Fukidakejutsu is the Blowgun Fighting Martial Art sub-disclipline of Ninjutsu. As such, it is a very minor aspect of the training. In Japan, there are over 6,000 dues paying members of the Japan Sport Fukiya Association. In the USA, the National Sport Blowgun Association (NSBA) is an affilated national member of the International Fukiyado Association (IFA). There are no National Level fees associated with the sport. Our rules for competition are simple. Barrel internal diameter is limited to .40 or .50 caliber. Barrel length must be 48 in. or less. Standard commercial wire target darts are used. The paper target face is 3 rings - the bulls-eye scores as 7 points, and is 6 cm. The inner ring - 5 points - is 12 cm. The outer ring is 3 points - 18 cm. The target face is centered at 160 cm above the ground. The firing line is 10 meters from the target face (no part of the foot crosses the firing line, or the shooter is disqualified). Shoot a round of 5 darts. Shoot 6 rounds per set. Perfect score (30 darts) is 210 points. World record in a sanctioned competition is 194 points. USA record in a sanctioned competition is 182 points. Handicapped shooters may use a device to hold the barrel if needed (bi-pod, mono-pod, tri-pod). Wheelchair bound shooters will have the target centered at 90 cm. This is one of the only sports where handicapped and non-handicapped otherwise compete equally. There's also a Long Distance competition - same dart and barrel restrictions - target face is a bulls-eye only ring 24 cm in diameter. 3 darts are shot, starting from 20 meters - at least one must hit the bulls-eye. Shooters take turns, anyone missing all 3 is eliminated. The firing line moves back one meter. Continue in elimination style until the last one shooting misses. World record/ USA record = 36 meters. There are 11 national level organizations at this time, including Australia, Malaysia, China, Germany, Switzerland, the Philippines, and the UK. More information about the sport can be found at their website: http://www.enter.net/~craftsman/nsba/nsba.htm
