Iaido


Iaidō, abbreviated iai, is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks.
Iaido consists of four main components: the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard, striking or cutting an opponent, shaking blood from the blade, and replacing the sword in the scabbard. While beginning practitioners of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use a blunt-edged sword called an iaitō or mogitō. Few, more experienced, iaido practitioners use a sharp-edged sword.
Practitioners of iaido are called iaidoka.

Origins of the name

The term "iaido" appears in 1932 and consists of the kanji , , and . The origin of the first two characters, iai, is believed to come from saying Tsune ni ite, kyū ni awasu, which can be roughly translated as "being constantly, match/meet immediately". Thus the primary emphasis in 'iai' is on the psychological state of being present. The secondary emphasis is on drawing the sword and responding by harmonising with a sudden attack as quickly as possible.
The last character,, is generally translated into English as the way or path. The term "iaido" approximately translates into English as "the way of mental presence and immediate reaction", and was popularized by Nakayama Hakudo.
The term emerged from iaijutsu and the general trend to replace the suffix -jutsu with -dō in Japanese martial arts in order to emphasize the philosophical or spiritual aspects of the practice.

Purpose

Iaido encompasses hundreds of styles of swordsmanship, all of which subscribe to non-combative aims and purposes. Iaido is an intrinsic form of Japanese modern budo.
Iaido reflects the moral principles of the classical warrior and aims to cultivate a spiritually balanced individual characterized by intellect, sensitivity, and resolute will.
The practice is primarily performed solo in the form of kata, which involve executing a variety of techniques against one or more imaginary opponents. Each kata begins and ends with the sword sheathed. Regardless of the specific technique used, imagination and concentration are essential to preserve the sense of a real combat situation and to keep the kata engaging. Iaidoka are often encouraged to practice kendo in order to maintain a combative spirit. It is common for high-ranking kendoka to also hold high rank in iaido, and vice versa.
To perform the kata appropriately, iaidoka likewise learn carriage, development, grip and swing. At times iaidoka will practice complementary katas from kendo or kenjutsu. Unlike kendo, iaido practice never involves sparring.

Moral and religious influences

The metaphysical aspects of iaido have been influenced by several philosophical and religious currents. Iaido blends the ethics of Confucianism, methods of Zen, philosophical Taoism, the purifying rites of Shinto and aspects of bushido.

Tōhō-gata techniques

A set of five koryu iaido forms
  1. Mae-giri from Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū School
  2. Zengo-giri from Mugai-ryū School
  3. Kiri-age from Shindō Munen-ryū School
  4. Shihō-giri from Suiō-ryū School
  5. Kissaki-gaeshi from Hōki-ryū School

    Seitei-gata techniques

The 12 official kata currently recognised by the All Japan Kendo Federation are :
  1. Mae
  2. Ushiro
  3. Ukenagashi
  4. Tsuka-ate
  5. Kesagiri
  6. Morote-tsuki
  7. Sanpōgiri
  8. Ganmen-ate
  9. Soete-zuki
  10. Shihōgiri
  11. Sōgiri
  12. Nukiuchi
Because iaido is practiced with a weapon, it is almost entirely practiced using solitary forms, or kata performed against one or more imaginary opponents. Multiple-person kata exist in some schools of iaido; for safety, iaidoka usually use bokken for such kata practice. Iaido does include competition in the form of kata, but does not use sparring of any kind. Because of this non-fighting practice, and iaido's emphasis on precise, controlled, fluid motion, it is sometimes referred to as "moving Zen." Most of the styles and schools do not practice tameshigiri, cutting techniques.
A part of iaido is nukitsuke. This is a quick draw of the sword, accomplished by simultaneously drawing the sword from the saya and also moving the saya back in saya-biki.

History

Iaido started in the mid-1500s. Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu is generally acknowledged as the organizer of Iaido. There were many different Koryu, however just a few remain practiced today. Just about every one of them additionally concentrate on more seasoned school created amid 16-seventeenth century, in the same way as Muso-Shinden-ryu, Hoki-ryu, Muso-Jikiden-Eishin-ryu, Shinto-Munen-ryu, Tamiya-ryu, Yagyu-Shinkage-ryu, Mugai-ryu, Sekiguchi-ryu, et cetera.
After the collapse of the Japanese feudal system in 1868, the founders of the modern disciplines borrowed from the theory and the practice of classical disciplines as they had studied or practiced. The founding in 1895 of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai 大日本武徳会 in Kyoto, Japan. was also an important contribution to the development of modern Japanese swordsmanship. In 1932 DNBK officially approved and recognized the Japanese discipline, iaido; this year was the first time the term iaido appeared in Japan. After this initiative the modern forms of swordsmanship is organised in several iaido organisations. During the post-war occupation of Japan, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai and its affiliates were disbanded by the Allies of World War II in the period 1945–1950. However, in 1950, the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai was reestablished and the practice of the Japanese martial disciplines began again.
The Zen Nippon Iaido Renmei, All Japan Iaido Federation was founded in 1948.
In 1952, the Kokusai Budoin, International Martial Arts Federation was founded in Tokyo, Japan. IMAF is a Japanese organization promoting international Budō, and has seven divisions representing the various Japanese martial arts, including iaido.
Also in 1952, the All Japan Kendo Federation was founded.
Upon formation of various organizations overseeing martial arts, a problem of commonality appeared. Since members of the organization were drawn from various backgrounds, and had experience practicing different schools of iaido, there arose a need for a common set of kata, that would be known by all members of organization, and that could be used for fair grading of practitioner's skill. Two of the largest Japanese organizations, All Japan Kendo Federation and All Japan Iaido Federation, each created their own representative set of kata for this purpose.
File:Sayuri Iaido.JPG|thumb|Japanese girl practicing iaido with a custom-made student's katana or iaitō. In modern Japan, iaido is seen as one of the traditional martial arts and it can be practiced by both genders.

Kata under the respective iaido organizations

Tōhō Iaido

The All Japan Iaido Federation has a set of five koryu iaido forms, called Tōhō, contributed from the five major schools whose teachers were involved in the creation of the organization.
  • Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū School founded during the late Muromachi period.
  • Mugai-ryū School founded in 1695.
  • Shindō Munen-ryū School founded in the early 1700s.
  • Suiō-ryū School founded during the late Sengoku period.
  • Hōki-ryū School founded during the late Muromachi period.

    Seitei Iaido

are technical forms based on seitei-gata, or standard forms of sword-drawing techniques, created by the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei. This standard set of iaido kata was created in 1969 by a committee formed by the All Japan Kendo Federation.
The twelve Seitei iaido forms are standardised for the tuition, promotion and propagation of iaido at the iaido clubs, that are members of the regional Kendo federations. All dojos, that are members of the regional Kendo federations teach this set. Since member federations of International Kendo Federation uses seitei gata as a standard for their iaido exams and shiai, seitei iaido has become the most widely practised form of iaido in Japan and the rest of the world.

Other organizations

Single-style federations usually do not have a standardized "grading" set of kata, and use kata from their koryu curriculum for grading and demonstrations.

Schools

Many iaido organisations promote sword technique from the seiza and refer to their art as iaido. One of the popular versions of these is the Musō Shinden-ryū 夢想神伝流, an iaido system created by Nakayama Hakudō in 1932. The Musō Shinden-ryū is an interpretation of one of the Jinsuke-Eishin lines, called Shimomura-ha.
The other line of Jinsuke-Eishin, called Tanimura-ha, was created by Gotō Magobei Masasuke and Ōe Masaji Shikei. It was Ōe Masaji Shikei who began formally referring to his iaido branch as the Musō Jikiden Eishin-ryū 無双直伝英信流 during the Taishō era.
Another popular iai school mostly found worldwide is Mugai ryu. Mugai-ryū or "Outer Nothingness School" is a Japanese koryū martial art school founded by Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi on 23 June 1680. Its formal name is Mugai Shinden Kenpō.
Actually in the beginning, Mugai Ryu started as kenjutsu only school, but sent and recommended its disciples to learn another koryu named "Jikyo-ryu iaijutsu", and after Jikyo ryu vanished without any successor. It is renamed Mugai ryu iaijutsu/iaido up until today.
Another popular Iaido school is Toyama-ryū, which was established in 1925 in Japan. It was created by the Japanese army during World War II to create a simplified form. This style emphasizes the most important aspects of drawing and cutting. After the war it became obsolete, but was revived after 1952.