In mid-July, the International Kyudo Federation’s training courses and exams took place in Poland, Germany, and France. The large number of participants demonstrated Europeans’ interest in the art of Japanese archery.
Three members of the Neandertal Kyudo Club in Erkrath can celebrate passing their exams and advancing to the next dan rank.
Kieko Shibata-Petermann and Olaf Koch achieved 2nd dan, while Robert Knauf achieved 3rd dan.

Due to the high number of participants, the training courses and exams were spread across three countries. In Poznań and Frankfurt, the exams were combined with a three-day training course; in Paris, only the exams were offered.

Under the guidance of three high-ranking instructors from the art’s country of origin, over 450 archers practiced the movement sequences and shooting. For the higher ranks, the prescribed sequence of movements—comparable to a Shinto ceremony—is so important that even a hit is not enough to pass the exam.
As a result, no 6th Dan was awarded, and only one Renshi title was conferred.

© Reinhard Kollotzek

Automatically translated by DeepL