Iaido
The Art of Japanese Swordsmanship

Very few people carry a samurai sword around.  However, this foundation of ju jitsu and Aikido is the sword.  The manner of movement and strategy of the empty handed techniques mimic those of the sword.  The practice of training with the Japanese sword (katana) is call iaido (ee-eye-doh).

Iaido is the art of drawing and attacking with a sword. "Iaido" is composed of 3 kanji (characters):

• "Iru" meaning “to be”
• "Ai"  meaning to “come together, unify or harmonize”
• “Doh” meaning “way or path”

The term "iaido" can refer to being in harmony with or being completely present in the moment.

There are a number of different schools of swordsmanship that arose throughout Japanese history.  However,  many of the significant differences between these traditional schools have been reconciled into a common form of iaido practice today.

The Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu and the Muso Shinden Ryu are the most popular forms of iaido.  Two major organizations, the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (ZNKR) and the All Japan Iaido Federation (ZNIR) together with these two traditional schools represent most iaido practitioners in Japan today.  A standardized set of forms called the seitei kata form the iaido repertoire.

Shoji Nishio was a leading disciple of Morihei Ueshiba, the founder of Aikido.  During his lifetime Nishio was a master of many martial arts including karate, iaido, jodo, aikido, judo or several others.  He was most impressed with Ueshiba because he said that Ueshiba was the greatest martial artist he had ever met.

Drawing from his vast martial art expertise Nishio developed a form of iaido that is unique to Aikido called Aiki Toho Iai (Aikido Iaido Sword Method).  The forms of Aiki Toho reflect the technical and spiritual depth of Aikido while drawing teaching the proper handling of the sword.  Studying Aiki Toho gives a much greater depth of understanding to ones Aikido.  It is not possible to really understand Aikido without understanding the use of the sword.