Iaido Manual

From A sitting position (sitting on your feet toes pointed back and your knees touching the ground) you take your right hand and grasp the tsuka (handle)(your sitting position should stay the same except that you toes should now be under you so you can stand up if needed). Then you start to draw the sword from the saya and, start rotating both the saya and blade so that the ha (cutting edge) is pointing to your left after you have drawn half the blade. While you are doing this you should be on your left knee and your right foot should be on the ground next to it. Wile you are continuing to draw out the blade you should be rotating your upper torso slowly and when the blade is free from the saya you swing your arm that is holding the sword to your right.

Have some self control when you do this, don\'t knock yourself over. (Pics are no of me but will be replaced by me sometime soon). The sword is raised to a jodan (upper, above the head) position (furi kaburi). The right hand moves so that it does not block your vision. Grasp the tsuka with the left hand in the proper cutting position in a very relaxed grip. No further movements or adjustments of the hands on the handle should be made before immediately cutting down. As in all big and powerful movements, the tip of the sword must start.

ZNKR Seitei Iaido. The following links lead to (heavily) illustrated descriptions of the twelve ZNKR seitei Iai kata. The illustrations are from a demonstration by Miyata Tadayuki sensei, Iaido 8-dan Kyoshi, Kendo 7-dan Kyoshi, during the 8th European Iaido Championships - November 2001 in Brussels.

This is accomplished by first tightening the grip of the tsuka and then rotate your wrists as your arms start their movement forward-downward. The feeling should be of throwing away the tip as far as possible. You should step forward with your right foot at the same time, so that your legs have the same position as in the end of nukitsuke. Your arms should be slightly bent throughout the cut. The cut finishes so that the tsuba is slightly lower than the right knee, and even with the kneecap. The kissaki points down slightly to clear the groin of the opponent.

The eyes follow the drop of the foe to the floor, not the tip of the sword. Grasp the tsuka with the left hand just above the tsuka gashira for more power. The cut is made as soon as the power can be applied with the left hand.

The pause at the top is less than 1/2 second if there is one at all. Kiri otoshi is done at full speed and power with the feeling of cutting through anything that\'s in the way. The tip of the sword (kissaki) should lead the motion, not the arms.

The right hand\'s movement is like throwing something as far away as possible, left hand is like rotate (forward-upward) and then strongly down. Stop the cut by gripping tightly with both hands, most with the pinky and ring fingers, some with the long finger. The index fingers and thumbs are not gripping just laying on the tsuka. What you sharpened Sgt Waffles, was an Iaito - the training sword for Iai. I did the same thing a couple of decades ago and ruined a very expensive training sword, so I could have a \'real\' one.I eventually bought an antique sword in Gunto mounts (katana in WW II sword furniture) and after building a traditional saya (sheath) and tsuka (handle), I trained with that one.I thought I was getting pretty good at Iaido after a year or two and one day, started to move \'way too fast in a kata and wound up running the sword through my hand. I embarrassed to admit this on a public forum.There\'s a reason that swords were the weapon of choice for several thousand years. They DO remove human limbs without much problem or training at all.

You know how you can cut your finger with your pocket knife? Now imagine that cutting power applied with a lever (as in physics).Like anything else, don\'t imagine that the movies tell you much truth about combat.

If you\'ve ever fired a pistol and tried to hit a target at any distance, cowboys shooting from the back of a galloping horse is a waste of bullets.Most of the practice of Iaido is inside your head; readying your mind to respond with deadly calm to a very close and deadly attack. Thousands of repetitions, trying to get to the point where the sword draws itself. You must be pretty amazing.Oh, and FYI:Yoko Ichimonji is an awesome sword move that you can do by learning the I-ai style ( draw cut style ). This totally awesome moves actually delivers a short focused \'energy\' wave and will extend a normal sword attack to about 10 meters at the max.

But a beginner\'s Yoko Ichimonji is just a strengthened version of a normal draw cut. ( I think ) and YES, it does exist.Oh, and correct me if I\'m wrong, I don\'t really know much about that move either.

From A sitting position (sitting on your feet toes pointed back and your knees touching the ground) you take your right hand and grasp the tsuka (handle)(your sitting position should stay the same except that you toes should now be under you so you can stand up if needed). Then you start to draw the sword from the saya and, start rotating both the saya and blade so that the ha (cutting edge) is pointing to your left after you have drawn half the blade. While you are doing this you should be on your left knee and your right foot should be on the ground next to it.

Wile you are continuing to draw out the blade you should be rotating your upper torso slowly and when the blade is free from the saya you swing your arm that is holding the sword to your right. Have some self control when you do this, don\'t knock yourself over. (Pics are no of me but will be replaced by me sometime soon).

From A sitting position (sitting on your feet toes pointed back and your knees touching the ground) you take your right hand and grasp the tsuka (handle)(your sitting position should stay the same except that you toes should now be under you so you can stand up if needed). Then you start to draw the sword from the saya and, start rotating both the saya and blade so that the ha (cutting edge) is pointing to your left after you have drawn half the blade. While you are doing this you should be on your left knee and your right foot should be on the ground next to it. Wile you are continuing to draw out the blade you should be rotating your upper torso slowly and when the blade is free from the saya you swing your arm that is holding the sword to your right.

Have some self control when you do this, don\'t knock yourself over. (Pics are no of me but will be replaced by me sometime soon). The sword is raised to a jodan (upper, above the head) position (furi kaburi). The right hand moves so that it does not block your vision. Grasp the tsuka with the left hand in the proper cutting position in a very relaxed grip. No further movements or adjustments of the hands on the handle should be made before immediately cutting down. As in all big and powerful movements, the tip of the sword must start.

ZNKR Seitei Iaido. The following links lead to (heavily) illustrated descriptions of the twelve ZNKR seitei Iai kata. The illustrations are from a demonstration by Miyata Tadayuki sensei, Iaido 8-dan Kyoshi, Kendo 7-dan Kyoshi, during the 8th European Iaido Championships - November 2001 in Brussels.

This is accomplished by first tightening the grip of the tsuka and then rotate your wrists as your arms start their movement forward-downward. The feeling should be of throwing away the tip as far as possible. You should step forward with your right foot at the same time, so that your legs have the same position as in the end of nukitsuke. Your arms should be slightly bent throughout the cut. The cut finishes so that the tsuba is slightly lower than the right knee, and even with the kneecap. The kissaki points down slightly to clear the groin of the opponent.

The eyes follow the drop of the foe to the floor, not the tip of the sword. Grasp the tsuka with the left hand just above the tsuka gashira for more power. The cut is made as soon as the power can be applied with the left hand.

The pause at the top is less than 1/2 second if there is one at all. Kiri otoshi is done at full speed and power with the feeling of cutting through anything that\'s in the way. The tip of the sword (kissaki) should lead the motion, not the arms.

The right hand\'s movement is like throwing something as far away as possible, left hand is like rotate (forward-upward) and then strongly down. Stop the cut by gripping tightly with both hands, most with the pinky and ring fingers, some with the long finger. The index fingers and thumbs are not gripping just laying on the tsuka. What you sharpened Sgt Waffles, was an Iaito - the training sword for Iai. I did the same thing a couple of decades ago and ruined a very expensive training sword, so I could have a \'real\' one.I eventually bought an antique sword in Gunto mounts (katana in WW II sword furniture) and after building a traditional saya (sheath) and tsuka (handle), I trained with that one.I thought I was getting pretty good at Iaido after a year or two and one day, started to move \'way too fast in a kata and wound up running the sword through my hand. I embarrassed to admit this on a public forum.There\'s a reason that swords were the weapon of choice for several thousand years. They DO remove human limbs without much problem or training at all.

You know how you can cut your finger with your pocket knife? Now imagine that cutting power applied with a lever (as in physics).Like anything else, don\'t imagine that the movies tell you much truth about combat.

If you\'ve ever fired a pistol and tried to hit a target at any distance, cowboys shooting from the back of a galloping horse is a waste of bullets.Most of the practice of Iaido is inside your head; readying your mind to respond with deadly calm to a very close and deadly attack. Thousands of repetitions, trying to get to the point where the sword draws itself. You must be pretty amazing.Oh, and FYI:Yoko Ichimonji is an awesome sword move that you can do by learning the I-ai style ( draw cut style ). This totally awesome moves actually delivers a short focused \'energy\' wave and will extend a normal sword attack to about 10 meters at the max.

But a beginner\'s Yoko Ichimonji is just a strengthened version of a normal draw cut. ( I think ) and YES, it does exist.Oh, and correct me if I\'m wrong, I don\'t really know much about that move either.

From A sitting position (sitting on your feet toes pointed back and your knees touching the ground) you take your right hand and grasp the tsuka (handle)(your sitting position should stay the same except that you toes should now be under you so you can stand up if needed). Then you start to draw the sword from the saya and, start rotating both the saya and blade so that the ha (cutting edge) is pointing to your left after you have drawn half the blade. While you are doing this you should be on your left knee and your right foot should be on the ground next to it.

Wile you are continuing to draw out the blade you should be rotating your upper torso slowly and when the blade is free from the saya you swing your arm that is holding the sword to your right. Have some self control when you do this, don\'t knock yourself over. (Pics are no of me but will be replaced by me sometime soon).