiced in Japan. Literally, the term means “the way of the bow”. As opposed to mainstream kyudo, which in modern day represents Japanese archery culture in general, Heki-ryu is not focused on the ceremonial aspect of the art. Rather, it focuses on the martial side of archery, apparent from its emphasis on battlefield-oriented technique.
Developed by Heki Danjo Masatsugu during the Ashikaga period of Japan, which overlaps with the Sengoku (Warring States) period when Japanese daimyo (feudal lords) waged war with each other, Heki-ryu found its way to Indonesia by means of Tamatsugu Goka, who taught the style to the founders of Heki Ryu Indonesia - Adam Numair Nusantara, Yoeru Sadewa and Agus Hermawan.
"I have been practicing archery since 2015 but was exposed to kyudo in 2018," Numair, who is also a bower, said. "When I visited Japan, I asked my peers to recommend an archery school to me. They told me to meet Makinori Matsuo, a professor of kyudo at the University of Tsukuba. It occurred that the style practiced by his dojo was Heki-ryu."
"He taught me the basics of kyudo, namely the eight steps. Then he recommended a shop, from which I then bought a yumi."
