Last Saturday, June 11, 2016, the German Championships in Kyudo—the traditional Japanese art of archery—took place in Karlsruhe.

Three archers from the Kyudoverein Neandertal e.V. participated in the “Senpai” competition for senior archers.

Only archers who hold at least a 5th dan (master’s rank) are eligible to compete in this division. This typically requires more than 15 years of regular training.

The competition consists of four rounds, in each of which two arrows are shot according to strictly regulated rules.

As early as the first round, five archers pulled ahead of the field; after the second round, only two archers remained tied for the lead; and by the third round, there was only one leader left:

Reinhard Kollotzek of the Kyudoverein Neandertal e.V.

In the final round, he once again hit the target—which was only 36 cm in diameter and 28 m away—with both arrows, further extending his lead over his pursuers.

The first arrow had fallen out of his hand as he was gripping the bowstring and could not be shot.

After that, he hit the target with every arrow he shot. With a score of 7/8, he took first place and was crowned “2016 German Senpai Champion.”

Tobias Oswald (5/8 Hesse) took second place, and after a tiebreaker, Barbara Lembke (4/8 Bavaria) finished third. Günther Dauner from the KVN had also competed in the tiebreaker for third place.

However, Barbara’s arrow was closer to the center.

Hannelore Heid-Dauner from the KVN placed 10th out of 12 competitors.

Congratulations to all the participants!

Automatically translated by DeepL