Iaido

Iaido or Iai-Batto Ho is the Art of sword drawing. Students learn how to draw and cut with a traditional Japanese blade. Ideally it is an authentic live (sharp) sword which becomes the teacher as, not only does it have a voice, which indicates the effectiveness of the cut, but any careless mishandling is rewarded with a cut to the skin. Students learn basic katas (forms) the first being a seated set of 12 katas - Shoden from the Musu Shinden Ryu school and the second consists of 12 standing forms - Tachi Iai from Shindo Munen Ryu.  

​

Iaido is sometimes described as Zazen in motion as practitioners are called to bring absolute concentration and focus to each cut and movement seeking mastery through repetition. It brings heighten awareness to the body, movement and spirit in space.