As Katsumi and the others went to the changing rooms, Otame-sensei took his time to let the younger students get the feel of the bow itself. The asymmetry of its design was kind of off-putting; one might think that the longer upper limb would cause it to be imbalanced. But as soon as they let it rest in their hands, they could feel how well it was made. Most were just surprised at the size of it; with Njord's impressive height, the strung bow stood near to the top of his head, maybe an inch or two taller. And that was saying something.
"Sensei, why does the bow look like this? It seems...uneven" asked a brown-haired young man, to which Otame replied, "There are many theories on it, and honestly, even I do not know the answer. All I know is that this design has been around for centuries, and is still practiced to this day. Maybe in time, we will be able to discern why our ancestors made our yumi this way." Njord had pondered this himself; but then, did it matter? It worked.
"I think I'd like to meet one of the bow-makers. Learn something new. The design is marvelous." Njord then commented, something that made Otame-sensei smile. "You'll likely get your chance; every student is encouraged to purchase their own yumi at some point. Alright, let's have everyone handle the practice bow. The bamboo will feel slightly different, and likely be lighter in the hands, but the mechanics are the same." He led the small group through stringing the bow; some of the students had some trouble, as they were trying to use their knee and bend it on the ground so as to place the loop in the lower nock. It seemed like a good technique, and Sensei explained why it was done this way. Even to how the actual knots were to be aligned to keep the yumi in balance. But it seemed a troublesome methodology.
It was because of this that he used his own method, with some modifications. After making sure the upper knot - or 'ura-hazu' as Sensei called it - was aligned with the length of the yumi, he placed the upper limb behind his left thigh so that it rested on his left shin, keeping the string taut. He then reached behind him and gently pulled the lower limb down, placing the tzuru in the motohazu and gently relieving the pressure before withdrawing his leg and righting the bow in his grasp.
Some students were looking at him funny. But he then noticed even Sensei was giving him an odd stare; had he done something wrong?
"I've never seen a student string a bow that way before." said Otame, to which Njord grinned and replied, "It's the same way I string a Welsh longbow...Though I'm guessing my size made things a little easier, haha." Sensei just chuckled, "It is all well and good. Just be sure that your knots are aligned. Even if these are practice bows, you will find the bamboo yumi much more responsive if there is imbalance in your stringing." He then walked over and inspected Njord's work, nodding and affirming with, "But based on what I can see, you should be just fine."
After that was done, he led them through the art of the draw. taking his place at the front. "But now that you've had a feel for it, I always make it a point to have us watch the user. And if I'm not mistaken, and if I know Yaru, he will have some of our best perform long distance shooting." He then directed their attention towards the advanced students, watching as Katsumi had just finished setting herself up. They watched each seamless movement, like it was so natural for her. There was an eerie fluidity to it all, even as she pulled the bow and held it taut; each student just watched in awe as she demonstrated such poise. Njord too watched, his keen eyes taking in every movement, every muscle twitch, more detail than most might give him credit for noticing. And then the arrow flew, nailing the target dead center. He joined some of the others in their applause
He then had them watch two others take their own shots, their techniques very much to Katsumi's as they let their arrows go down range. They too hit the targets with impressive precision. Sensei then explained that there was a form to tournament, something that they would see the seniors practicing more and more as the year went on
Archery went on, the juniors continuing to learn about technique and the draw of the bow, as well as an introduction to the 'soft grip'. Sensei lectured that many cases of the yumi twisting was because the person's left hand grip was too strong. He tried not to be too pointed, but Sensei was concerned about Njord; his experience with bows had been more about livelihood and with materials that did not respond as sensitively as bamboo. He worried that if he did purchase his own, its lifespan might not be as long as someone's as Katsumi's. At the end, they were walked through unstringing the yumi and proper storage.
Soon enough, practice was over and the students allowed to depart; the meetings would not be this long in the future, as it would become repetition to reinforce technique, as well as go through the tournament roster and have try-outs for the team.
"Archery should be fun" Njord said to Katsumi as they made their way out of the school together, a grin present on his face; it was like nothing could make it leave. "Better watch out though; I might just show you up if you're not careful." he then added, more as a playful jab than a serious threat to dethrone her, as he knew quite well she held no such self-absorbed delusions.
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