Anyone do Iaido?

Asha'man

Asha'man

Joined
Jan 22, 2001
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My friend is starting it and from his description of it, I think it sounds like what I'd like to do. Does anyone know more about it than I do, like is it an actual fighting art (unlike fencing?) and, and....dang, I guess that's it for now. That's my main question, I guess. :)

Asha'man
 
I did a little in college. Not an expert by a long shot though.

Iaido is a fascinating art, I really dug the philosophy part of it where it teaches you to really love life and pay attention to the little things but at the same time be willing to risk it all in one motion.

It's also cool 'cause you get to use real swords. Though at first you will use a practice aluminum sword and wooden sparring sword before you graduate to a real sword.

Iaido is not fencing, there is some sparring involved, but mostly it is a solo martial practice, including the various motions of drawing the sword and cutting straw mats. Keep in mind, Iaido traditionally was a supplementary skill taught to swordsmen. In other words, you get your sword-fighting skills elsewhere, Iaido teaches ambush drills and one-cut kills. It's quite practical in that sense.

What I really didn't like about it was so much time was spent kneeling on hard floors, my feet aren't meant for that kind of torture. I will never be kneeling on a hard floor, caught "dozing off" and attacked by a sword-wielding assassin. In that sense, it's not practical.
 
It is interesting that you really liked the philosophy part. That is actually one of my main problems with most martial arts. They want you to create this new world view in a sort of quasi-religious sort of way. Personally I like my world view just fine, I just want to learn a martial art for exercise and so that I might possibly be prepared in an emergency situation. Different strokes I guess...:)
 
I know where you are coming from.

If I'm going to war or want to learn a self-defense skill, I want a no-nonesense school that just teaches the techniques and has lots of sparring. I feel the philosophy of Iaido has enriched me. But I wasn't taking it to defend myself against another swordsman, though I now have that skill. If some sword-wielding fool tries to pull a fast one on me, watchout! ;)

These arts allow you share a mindset with warriors long past, when you look into them, there's usually a very practical reason they thought this way. Modern combat training teaches you to win. Eastern martial arts training teaches you to be happy and well adjusted in a violent world. I feel an Eastern martial artist is much less suspetable to post traumatic stress disorder.

This is why Eastern martial arts appeal to many people, because it teaches them to coupe with a variety of stressful enviroments. However being metally conditioned alone does not make you into an effective fighter, it is a supplementary skill. That is a mistake some begining martial artists make.
 
The theme or mindset that you'll be asked to practice often depends specifically on who's doing the teaching.

There's also a lot of talk about Iaido vs Iaijutsu (though the do/jutsu debate is widespread through many arts). Again it depends on who's teaching.

Your best bet would be to talk to instructors and find out what their philosophies are, because that will be a whole lot more accurate and specific than what we can tell you from our standpoint.

Good luck,
Shinryû.
 
The style I studied was technically Iaijutsu, although we use the term Iaido and Iaijutsu interchangably. I've heard from experienced Iaido practioners (not my school) that there really is no difference between the two except how they are marketed. I suppose once upon a time they may have been very different.

I dunno, maybe in Iaido they do even more philosophizing, that would seem unnecessary. You'll have to ask someone more advanced than me. We spend the whole time swinging swords plus practicing sword worship rituals. The spiritual aspect is required reading on your own time. I didn't mean to imply we sat around and meditated. :cool:
 
I know what you mean TWG, since I used to practice too. Iaijutsu in reality is a term used less often, and yes, like in the case of different forms of Eishin Ryu, terms like iaijutsu and iaido are often thrown together interchangeably.

However, I do know of some and occasionally hear about iaido clubs that say iaido has nothing to do with fighting. I am starting to appreciate this viewpoint more but never thought it was really accurate. But the do/jutsu contrast is given for a lot of different arts, not just sword arts (though kendo/kenjutsu is a commonly heard one). You can teach with just about any philosophy you want, from one extreme (FMA brutes?) to the other (Iai bunnyhuggers?), so you'll find teachers that are just as varied. My mentioning of do and jutsu is just a very broad guideline that is widespread. Just gotta talk to the teachers of the art you wanna learn and find out if they teach in a way that you can accept.

Shinryû.
 
Hi all,

I've been training in aikido for a year now, we do a bit of sword work, mainly strikes. But the main idea behind aikido is defensive attack, using the attackers energy against him.

There's a lot of work done on disarming someone with a knife and also a sword, from countless stances, including kneeling. At my dojo, there's not so much "way of the art" mentallity, just learning how not to get your butt kicked.

I can give some links if anyone's interested.
 
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