Archery: More than a Sport

Chinese archery has a long history and was one of the first sports to enter the education system. Below I'll give you an overview of what archery is specifically. Welcome to read.

Archery: more than just a sport

Xia and Shang time of the 庠序之教 in the order is the place to practice shooting, "Mengzi? The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on a pair of shoes or boots. The first thing you need to do is to get your hands on a pair of shoes or boots. The education system at that time placed the teaching of archery in a very high position. The different levels of archery rites manifested the talent selection mechanism and national etiquette of the Zhou Dynasty very clearly. Following this, the six arts of the gentleman emerged: ritual, music, archery, royal, calligraphy, and mathematics. (A compulsory course in modern universities.) During the Spring and Autumn Period, both Confucius and Mencius strongly emphasized the importance of shooting to observe virtue, and shooting to cultivate one's body. Confucius has shot not the main skin straight, more said? The gentleman has nothing to fight for, must also shoot. And Mencius advocated? If you do not hit the target, you should seek help from yourself. This is the archery to the height of the cultivation of the body, which triggered the scholar through the practice of archery to achieve the purpose of cultivating the body to cultivate virtue.

Archery: you must focus your attention on the whole process of each arrow, which requires that the archer must focus his attention on each technical aspect of the whole process of each arrow, and any distraction of attention is wrong,? The highest psychological state of every archer is to be calm and quiet. is the highest psychological state of every archer, what we pursue is not just hitting the target, but the whole process of hitting the target. For the shooter, the process is more important than the result, because it is not only a sport, or an important means of cultivating and examining the character of the shooter, it is this feature rich in archery and its deep cultural connotations, which is one of the charms of archery.

Archery training, not only physical and archery skills training, but also psychological quality and mental orientation training. This indicates that it contains a profound Confucian philosophy, in the process of archery training, emphasizing the body and mind as one, until it reaches ? Mindlessness? The situation. This is no longer a sport in the general sense, but also a Confucian requirement for cultivating virtue and cultivating character. It is the refining of moral character. Now we learn archery, not only to shoot how many rings, but more importantly, to improve the understanding and awareness of archery culture, deepen the? Archery is about moral character. The rightness of the mind and the straightness of the body? Internal and external cultivation? and other core concepts of archery culture. When we respect archery as an art, it is no longer a sport. Sport is a skill that people can control through certain physical exercises, while the purpose of archery is to cultivate people's heart and spirit, which has risen to a higher philosophical level.

? Reprinted from Mr. Xu Kai Cai Xu's new book: "The Art of Archery".

Shooting to nourish the body

Archery is a gentle and forceful sport, so it is suitable for men and women, young and old, and it is a lifelong sport that can be practiced. Archery emphasizes the symmetry of the body and the straight line, which is in line with human physiology. Archery is a non-confrontational sport that aims to defeat itself, and will not harm the body by fighting for bravery.

Shooting for the eyes

Archery emphasizes the eyes of the face, and the eyes: quiet as if no one, moving as if shooting (archery target). In the field archery, lush nature is the best environment for the eyes, long-term practice of shooting on the eye is very beneficial.

Shooting to raise qi

Archery requires: voice quiet, qi solemn; archery soft force, calm and serene, so the breath is always deep, smooth.

Shooting for courage

When shooting arrows, the action is complete, can not pause and hesitate, so you can cultivate decisive character. As the old saying goes, the practice of soldiering begins with the training of courage, the training of courage begins with the training of qi, and the training of qi begins with the continuous shooting.

Shooting to develop wisdom

Archery as long as there is a bow and an arrow can be practiced, very simple, but involves a lot of learning, such as: mechanics, aerodynamics, materials science, human body movement mechanics and physiology, astronomy, climate, geography, psychology, etc., the pursuit of archery to develop morality shooting is more to learn traditional culture. Through archery and can be intuitive and profound experience of the abstract truth, cultivate self-awareness, self-discipline, self-cultivation, self-corrected good habits, and then inspire wisdom, learning, physical and mental benefits.

Archery is a sport of virtue

Archery is also a sport of self-cultivation. The Book of Rites. The "Rituals of Archery": "Archery is the way of benevolence. The way of benevolence is also the way of the shooter. Shooting for the right to themselves, their own positive and after the hair; hair and not in, then do not complain about winning their own people, the opposite of their own and their own carry on. Confucius said:? The gentleman has nothing to contend with, must also shoot. Greetings and rise, down and drink, its competition gentleman also. Through the archery to go everywhere to pay attention to themselves, correct themselves, is called to raise virtue.

Shooting for beauty

The most beautiful thing in the world is the beauty of nature and the beauty of the inner temperament. In archery, there are many kinds of beauty: the beauty of simple and natural movements, the beauty of softness, the beauty of uprightness, the beauty of calmness, the beauty of boldness, the beauty of perseverance, the beauty of respect and courtesy, the beauty of mutual assistance, the beauty of respect for life, the beauty of positivity and the beauty of upward mobility. The beauty of the spirit of learning, learning from time to time, not to say? The beauty of spiritual pleasure and so on. Not only will the shooter enjoy these beauties, but the onlooker will also be touched by these beauties.

Shooting for harmony

Through archery, an individual can develop sincerity and prudence, cultivate self-awareness, introspection, perseverance, boldness, respect, and courtesy, and reach a state of unity of mind and body and a state of serenity and elegance.

Archery is a way of cultivating righteousness