'One Shot. One Life' Documentary Explores the World of Japanese Archery

Empty Mind Films, an independent film studio specializing in eastern mind and body practices, presents their latest film One Shot. One Life. The film explores the art of traditional Japanese archery, Kyūdō (literally, ‘way of the bow’). In addition to covering the artisanal aspect of bow crafting, the beautiful shots of loosing arrows and ritual attached to the art itself are wrapped around a deeper meaning, namely that of perseverance; the film also depicts examinations for the 8th dan ranking, which some archers have been attempting for over 15 years.

The film was fittingly realized by English director and filmmaker Jon Braeley, who covers a lot of martial arts in his video work and who is also a trained martial artist of several disciplines. The film is available for rent and download over at the studio’s website.