Dude, I am in mah top secret bunker as I am attempting to avoid doing anything resembling actual work and here you are trying to blow my cover :P

Please... admitting what you're doing, or not doing in my case :P, is the very definition of savoir faire :P

We're ready.

Aye, it's been almost a year now, and it's grown on me. :)
My form isn't perfect (I tend to lean towards the target, and you can see my shoulder sticking out - I've fixed that since making that photo this summer, though), but my aim is pretty good. :) Two weeks ago, I hit the mato three out of three times - I was looking forward to the fourth hit, but that's when my senpai noticed me (pun intended) and "helped" me correct my form... I absolutely never hit if someone breaks my concentration like that. :)
I practice the Heki Ryu Insai Ha style, after 4-5 months of practicing the ANKF Shomen style. I find Heki to be much more direct, and its focus on hitting the target, rather than looking perfectly. :D
Do you practice it as well, or are you just familiar with the art? :)

I've never seriously shot an European bow myself - shooting the Yumi seems absolutely ridiculous compared to the more straightforward Mediterranean style, but now that I know what I'm doing I can't see myself shooting "normally". :D
One day I would like to learn how to shoot without the glove, though. In ancient times, Japanese and Chinese archers just used a leather ring around their thumbs. It's virtually impossible to wield a sword with the clumsy stiff-thumbed glove (Yugake), so I think it's just a relatively new, ceremonial accessory to keep your thumbs from bleeding. :D

Edit: Also, you mean the "relatively-long-bow", right? :P

I assumed as much, I was just joking as the japanese yumi is a tad longer than the British longbow. ;)

There's bound to be one. In Poland, there are a few dozen Kyudo practicioners, whereas I know of well over a thousand practicioners of Heki Ryu alone - with probably another thousand Shomen practicioners as well. Interestingly enough, Heki Ryu seems to be more popular there - probably because of it being more martial than the ceremonial, modern Shomen style.
This year me and three other guys visited Hans Pichlmeier in Pöcking, Bavaria for a weekend (and ate the absolutely best Schweinshaxe imaginable, in Andechs, after our first day there). I could ask Hans-sensei via e-mail if he knows of any Kyudojo in your area - if you let me know where that is (though I could probably Geo-IP that using my Support Powers:D).
As far as I understand, the Japanese had to make it ridiculously long because they didn't have any proper wood to make bows with. Bamboo would break if it was to bend as much as yew, for instance. And being off-centre is pretty self-explanatory - aside from the average height of your typical Samurai, those bows were primarily shot from horseback, which necessitated the bottom part to be short. If they could, I'm sure the Japanese would have preferred to use Mongolian-style recurve bows instead, but alas, natural resources were never their strong points. ;)

I have contacted Hans, we'll see what he knows. :) If he doesn't know if any groups exist in your area, I'll try to contact Lilo Reinhards - a 6th dan Shomen master who conducted a seminar here in Poland last month. She might know something Hans doesn't, though she is also from somewhere in Bavaria.
In my experience Kyudo is usually practiced during weekenda, so it shouldn't be too inconvenient to travel a bit once a week, if you wish to practice. :)

>implying each of us doesn't keep a stash of weapons handy at all times.
;)

http://data2.whicdn.com/images/42831538/original.gif







:D

My what an uncanny resemblance... :P