Heki Ryu Insai Ha Kyujutsu DVD by Ken Kurosu

This DVD covers the Heki-ryu Insai-ha archery tradition, which originated in the 1600s with founder Yoshida Issuiken Insai. This school served three Tokugawa shoguns (Ieyasu, Hidetada, and Iemitsu) and became widespread throughout Japan as the shogunate's official archery style.

Main Sections:

1. Kesho-mae (Formal Practice):
   • The twelve fundamental movements corresponding to the Japan Kyudo Federation's eight stages
   • Ceremonial shooting forms (one arrow at small target, four arrows at makiwara)
2. Shooting Positions:
   • Various traditional stances including kneeling, crouching, and standing positions
3. Yōzen (Combat Archery):
   • Armored archery techniques
   • Rapid shooting (sashiya)
   • Long-distance shooting (hiriya)
   • Penetrating hard targets
   • Tube arrow techniques
   • Root striking techniques

Instructor Profile: Ken Kurosu is a Professor Emeritus at Tohoku Gakuin University and heads the Date Insai-ha Archery Research Association. Born in Miyagi Prefecture in 1956, he began kyudo in high school and has taught extensively in Europe since 1979, including Germany, Italy, Finland, Hungary, Austria, and Slovenia. He has received the German Kyudo Federation Gold Pin Award.

Language: Japanese