Believe it or not – perhaps the strangest martial stunt I have ever seen.

 

Long, long ago for several years I trained in a Korean system, it was solid training, but when fate intervened I was able to return to Isshinryu. I gained a lot from that training, but having started in Isshinryu, it meant ever so much more to me.

 

As occurs that school had a solid group split and begin another group, having known them I followed what they did. It was not what I was doing, but as they were in town I followed what the were doing.

 

Up the street from where I lived there was a neighbor who was a champion archer, we knew each other as neighbors. Then one day he told me I should attend a martial arts demonstration he was going to be in.

 

Going there civilian I observed a demonstration of that Korean system. Fairly standard stuff. Then a gentleman I knew went out to demonstrate he could knock an arrow out of the air. Now knowing him this was not something I could imagine. It was not part of their training.

 

So what I saw was my neighbor who was an archer standing there with an arrow in his bow. It was one of the largest arrows I have ever seen (but I don’t really follow archery so I don’t really know), and it had huge feathers on its tail.

 

The gentleman stood out before the archer. Then he raised his arm, outstretched to his side, about head height.

 

The archer prepared to fire, slowly drawing his bow strine back, the large arrow notched on the strine.

 

The gentleman simply stood still. Then he nodded with his head.

 

The arched released the arrow. I was probably the slowest flying arrow I have ever seen.

 

The gentleman simply dropped his hand, not striking down.

 

The arrow reached the side of where the man was standing, at the same time that occurred his hand dropping down cut across the flying arrow, knocking it down.