Combat archery tactics

[Nagamochi]

My good, gaijin Engrish friend Jack and I are planning to teach a class on martial tactics at WW this year in an effort to further raise interest in doing such. I've got almost every archer in Jaravellir hooked on cadence like a bad drug (woohoo!), but otherwise that's it.
Jack is researching into Engrish (english), and more broadly European tactics, while I offered to find if there's anything uniquely Japanese or Asian. Any suggestions all?

Arigado,
Nagamochi

[Otagiri Tatsuzou]

Satsuma-ha Heki-Ryu Kyudo

Quoting a response by Earl Hartman from the 'old' e-budo forum (now only in cache) ...


"There still exists in Kyushu, in the town of Izumi in Miyazaki Prefecture, the Satsuma Heki Ryu, which maintains the practice of battlefield kyujutsu as pracitced by the Shimazu han. These archers often give demonstrations at various kyudo events.

I was privileged to be given a private demonstration and talk with members of the ryu. The standard procedure is called "yari waki no shaho" (archery at the side of the spears) and consists of two distinct elements:

1. sashiya (long distance shooting)
2. koshiya (close distsance shooting)

In the sashiya, a line of archers lays down a long-distance volley which is designed to keep the enemy archers behind their shields and so to allow your own spearmen to advance under cover of the barrage and engage the enemy without getting shot by the enemy's archers.

Once the distance between opposing forces has decreased to under 50 yards or so, the archers employ the "koshiya" technique where alternating lines of archers advance on the enemy while firing in turn so as to keep up an uninterrupted barrage of arrows. As the first line fires, the second line advances with their arrows nocked, and fires while the second line nocks their arrows in preparation to fire. Thus, the archers advance on the enemy while keeping up an uninterrupted stream of arrows. When the battle is joined, the archers then use the tips of their bows, which were fitted with blades, as spears. After that, the archers presumably draw their swords and engage the enemy at close quarters.

The Satsuma Heki Ryu is distinct from other styles of battlefield archery in that 1) all ranks of warriors, from the highest to the lowest, were required to train in this method whereas in other fiefdoms only the ashigaru archers were required to train in this way, and 2) only the Stasuma Heki Ryu used the alternating-volley method, whereas other schools simply shot their arrows at random. I was told that this regulated, alternating volley method was adapted from French musket tactics about 200 years ago."
Earl Hartman
Google Cache

[Nagamochi]

Hmmm... gotta figure out a way to work that one on the range safely. Sounds damn awesome though!