Ornoth

Sterling Archer

2023-04-03T18:29:03Z

Cambridge Massachusetts, February 23, 2014: I grab a Japanese bow, walk to within two meters of a target, and inexpertly bury two arrows into it. Thus began my excursion into the meditative / martial art of kyūdō. There’s some background info on kyūdō and my “First Shot” ceremony in this blogpo.

However, 18 months later, I moved to Pittsburgh, where the lack of a kyūdō group forced me to step away from the practice. Seven years passed.

When Inna and I were recently evaluating cities to move to, kyūdō was an important consideration for me, and I checked out the local groups when we visited Raleigh/Durham, Denver/Boulder, and Austin. So when we finally moved to Austin, one of my first stops was Austin Kyūdō.

My Second First Shot

In Japan, there are several schools of kyūdō, each with their own slight differences in philosophy, terminology, and technique. Of those, there are only two that are active in the United States. There’s the All Nippon Kyūdō Federation, which I’ll shorten to ANKF, that came out of a postwar attempt to unify all the diverse styles into one common form. That’s what’s typically taught as an activity in Japanese high schools. The other presence in the US is the Heki-Ryu Bishu Chikurin-ha school, which I’ll call Zenko, which is one of those older schools, traditionally headed by the Shibata family of bowmakers to the Japanese nobility, and which was supported somewhat by the Shambhala organization.

Sadly, there’s some rivalry and mutual condescension between these two schools. While that might make more sense back in Japan, it seems pretty counterproductive here in the US, where the differences seem trivial and – since neither has much of a following – a spirit of mutual cooperation would benefit everyone.

All this pertains to me because my practice at Byakko Kyudojo back in Boston was in the Zenko style, but Austin Kyūdō is affiliated with the ANKF. So I’m effectively switching schools and starting over. While there is a Zenko group in Houston with occasional practices in Austin (Emiko Kyudojo), it makes sense for me to get back into kyūdō with the more active local group and consider returning to the Zenko fold after developing a greater level of proficiency.

From the perspective of an American and a novice, the differences between ANKF and Zenko are few, but worth enumerating. Philosophically, Zenko is more focused on the internal, meditative aspect of archery (which appeals to me), and seems more focused on individual practice rather than coordinated group shooting. And – being run by a family of traditional bowmakers – Zenko requires practitioners to use bamboo bows, whereas ANKF is happy to use composite bows that are cheaper, more forgiving, and require less care. ANKF has also added formal ranks, requiring written exams and shooting demonstrations to advance in levels.

With that as background… After arriving in Austin, I learned that Austin Kyūdō was holding a six-week beginners’ course. Between a seven year layoff and joining a different school, that “starting over” route made sense for me. I joined two other newbs for their training series, which culminated on Saturday April 1th with our “First Shot” rite… Which was actually my second First Shot ceremony, having been through Zenko’s equivalent back in 2014, as described up top.

While it’s wonderful being a full-fledged kyudoka again, I’m far from satisfied with my first shot. While passable, my form wasn’t up to my own expectations, so I have plenty of “stuff” to work on.

But I was also put off because my hands are too large for any of the group’s dojo-owned gloves for students. In addition to a bow and arrows, a kyūdō-specific glove is an absolutely essential piece of equipment, since it is the glove that actually holds the bowstring when it is drawn. For my first shot, I wound up borrowing another student’s brand-new glove, and the bow just wasn’t cooperating with it.

While I always intended to send away to Japan and invest in my own custom-made glove, the lack of a dojo glove to practice with has made that purchase a pressing need. The fabrication and shipping will take 2-3 months, during which I really can’t do any shooting, either at distance or at a close-range practice target, as in the photo above.

Despite that frustrating delay, there’s still a lot I can work on in the meantime, so that when my glove arrives I can dive back into practice with diligence, energy, and more confidence in my form.

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What Does Orny Do?

2022-02-28T19:39:43Z

This is a question that has followed me for most of my life. From the college employer who had no idea what I did for him; to Inna’s family and friends who wonder how I spend my copious free time, since I don’t work. It’s a question even Inna herself can’t answer, despite having lived with me for six years!

That question – what do you do? – confuses me, because I make no secret of it; there’s evidence plastered all over my social media.

I suspect that people are confused because I don’t push myself and my interests forward in verbal conversations. I’m more of a listener, allowing others to guide the conversation, and will only talk about myself after people express interest in what I’m up to; although most people will naturally direct conversations toward their own interests.

And then some of my closer friends avoid delving into my interests because they know that once I do get that implicit permission, I’ll talk about them enthusiastically and at length. Kinda like when you open up one of my blogposts… There’s a reason why my writers’ group always cautioned new members with, “That’s Orny… Don’t encourage him.”

On a side note, my interests tend to be very long in duration and deep in nature. It might take a while before I commit myself to something, but when I decide to do it, I insist on doing it well and thoroughly. I will not half-ass anything I do; this is one of my core values as a person.

So let me attempt to answer that eternal question: what does Orny do, anyways?

Number one: cycling. I ride up to 10 or 20 hours a week, either solo, group rides, or major events, both outdoors as well as on the indoor trainer through the winter. And that doesn’t include time spent on bike cleaning, maintenance, repairs, and performance analysis. Cycling is my passion.

Number two: meditation. I spend 2-4 hours a week in meditation, and another couple hours listening to dhamma talks. About twice a month I lead two different meditation groups, and must put time into researching, developing, practicing, and delivering my own dhamma talks. Sometimes I’ll go off on weeklong silent retreats, and I’ve always got plenty of dhamma reading to do. The philosophy and practices behind Buddhism are a central part of who I am.

Number three: investing. My former employment at Sapient gave me enough capital to consider living free of the working world. However, that means my “full-time job” is to invest my finances wisely and safely, and provide financial advice to Inna. So I devote a ton of time to reading financial news and books about investing. I keep tabs on the market daily, both because I want to be aware of my opportunities and, frankly, I enjoy monitoring my success. Financial self-sufficiency and independence are life goals that were drilled into me by my parents.

Number four: the Pan-Mass Challenge. I’ve ridden this annual fundraiser for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute sixteen times and raised $119,000 for cancer research. You have no idea how much time that fundraising effort requires: the countless emails, tracking contacts (and writing my own database to manage it), chasing down corporate matching gifts, et cetera. For many years, it alone was a full time job from May through August. But this has been one of the most fulfilling things I have done.

Number five: learning Japanese. This winter I’ve put 10-15 hours a week into this newest intellectual challenge I’ve committed to. Characteristically, I’ve attacked it with energy and dedication. Academic learning and developing new skills are lifelong pleasures, and this is their current form. There’ll probably be a separate blogpost on this sometime later.

Number six: my relationship with Inna. It should go without saying that a lot of time goes into sharing our lives together and helping one another out. Partnership and family have always been a challenge for an introvert and loner like myself, so this is where a lot of work needs to happen.

So those are the big things.

Now fill in the remaining gaps with some of my more episodic background interests. Between my general and cycling blogs I write two or three dozen posts per year. I devote time to artistic interests in both photography and videography. I find time to enjoy a number of simulcast anime series and follow MLS soccer and the New England Revolution as well as the US national team.

And there’s always plenty of household duties. I’m fairly fastidious about my living conditions, and my responsibilities include vacuuming, laundry, garbage & recycling, car maintenance, computer maintenance, and cat feeding, grooming, litterbox, and exercise (if you only knew!). Plus grocery shopping and cooking for myself every day. And then in the background is researching our future move away from Pittsburgh.

That’s my life every day. If you ask me, I think the question shouldn’t be “What does Orny do?” but more like “How does Orny possibly do all that?”

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