Iaido

Iaido (ee-eye-doh) is a type of Japanese swordsmanship centered around drawing a sword (katana), quickly dispatching one or more adversaries, and returning the sword to its scabbard. While the name iaido is a twentieth century invention, the art itself has been around for some 400 years.

Though older schools of martial arts did (and still do) contain sword drawing techniques as part of their curriculum, it is a swordsman named Jinsuke Shigenobu who is generally credited as the founder of what became modern iaido. In the second half of the sixteenth century, he founded the Shimmei Muso Ryu school of battojutsu (sword-drawing technique).

Since that time, there have been various branchings and renamings of his school and its descendants. In 1932, Nakayama Hakudo renamed his branch of the art Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido. Eventually, people began to use iaido as the term to describe other battojutsu schools. Today, the two most common iaido schools, both in the USA and Japan, are Muso Shinden Ryu and Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. Though these two schools separated in the early 18th century, the curriculum and techniques are nearly identical, with the differences being mostly in minor details.

In addition to the various traditional schools, many people also practice the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (ZNKR) Seitei Gata (All Japan Kendo Federation Example Forms). As modern kendo is practiced mainly with a flexible bamboo sword (shinai), practitioners of kendo (“The way of the sword”) were becoming less and less swordsmen and more and more “shinai-men.” In order to rectify this, in 1967 the ZNKR introduced seven “example forms” based on traditional schools, but not strictly the forms of any one school. In 1980, three more forms were introduced, and in 2001, another two forms were added, bringing the total number of seitei gata to 12.

Iaido is usually studied by practicing single person forms (kata). Iaido kata typically consist of four parts: nukitsuke, the drawing of the sword and performing of another action (usually a cut) in order to gain an advantageous position; kiritsuke, a cut (or series of cuts, if facing multiple opponents) intended to finish of the enemy (or enemies); chiburi, a formalized cleaning of the sword blade; and noto, the returning of the sword to its scabbard.

In addition to a training uniform, the main piece of equipment used in iaido is a sword, which can be one of three types: a bokuto, a wooden sword; iaito (or mogito), an unsharpened sword typically made of a zinc-aluminum alloy; or a shinken, a real sword.

Beginners typically start with a bokuto, because they are inexpensive, usually costing only around $25. However bokuto are considerably lighter than shinken and lack scabbards (saya). Proper saya manipulation is essential to correct drawing and sheathing of the sword. Most intermediate and advanced practitioners of iaido train with an iaito, a type of unsharpened training sword. Iaito were introduced after the Second World War when the US military placed severe restrictions on the production of real swords. Iaito, though much heavier than bokuto, are still not as heavy as shinken and are not as stiff as a steel blade either. However, they are significantly cheaper than shinken, typically ranging from $200 on upwards. Shinken are the final type of sword used in iaido practice. Because of their price, typically only advanced practitioners use them. Newly made shinken cost upwards of $5000, and even “cheap” blades made in China cost around $2000.

In recent years, a number of companies have introduced swords with sharp steel blades that cost less than $500. In general, these swords are poorly balanced, have extremely cheap fittings, and are available in only a few set lengths, making them unsuitable for practice of iaido.

The typical training uniform of iaido is very much like that of kendo, consisting of a jacket and hakama (wide legged, pleated pants). However, there are a few differences. The jacket for iaido is not the thick, quilted material used in kendo, as there is no need to provide padding against actual blows. Also an obi (belt) is worn in order to secure the sword at the hip. The obi used in iaido is not the same as the obi worn in karate, aikido, judo, and other martial arts. It is wider and longer (wrapping around the wearer at least three times, instead of two, in order to properly hold the weight of a sword.

Under the supervision of our parent club Obukan (located in Tigard), the styles practiced at OSUKC are the ZNKR seitei gata and for intermediate and advanced practitioners, Muso Shinden Ryu.