People :
Winner of the 1st prize in the Individual Division of the All Japan Student Rifle Shooting Competition
Mr. Sousuke Machida

Mr. Sousuke Machida Born in Fukuoka in 1983. Graduated from Seinan Gakuin High School. Presently a junior at the School of Human Sciences. Belongs to the seminar of Professor Eiichiro Nojima. Won 1st prize in the 2006 All Japan Student Rifle Shooting Competition and the 58th Tokyo Six-University Rifle Shooting Tournament p-60 Individual. Likes to read books and sing Karaoke.

"Rifle shooting is deep enough to be called a philosophy." Too much concentration on aiming does not enable you to hit the target. Mr. Machida says that he can perform well when he reaches a spiritual state of nothingness where he does not think of anything. In fact, he doesn't have any memory of shooting when he won the first prize. "It was in a sheer state of detachment that I kept shooting the best score-10 points. When I become conscious of what I'm doing, I cannot perform well. Sometimes, I get too conscious and then I just can't shoot well." He says that he felt like there was a god descending from the sky. Rifle shooting requires not only skill but also the right mental approach.

Despite his sharp image, we get the impression that Mr. Machida is a really nice and kind-hearted guy. He's expert enough to win 1st prize in the Student Competition, but surprisingly, it was after he entered university that he started shooting. "At the time when they were recruiting new members, I just went to the club thinking I could shoot on trial, having read the flier for recruiting new club members." He participated in three shooting trials and thought vaguely "This is interesting." There were lots of beginners in the club, so he thought it was good for him to start on something new. Since then, he has spent most of his time rifle shooting.

It was not that he was talented from the beginning and made great progress straight after starting. On the contrary, as a freshman and sophomore, he couldn't perform well and he felt pressured by the improving newcomers. And then the time came when high-achieving seniors retired. "Alumni asked the club members 'Can you make it by yourselves?' My attitude changed as I thought it would not be good for the club if I couldn't become strong." Results change if one regains a sense of responsibility. But rifle shooting is not a sport where efforts always lead you to a good performance. If you have some degree of muscle strength and skill, then the attitude and the balance between body and soul become important, the attitude fitting your ever-changing body. Rifle shooting has such depth that players keep pursuing it. Besides, as there are many beginners, handing down skills is also active in the club. Mr. Machida says that if there are only skilled players, then that doesn't go well as they all have their own persistence in the sport. "The horizontal connection of our club is strong, so I want to continue this after graduation." He smiles happily. His hunch of entering the club seems to have hit the bull's-eye.