Iaido

While not a hard and fast rule, frequently the word iaido is used to refer to the modern self improvement oriented form taught by the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF) and other iaido associations while iaijutsu is used for the older, combative techniques of the koryu. The word iaido itself was coined by Nakayama Hakudo (1873?-1958) in early 20th century. Before that various other names like battō, battōjutsu, or saya no uchi were used instead.

Iaido is a sword-based Japanese martial art that trains the motions associated with drawing a sword (刀) from its scabbard or saya, striking or cutting an opponent, removing blood from the blade, and then replacing the sword in the scabbard or saya. This is all performed with smooth, controlled movements. Modern day iaido exponents typically use bokkens for practice and for beginners and for the more advanced the shinken (sharpened sword).

The primary emphasis in Iaido, is on the psychological state of being present. The secondary emphasis is on drawing the sword and responding to the sudden attack as quickly as possible. Starting positions can be from combative postures or from everyday sitting or standing positions. The ability to react quickly from different starting positions was considered essential for a samurai (侍).

A very important part of iai, sometimes called the 'life of iai', is nukitsuke. This is a very quick draw accomplished by drawing the sword out of the saya (鞘) (scabbard) while drawing the saya itself back (saya biki). The blade can be brought out of the scabbard and used in a slashing motion very quickly using nukitsuke.