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Both organizations use the kyu-dan system of ranking, with several student, or kyu, grades and ten senior, or dan, grades. A judging panel observes the performance and passes or fails the challenger. For the senior grades, techniques from an old style (koryu) must also be performed. A test requires the swordsman to perform a number of techniques from these common sets. The All Japan Kendo Federation (as well as the International Kendo Federation) bases its curriculum mainly on a common set of ten techniques, while the All Japan Iaido Federation has a set of five. Iaido has grading systems administered by two governing bodies. With the advent of film and video, scholars can see that the art does change over time, but as the natural consequence of physical skills that are passed from teacher to student, not from deliberate attempts to improve it. No matter where or which style is practiced, iaido remains rooted in Japan, in traditions that have been handed down for centuries. Many styles also include partner practice in the form of stylized kata performed with wooden blades for safety. Various styles of iaido may practice with the long sword (over 60 centimeters ), the short sword (30-60 centimeters ), or the knife (under 30 centimeters ). The feet are switched while checking the opponent, and the blade placed back into the scabbard while kneeling. The blade is then circled to the right and the imaginary blood is flicked off while standing up. The sword is raised overhead and a two-handed downward cut is made. One of the simplest of the kata is as follows: From a kneeling position the sword is drawn from the left side and a horizontal cut is made from left to right while stepping forward. The swordsman learns many patterns of movement for dealing with enemies, who may attack alone or in groups from various angles.
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The main practice is done alone, and iaido kata contain four parts, the draw and initial cut (nuki tsuke), the finishing cut(s) (kiri tsuke), cleaning the blade (chiburi), and replacing the blade in the scabbard (noto). Apart from its exotic look, iaido does not generally appeal to spectators, being restrained and quiet in its performance.Ī photo of Nakamura Taizaburo taken at the Noma Dojo, which appeared in his topic Nippon-to Tameshigiri no Shinzui (The Essence of Japanese Sword Test Cutting).
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In the past decades that thinking has changed, and iaido is now practiced around the world. For many years iaido was considered esoteric, and it was often assumed one had to be Japanese to fully understand it. The art appeals to those who are looking for something deeper than a set of fighting skills. The art also demands excellent posture and the ability to generate power from many positions. The concentration and focus needed to perfect the movements of drawing and sheathing a sharp sword while watching an (imaginary) enemy have a beneficial effect on the mind. The art is a Japanese budo and as such is intended mainly as a method of self-development. The “I” comes from the word ite (presence of mind) and the “ai” alternate pronunciation of the word awasu (harmonize) in the phrase kyu ni awasu (flexible response in an emergency). The art has had many names over the years, but iaido was accepted about 1930. Although not overly common even in its country of origin, iaido has followed the Japanese martial arts around the world. Both organizations developed common sets of kata to allow students of different styles to practice and compete together. In the mid-twentieth century two major governing bodies for iaido were formed: the All Japan Iaido Federation, and the iaido section of the All Japan Kendo Federation. Today the two most popular are the Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu and the Muso Shinden-ryu. His students and those who followed developed hundreds of different styles, dozens of which are still practiced. Most styles trace their origin to Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu (ca. The idea of cutting from the draw may have originated as early as the eleventh century, but modern iaido dates to about 1600. Iaido is considered a method of self-development but is also practiced as a sport, with two competitors performing kata side by side, and a panel of judges declaring a winner. Others, however, regard cutting as peripheral to the art. Some iaido styles also practice kata with a partner, using wooden swords or training blades with rebated edges. Iaido is practiced solo with real blades, in set routines called kata. Iaido is the Japanese martial art of drawing and cutting in the same motion, or “attacking from the scabbard.” It dates from the mid-sixteenth century, when warriors began to wear the sword through the belt with the edge upward.