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Concept
Iaido
Summary
, 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 (or saya), 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 (bokken) 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 (shinken).
Practitioners of iaido are called iaidoka.
The term "iaido" appears in 1932 and consists of the kanji 居 (i), 合 (ai), and 道 (dō). 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 (prepared), match/meet (the opposition) immediately". Thus the primary emphasis in 'iai' is on the psychological state of being present (居). The secondary emphasis is on drawing the sword and responding to the sudden attack as quickly as possible (合).
The last character, 道, is generally translated into English as the way. 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 the general trend to replace the suffix -jutsu ("the art of") with -dō in Japanese martial arts in order to emphasize the philosophical or spiritual aspects of the practice.
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 is a reflection of the morals of the classical warrior and to build a spiritually harmonious person possessed of high intellect, sensitivity, and resolute will.
Iaido is for the most part performed solo as an issue of kata, executing changed strategies against single or various fanciful rivals.
Official source
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