The major difficulty to overcome is the extraordinary attention to detail required. Practice is calm and quiet, since the most important feature of Iaido is the development of ZanshinВ (a calm, reflective mind). The unique drawing motion in most Iaido Kata is designed to draw the sword, to parry an oncoming cut, and to cut the opponent, all in one motion. Practice is made up almost entirely of kata, or pre-arranged sets of motion designed to respond to a particular attack by another swordsman. Iaido is thus a great way to train mind, body and spirit. When we learn focus, purpose and precision in one aspect of life, these virtues always find their way into the rest of our lives. Through the dedicated practice of Iaido we train ourselves to always be mindful. The practice of moving with focus, purposefulness and precision will however, help us in our everyday lives, no matter what our endeavor may be. We usually do not walk about with a sword attached to our sides, therefore the techniques of Iaido are of little use in a street defense environment. We train Iaido as a self-development art not as a self defense art, our opponent is our self. Thus it can be translated as вЂњthe path to harmonious beingвЂќ, meaning that one moves from stillness to action without hesitation, with focus, purpose, precision and a sense of being in the moment. The word Iaido is made by combining three kanji, the first being вЂњIвЂќ (Iru) meaning stillness or sense of being, the next is вЂњAiвЂќ meaning combine or harmonize and вЂњDoвЂќ meaning way or path.

Iaido sword techniques