Mon (月)	Tue (火)	Wed (水)	Thu (木)	Sat (土)
14:00 - 16:00	Kurosawa Sensei (黒澤先生)			Arahata Sensei (荒畑先生)	1st: Arahata Sensei (第1: 荒畑先生) 2nd: Kurosawa Sensei (第2: 黒澤先生)
18:00 - 20:00	Ishikawa Sensei (石川先生) Arahata Sensei (荒畑先生)	Sakuma Sensei (佐久間先生) Arahata Sensei (荒畑先生)	Ishikawa Sensei (石川先生) Kurosawa Sensei (黒澤先生)	Sakuma Sensei (佐久間先生) Kurosawa Sensei (黒澤先生)
Note (注)	(i) Practice is allowed only during the days and times when a teacher is present. お稽古は先生のいる日時のみ出来ます。 (ii) There is practice only on the 1st and 2nd Saturdays of the month. 第１と第２の土曜日だけにお稽古があります。

Two months of biweekly classes in Kyudo have finally come to an end. Armed with the very basics of using the Japanese bow and arrows, we are now deemed safe enough to practice with the rest of the group. The road is just beginning, and although it's a very long one, I look forward to what I perceive as a life-long practice.

Four hours of Kyudo practice today after a 6-hour Taiko practice yesterday translates to shaky arms and unsteady hands. I've been in anticipation of my first Kyudo class in Japan at the Hachimangu Shrine, and finally it came. It started with what seemed to me a rather complex piece of clothing to put on, the hakama. I am certain that I won't be able to put it on again for the next class without asking for help from the instructors.

The lesson started by learning how to pay respect to Hachiman, the patron god of this shrine. Two bows, followed by two claps of the hands, and then a final bow. We learnt how we're expected to walk while in the dojo, landing not with the heel but the ball of foot. Making turns involves a very precise positioning of the back foot against the front foot and turning it by 90 degrees. Other important movements included how to make a 180-degree turn while standing and 90-degree turns when in kiza.

The rest of the lesson was spent in learning how to put on the glove on the right hand and practicing on rubber bows, which are used in lieu of the real bow while learning the various movements. I thought that the web space between my left thumb and index fingers wouldn't hold up to the practice, having developed a huge blister from Taiko practice the day before. Unbelievably, after two hours of pulling on these high-resistance rubber bows, something shifted and not only was the pain much more bearable, I became unconscious of it and felt much more present in the movements.