Iaijutsu and Iaido: Lets do it right.

By Fredrick Lovret

______With increasing frequency of late, I have been running across some glaring misconceptions about the difference between iaijutsu and iaido. These misconceptions seem pronounced in those of you who are my direct students, so its time to set the record straight. (Your Beloved Sensei, by definition, can’t be wrong, but in this case my teaching must have been a little less right then it should have been.)
______The first thing to understand is that we are talking about three distinct things, not two: iaijutsu, iaido, and Iaido.( Just to be complete, lets toss in the terms iai, denchu- iai, iai-nuki, batto, batto-jutsu, and iai- batto.)
______The kanji for iai mean “to be (at home) + “(doing the same thing) together”. In other words, considering the style of a Japanese home, this means two or more individuals sitting in seiza, relatively close to each other.
______From a martial perspective, iai refers to a type of combat that starts from a seated position. This is true no matter what specific style of combat we are discussing. One excellent example of a non-sword iai may be seen in Karatedo Kyohan by Funakoshi Gichen, which features a section of karate kumite from seiza. Another example is the seated techniques of modern Aikido, which were known as denchu-iai (Lit.,” at home in the palace together”). Although these waza were originally a branch of swordsmanship, stressing the short- sword, they did include unarmed techniques.
______Now, back to iai with a sword. Note that term specifically, albeit indirectly, implies combat from a seated position (traditionally, but not exclusively, seiza.) If you want to stretch a point and use the term more philosophically than literally, you can say that iai implies a surprise attack. This, however, may be a bit too much as there are other common Japanese words, such as fui, which specifically address surprise attacks.
______Another factor, equally important but rarely considered, is that iai implies use of the short-sword. This is only logical when you consider the fact that daitô were normally left at the door.
______So, we now have the essence of iai: a person, either aggressively or defensively, from a relaxed seated position, suddenly and without warning, whipping out his wakizashi and cutting down an opponent in a single move. An older term for iaijutsu, battô (lit., “striking sword,”) expresses this feeling quite well.
______ “But,” you cry, “what about the great scene at the end of Sanjurô?” (Which, admit it or not, was probably what got you started in this art.) Come now, people. The duels of Mifune Toshirô bear just about the same relationship to real combat as do the gun-fights of John Wayne. Using Sanjurô as an example, even a junior sword student knows enough not to stand that close to an opponent.
______ Although modern Iaidô occupies a high place in the hierarchy of martial arts, it was traditionally taught as a necessary, but not very nice, facet of a warrior’s training. A true samurai didn’t need to resort to such stratagems; he squared his shoulders and walked straight down the middle of the street into the face of danger, no matter what the odds. In simple terms, iai wasn’t something discussed by gentlemen in polite company.
______While the philosophy of iai was not highly regarded, it was still taught (often in secret) as a part of the curricula of most classical ryû. The prevailing thought seemed to be, “Now, a real swordsman would never do this, but…” Iaijutsu, therefore, never formed a major part of any traditional school of the sword.
______What about the Muso Shinden-ryû of Hojo Jinsuke (Hayashizaki) Shigenobu? First, who did Hayashizaki ever fight? Don’t know? Neither do I. There is no historical evidence that Hayashizaki had any combat experience, and the styles of iai descended from his teachings reflect this. Samurai, for example, rarely wore their long-sword indoors or while seated, and never without a short-sword. (The wearing of daishô samurai wasn’t just custom; it is law.) Secondly, opinions of modern practitioners to the contrary, no one really knows what his iai actually looked like. There have been so many modifications that modern techniques probably bear little resemblance to their original forms.
______The status of iaijutsu started to change during the Edo period. By the 19th century, most samurai were in very poor financial condition and many of them, including such illustrious figures as Sakakibara Kenkichi, were reduced to becoming little more than carnival attractions, giving demonstrations for money.
______Although iaijutsu was never a major bujutsu of the samurai class, it became increasingly popular, both among lower-ranking swordsmen and commoners. There were probably two major reasons for this. First, iaijutsu is flashy: to a first-time viewer, it seems impossible that a person could get a sword into action so quickly. Secondly, iaijutsu is easy: although there is always some degree of danger to working with shinken, it is much safer and much less strenuous than spirited kumitachi with boken. In other words, iaijutsu offered the perfect vehicle for people who wanted to pretend to be great swordsmen.
______As was the case with most traditional arts, as time went by the goals changed and iaijutsu became iaidô, an art practiced as a spiritual path rather than a necessary adjunct to a true combat art. With this change came additions and modifications: the use of the short-sword eliminated, forms were standardized, and non-iai kata (Juntô being an excellent example) were added to the standard curricula.  This movement came to a head with the establishment of the Dai Nippon Butokukai in 1895. Acting as a central forum for instructors from a wide spectrum of traditional ryû, it quickly began standardizing both kata and training methods.
______The result of all these changes was that iaidô became Iaidô or, more specifically, either the Seitei Iai-gata of the Zen Nippon Kendô Renmei or the Zen Nippon Iaidô Renmei.

It’s taken a while, but we are now ready for some definitions:

iaijutsu: That body of techniques of a traditional style of kenjutsu which deals with surprise attacks, starting with a sheathed sword, and generally from a seated position.

iaidô: iaijutsu studied exclusively, and as a way of life, with philosophical and (possibly) combative goals.

Iaidô: A generic iaidô, comprised of waza from a variety of ryû, that is studied both as an art form and for its spiritual benefits. Like Kyûdô, it often becomes a form of moving Zen.

______As for the technical differences between these arts, there are many. Primarily, students of modern Iaidô have discarded everything but the daitô. Other differences include such minor points as the use of the sageo, and such major ones as wearing a wakizashi. But, a sword is still a sword, and the methodology of its use in Iaidô can (generally) not be faulted.
______Note: Although a lack of training in tameshigiri and kata-bunkai has caused moderate to sever degradation of technique in many schools of Iaidô, this must be regarded as the fault of the instructor rather than a flaw in the art itself.
______So, what does this have to do with my students? The problem seems to be widespread misconception that iaijutsu is “real,” and therefore superior, while iaidô is “play” and something for students of Zen. That is, iaijutsu is to be accompanied by a lot of shouting and sweat, while iaidô has a quieter, more contemplative, aura.
______Not so! Not so at all, people. If you think there is a difference between –jutsu and –dô, just try stepping between a skeet shooter and his clay target. The skeet shooter may become nauseous at the thought of blasting some little bird out of the sky, but skeet shooting and upland-game hunting use the same weapon and the same methodology. Only the target is different. And that load of 12guage shot will still kill you.

Iaijutsu does not mean that you kiai while doing the kata. Nor is it superior in any way to Iaidô. It is just slightly different.

______In the iaijutsu (or, more properly, iainuki) of the Tenshin-ryû we address such points as how to draw the daitô while wearing a shotô, various ways of using the sageo, and iai-style tameshigiri. We also, as do most ryû, have some in-house kata that are not taken from other schools. This does not, by any stretch of the imagination, mean that the difference between iaijutsu and Iaidô is measured in the amount of noise or physical effort involved.
______Just what should an iai kata look like? First, remember that I said it was different. That means that it should not be like your other sword work. There is a tremendous difference between the Koshi-mawari, Gekken, and Oku-tachi of the Tenshin-ryû. There should be an equal difference these areas of training and iainuki.
______Second, consider the philosophy of the surprise attack. The other Japanese word I mentioned for this, fui, expresses the requirements nicely: fui means “without thought.” When dealing with a surprise attack, either as the aggressor or the defender, you must react instantly and without thought. If you think as the defender, you will be slow and lose; if you think before and attack, you will telegraph your move and lose.
______So, the essential part of all iai is the Zen concept of no-mind. In simple terms, if there is not mushin there is not iai. What this means is that you must create a void and then let the sword fall out of the void into the target. Again, the sword must “fall out of the void;” there must be no conscious effort involved.
______Does this mean the kiai and ashi-zuri are forbidden? Not at all. It’s just that they must not be forced. Just as the sword seems to fall out of the void, sometimes the spirit is so strong that the sound of kiai and a stomp of your foot also fall out. And don’t say, “But Sensei, that was from the Void.” If you haven’t got twenty years for training behind you, you have yet to find the void, much less be able to call anything from it. The test is simple: If, after doing a kata, you can remember shouting or stomping your foot, it wasn’t from the void. Actually, you shouldn’t even remember doing the kata.
______So, let’s knock off all this yelling and stomping about. Like children in kindergarten who don’t want to take a nap and are told, “You don’t have to really take a nap, just close your eyes and pretend you’re sleeping,” you should slow down, relax, and pretend. And who knows, with a few years of pretending to be in the void, you may actually discover it.

The End