A Story: In the 1920s, a German professor named Eugen Herrigel moved to Japan to teach philosophy at a university in a city called Sendai, near Tokyo. To deepen his understanding of Japanese culture, Herrigel began training in Kyudo, the Japanese martial art of archery. He was taught by a legendary archer named Awa Kenzo. Kenzo was convinced that beginners should master the fundamentals of archery before attempting to shoot at a real target, and he took this method to the extreme. For the first four years of his training, Herrigel was only allowed to shoot at a roll of straw just seven feet away. When Herrigel complained of the incredibly slow pace, his teacher replied: When he was finally permitted to shoot at more distant targets, Herrigel’s performance was dismal. The arrows flew off course and he became more discouraged with each wayward shot . During a particularly humbling session, Herrigel stated that his problem must be poor aim. Kenzo, however, looked at his student and re
A Compendium of Concepts