Yeah, I mean, apparently in kyudo there are “8 stages” to firing an arrow? I just think this might become impractical if, improbably, you are facing an opponent who utilizes 7 or fewer stages when he fires his arrow at you.
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The Japanese were really big on tradition and ritual during combat, though the ritualistic aspects of these martial arts became much more exaggerated once war became a thing of the past and teaching/learning became more codified and romanticized. It’s the same for Karate and other Japanese martial arts. I’m sure during war time during training there were stages that trainees had to learn when it came to firing a bow & arrow but it was likely not as rigid and ritualistic as we know it today.
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Yeah, this. The ritual of post-feudal Japan’s martial arts is comprehensive, to say the least. I remember when I was studying Goju Ryu Karate, there was an entire process for entering the judging area and showing respect while also demonstrably facing them as if they were enemies (this looks like some of what she’s doing when she backs out of the demonstration area backward). For the weapons it was crazy and incorporated agricultural rituals as the traditional weapons of Okinawa were farm implements. For the Bo staff, you had to carry it into the ring on your shoulders, kneel and do a sweeping motion that replicated setting down the imaginary water buckets it was originally used to carry. I’ll try to find a video, but this explains it partially.
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I practiced Wado-Ryu (and briefly Aikido), i’m not familiar with weapons training and the rituals around it but i presume it’s similar to the katas i learned. Gaining mastery of katas usually involves recognizing that you’re not just going through pre set moves and attacks, but understanding that you’re reenacting a an imaginary fight. When i was young i was very adept at kumite but in my 20’s i favored katas because i really enjoyed the zen nature of the choreography involved in them.
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There’s a word for that I can’t recall…
oh yeah, bunkai (had to look it up). It’s the process of examining each step in the kata to determine its purpose (or purposes). We always did this by imagining a fighter coming at us with the attacks the move was designed to counter. It also really helped get out of your head and let muscle memory guide your actions.
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Didn’t know there was a word for it 
thanks. I’m sure your sensei did the same, my sensei’s way of illustrating the purpose for move was to have other students carry out the mock attacks while you’re doing the kata. It didn’t come up a lot but it was always one of my favorite exercises during class
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