A sword is not born with a keen edge, only its potential. The swordsmith works the metal into what will be its final most crude “sword” shape. The tamahagane is separated and is folded into layers over and over to create a thousand layers of iron which actually crisscross in a mesh and, in the future, will give the sword its great strength and resiliency. The samurai sword begins as nothing special, just an ordinary pile of iron sand which is melted together to form a clump of iron called a tamahagane. Something that doesn’t have an outer obvious strength that we look for today, but something that has an inner strength which is hard to see unless you really know it and really can appreciate it.” Learning swordsmanship is akin to the creation of a Japanese sword and often times in Japanese language the words for “forging (a sword)” and “learning” are often interchanged.įuruya Sensei once remarked about his goal as a swordsman, “Although I’m just a human being I want to model myself after the sword, always straight, always true and very decisive.
If for anything, out of deep respect for the person who will be vanquished, we must then approach our training with a great deal of respect which means careful deliberation, hesitation and propriety. To take this same sword and turn it into a tool for man’s self-enlightenment is a product of man’s spirit.
To make a sword which cuts well or to design a weapon which can kill many people is a product of man’s intellect. The swords original purpose is to take a person’s life, to destroy life or to cause injury. It is not entertainment, it is (in its origins) the taking of another’s life - indeed a very solemn and serious matter. True swordsmanship is an art far, far removed from what is seen in popular movies and the “performance” style of sword play of today. However, to take this simple action to its very highest level, we must also bring our minds and spirits to the same high level too and it is here, that we begin to see the true depth of the art. This simple action must be brought to the highest level of excellence where the opponent cannot resist it, cannot avoid it, and is helpless against it. Each kata involves different strikes, different targets, different timing and different ranges (maai), and all of them involve controlling the situation with the spirit as much as the actions, in order that one may eventually achieve victory with the sword still inside the saya.Simply put, Iaido is to simply draw and cut with a sword and return the sword to the scabbard.
IAIDO TECHNIQUE HOW TO
Iaido does not teach one how to fight with a sword, rather, the kata are a framework for learning how to efficiently, effectively and safely handle a sword and all involved with it, such as the manipulation of the sheath (saya) and the strings (sageo) that secure the saya to the practitioner’s belt, as well as focus and attention to detail at all times while handling the sword or performing etiquette.
Emphasis is placed on posture and body alignment, forming good habits that can carry over to other martial arts. Most kata have four parts: the draw and cut (nukitsuke), the final cut (kiri kudashi), a ritual cleansing of the blade (shiburi), and returning the sword to the scabbard (noto). All solo kata start and finish with the sword sheathed. Most kata are performed solo, against one or more imaginary opponents who are the physical match for the practitioner. What sets Iaido apart from other sword arts is that it focuses on drawing a sword directly into a cutting technique. There are some two-pesron kata performed with boken. Instructors and very experienced Iaidoka may use a sharp sword called a shinken. Wooden boken may be used to practice this art, also commonly used are dulled practice blades called iaito. Iaido (ee-eye-do) is a kata-based Japanese martial art mainly using the katana.