Chapter 106: Kyudo Club - Trial Training (2)

Chapter 106: Chapter 106: Kyudo Club - Trial Training (2)"Is Uesugi Sakura really that strong?" Sugai Hideki questioned this, knowing that Uesugi Sakura was a new member who had just joined the Kyudo Club. "May I ask, what rank does Uesugi Sakura hold?" He himself was of the third rank. Although rank does not represent a shooter’s true skill, it gives insight into the shooter’s minimum level. "No Rank," Uesugi Sakura replied calmly. "How long have you been practicing Kyudo...?" "One month." Upon hearing this, Sugai Hideki’s face showed a mix of shock and astonishment. He looked towards the other three. Hirata Masanobu shrugged helplessly, "Unfortunately, Uesugi is indeed better than me." "Better than me too," said Seisuke Yooya. Sugita Shuhei spoke calmly, "There’s little point in discussing this; let a round of shooting reveal their skill." —————— In the first round, the five stood in a line at the entrance, placing the bow and arrows at the waist belt area. As they walked towards the shooting position, they encountered their first problem—unmatched steps. "What should we do?" Hirata Masanobu asked. "Whose fault is it?" "Mine," Sugai Hideki raised his hand, "I was a beat slow." "No problem, let’s try again." They stood again at the entrance. After bowing to the air, the lead Uesugi Sakura walked with even steps to the shooting position in front. His entry etiquette had improved a lot recently. "Stop!" Sugita Shuhei suddenly halted everyone’s movements as they took position. Uesugi Sakura looked back and saw Hirata Masanobu scratching his head embarrassedly. "Sorry, sorry, I missed the beat." "It’s fine, just be more attentive next time," Sugita Shuhei reiterated the same phrase. On the third attempt, the five synchronized their steps correctly, and each went to their shooting position, gradually getting into the groove. They stood firm, turned, and faced forward. The five maintained straight postures, stepping back half a step. They bent their knees simultaneously and drew their arrows, then placed the bamboo bow beside them. The Shooting Technique Eight Steps - "Preparation of the Bow." Picking up two of the arrows from the ground, they placed the first on the bowstring while pinching the second with the ring and little fingers. ’Next is standing up.’ Uesugi Sakura silently reminded himself and, after setting the arrow, rose with the bow. Then he spread his feet and set the bow right at the waist belt’s center. This acted as a signal for Sugai Hideki behind him to repeat his actions, and so on. Everyone turned their heads, and the five simultaneously faced the target range. The lead — Uesugi Sakura, was the first to shoot. Holding the bow with his left hand and pulling the string with his right, he lifted the bamboo bow, which was held in front of his chest, high above. The back elbow and arm exerted force simultaneously. At the step of "Da San" — when pulling the string, use one-third of the force to push the bamboo bow, achieving a stable equal pull from both sides. At this moment, he paused slightly. With steady breathing and focused eyes, Uesugi Sakura aimed the arrowhead at the target’s center. In an instant, Pull, Full Draw, Release— Crack...! A high-pitched string sound played near his ear, accompanied by a sharp whoosh. Bam... The clear "thud" sound. meters away, the arrow with emerald fletching hit the bullseye. Uesugi Sakura, with a calm expression, placed the bamboo bow back to the center of his waist, turned around, and prepared to nock another arrow. "That’s amazing!" Impressed by his clean and efficient shooting, Sugai Hideki couldn’t help but silently praise. Simultaneously, following the distinct string sound of Uesugi Sakura, he also pulled his string. Looking straight ahead, he concealed half of the target with the arrow-rest of the bow, using the "Half Moon Aim," and released an arrow. Whizz...! The arrow flew across the lawn, narrowly missing the distant target. Sugai Hideki’s pupils contracted, and he wondered why it missed. But a miss is a miss; during shooting, he had to maintain the following actions, leaving no time to freeze or daze. Unlike in individual matches with unlimited time, in a team match, each person must release 4 arrows in 8 minutes. The sound of the lead string was the signal. From start to finish, a certain rhythm had to be maintained. Following Sugai Hideki’s missed shot, two consecutive string sounds rang out. But after whistling over the grass, no corresponding thud was heard. — Seisuke Yooya and Hirata Masanobu, too, missed the target. Sugita Shuhei, who was in position, remained indifferent. Moments after the string sound in front disappeared, he released his own arrow. As expected, it hit the center. Then it was Uesugi Sakura’s turn again. Shooting. Crack...! The high-pitched string sound once again pierced through every member’s eardrum in the Kyudo Club, as the second arrow from his hand flew out. Bam. The "thud" resounded again, and from another’s perspective, astonishingly, it hit the bullseye and was tightly adjacent to the previous arrow. Impressive! Sugai Hideki couldn’t help but commend, while questions filled his mind continuously. Could this... really be a beginner who has only practiced for a month? With this thought, filled with anxiety, he raised his bow high and shot the second arrow from his hand. —————— After the first round of shooting, everyone couldn’t help but relax from their tense state. "Ahem," Sugita Shuhei coughed twice to attract everyone’s attention, "just now, each person shot four arrows, totaling twenty shots, with thirteen arrows hitting the target." "For the first two arrows, the lead hit both, the second had a complete miss, the third hit half, the fourth half, and the last position hit both." "Complete miss" means — a total miss. "For the last two arrows, the lead hit both, the second hit half, the third hit half, the fourth half, and the last position hit both." Sugita Shuhei looked around the four holding bows in front of him, "Which means, in this round, apart from me and Uesugi hitting all, everyone still needs to put in more effort." "This score will get us past the preliminaries, but being first will be very challenging." "Sigh," Sugai Hideki sighed, glancing at the bamboo bow in his hand, "My skill has declined recently; it’s been too long since I last held a bow." "As the club leader, I’m even less skilled than Uesugi, who has just joined for a month, which is embarrassing," Seisuke Yooya lightly shook his head, hitting only 2 out of 4 arrows. "Haha, I don’t even know what to say; hmm... let’s just do our best," Hirata Masanobu cheerfully encouraged himself. Sugita Shuhei wasn’t about to blame anyone, "Of course we need to try harder, but you also must avoid being overly influenced by those around you." Sometimes in Kyudo, even slight influences from others can significantly affect the current arrow’s accuracy, resulting in missing the target. "There was a documented instance in a previous competition where a high school team, in a finals match, hit all arrows in the first round, performing great. "But starting from the second round, their lead began to deviate, missing one arrow, and the subsequent second, mid, fourth, and last positions were all influenced, leading to various levels of drifting or missed shots." Sugita Shuhei held up his index and middle fingers, making a "two." "By the second arrow, the lead shouldn’t have made a mistake again, but due to his teammates’ continued failures, his competitive eagerness became more agitated, leading to another missed arrow." "The lead’s two consecutive misses caused his teammates to become increasingly flustered, resulting in all subsequent arrows completely missing the target."