This post is part of the First Year of Budo series

So for those of you who don’t know what Iaido is then don’t be lazy, google it. Simply put it is the art of drawing and cutting with a Japanese sword (katana). The particular style of Iaido I’m practicing is Seitei Iaido which consists of 12 solo kata. In Iaido it seems it is all solo work, there is no sparring and the like which kind of makes sense considering it’s probably a lot easier to do damage with a sword than it is someones fist(I’m not saying other martial arts aren’t dangerous, they certainly can be). Training begins using a Bokken (wooden sword) and then the student moves up to an Iaito (like a real sword but not sharp… just don’t stab anyone with it) and experienced people can use a Shinken (live/real sword aka sharp edge).

Coming back to me, I knew a friend who practiced Iaido and I’ve always liked the sword so I figured I’d go and have a look. So I e-mailed ahead to a dojo I found on the web which has classes on saturday morning (saturday morning is a good time for me :D) and then turned up today. When I arrived after driving past the entrance a few times (Had no idea where I was going) they were practicing Jodo (seems like Staff(Jo) versus sword partner katas). The Sensei came around and greeted me and directed me where to sit. Seems like a good guy. After a while of that (there was probably about 20 people there) it was time for Iaido.

Today was a little different then usual apparently as a 7th dan sensei was there (they were in Victoria for a couple of days). Apparently she is something like the highest in Australia for this particular style/federation (something like that). Before I go any further I should just mention that Iaido is not about all the fancy samurai moves you might see in movies or anime. It’s very much a precise art, where everything needs to be perfect, nothing extra is done. Saying that the teachers and students are still light-hearted enough to make a joke or two throughout the class which is good.

Something I was amazed at is how detailed every single thing is. Turning, kneeling, moving the sword, cutting on the draw. Everything has a multitude of things to keep in mind in order to make little adjustments to the technique so it is better. I’m not even going to try and mention them as it’s too hard for me at the moment to describe the context but it was very interesting.

So even though it’s not a flashy art I’m looking forward to starting it next week. The sensei recommends practicing Jodo as well as it helps in visualising an opponent in Iaido so I think I’ll do that too for the time being. That means 3 hours of practice every saturday. A big jump but it doesn’t look like it is a physically stressful art unlike some other martial arts. Shame I can’t start practicing during the week but it is probably best that I wait till I have a practice session under my belt and a little more direction.

Until next week,
Cheerios

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