About Iaido

Iaido is the Japanese art of drawing the sword. It is practised alone, as a series of forms, against opponents who exist only in the practitioner's concentration — and it can absorb a lifetime.

What you are actually learning

Each iaido form, or kata, begins and ends with the sword sheathed. In between, you draw, you cut, you clear the blade, and you sheathe again, all while keeping a real opponent alive in your imagination. The discipline is in the precision: the angle of the edge, the line of the cut, the agreement between your feet, hips, hands and breath. Done well it looks calm and inevitable. Getting there takes years, and that is the appeal.

How a Musokai student progresses

Every student here begins with the twelve Seitei kata, a standardised set devised as a bridge between the major iaido schools. Once those are steady, students move into the three increasingly deep sets of Musō Shinden-ryū — Shoden, Chūden and Okuden. We've written about both:

• The Twelve Seitei Kata, Briefly Explained
• Shoden: The Ōmori-ryū Set
• The Four Movements Inside a Kata

Swords

We practise with iaitō — unsharpened practice swords made of a light metal alloy. They look and handle like a real katana but have no cutting edge, which is exactly right while you are learning. Sharpened blades and test cutting come much later, and separately. If you're weighing up buying your own, read Choosing Your First Iaitō first.

Iaido and kendo

Iaido and kendo are related arts and share a federation, but they feel very different. Kendo is the sparring art, with bamboo swords and armour. Iaido has no sparring. To keep the imagined opponent vivid, some Musokai students also practise kendo kata, the paired forms that sit between the two arts.

If this sounds like something you'd like to try, the Getting Started page is the next step, and you're welcome to simply come and watch a class.