IAIDO, Japanese sword art, in several different kata, by Stefan Stenudd in 2004
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ย. 2024
- Here is an extended edit of this video, with improved image quality:
• IAIDO, kata with katan...
Iaido, the Japanese sword art, by iaido and aikido instructor Stefan Stenudd. I do a number of iaido forms, from different iaido schools and also some of my own invention (I know that is contrary to tradition). Recorded in 2004. Sorry about the low resolution.
I can't say that I'm totally pleased with what I see. My posture needs improvement, my cuts are insufficiently extended forward, I do an extra thing with the saya before noto, and so on. Well, well... things to work on.
My aikido and iaido dojo is Enighet in Malmö, Sweden: www.aikidoenig...
More about iaido, aikiken and aikibatto, on my website:
www.stenudd.co...
Here is my book about aikibatto:
www.amazon.com...
My aikido books:
www.amazon.com...
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Fascinating, yes. Thank you. It was so fast I didn't notice before.
Superb, sensei. Thank you for uploading it.
beautiful cut at 1:30. very smooth at all times. your awareness of the blade's position is superb. 5 stars and a new favorite.
Thank you for your kind words, and good luck with your iaido practice. I am sure you will find it a life-long adventure.
In olden times, I've been told, the cuts were actually done up close to the opponent. Anyway, that's what I use as an excuse ;)
Of course the arms should be extended, but I also like to focus on approaching the opponent properly with my steps.
The rhythm between the step and the cut is one for the beginner, and another when one has advanced some. At first, you need to step before you cut, but in "action" the cut comes right before you land your foot. Same in other martial arts. I know that many would not agree with me on this, but I have found it quite efficient :)
Thanks for your many good pointers.
I thank you for your interesting comment. I want to end my cuts to chudan level in the chudan kamae angle of the sword. Makes sense to me. I remember that Nishio sensei stopped the strike even higher, at chest level, commenting that it should be enough :)
A cut going lower than horizontal would be a gedan cut, and that should go low enough to pass through the opponent's body completely, or there's not much point in it. My two cents.
Continuing: What you mention seems to be how to lead the blade along the way, so that the tip of it reaches the opening of the saya. This can be done in several ways. I press left thumb and index finger together, so that they form a track right above the saya opening, and I let the back of the blade slide in that track. Others do it differently.
Is your iaito steel or aluminum?
Do you refer to the same thing as caseysan39 below? If so, you can see my reply there. This rotating chiburi is common in some iaido, but absent in for example ZNKR Seitei iai.
Well iado is just a system for fighting from a sheathed sword. Whether one draws and cuts in the same motion or not would depend on the situation.
For example, he draws the sword smoothly into an overhead guard, then pauses in the guard before striking. You could take or leave this pause as necessary.
I suspect the pause is put at a point in the technique where one may want the option of not cutting.
Having said that, it's certainly true that kata run the risk of mangling realism.
Thanks for all the constructive criticism.
Actually, being an aikidoka, I mostly train on tatami. That happens frequently in my iaido training, too.
Indeed. Back about ten or so years I formulated about 8 kata which all focus on wielding the daito with one hand. Practicing these along with existing kata one-handed helped in my performance with Niten Ichi Ryu.
I was flattered by your question, because it showed that I do the chiburi good enough for some viewers not to notice what happens :)
This is just...simply beautiful.
I wish I could get back to my Iaido training.
precise cuts, and foot work, a pleasure to watch.
Sorry, I don't know what you mean. There are all kinds of sounds - from the back of the blade on the saya in the draw, from the tsuba rattling for being a little loose, and so on. I don't worry too much about that. Others do. Do you find the noise you refer to at a specific moment in the video?
If you mean the kata with ukenagashi and kesagiri: Yes, I step back when I do the kesagiri cut. It is a way of making a prolonged cut, and adjusting the distance to the opponent.
Ah-ha, okay now I see it the spin is so quick I thought you were just hitting the tsuka. Thanks for teaching me something new, 'tis a good reminder to watch styles other than my own from time to time.
I counted: out of the 15 kata shown here, nine are of my own making. Nowadays, I usually teach iai by inventing kata along the way. I see them as exercises in different aspects of the sword art.
That's a spinning chiburi, shaking off the blood. I do it like this: I hold the sword in my left hand, and with my right hand I spin it around - opening my left hand grip just enough for the sword to spin around 360 degrees. The right hand movement is not upward, but from the right to the left.
@mick2slick It's a mix of forms, some from separate traditions, some of my own invention. Of the latter, some are from my aikibatto system of sword exercises.
I should point out: In iaido, several swings with the sword usually means several opponents.
It is one kind of 'chiburi', shaking off the blood. At the end of each form there is one or other way of doing that, before 'noto', putting the sword back in the scabbard.
Even if there is a sound, it doesn't mean that the cut was done the right way. My sensei explained that it also matters where the sound "starts". In his cuts the sound goes with the striking, whereas one of his pupils only manages to get a sound at the end of the swing.
I have seen many students not keep the saya tightly to their body when they do noto. Then it can get difficult to reach, ie. to extend the right arm far enough for the tip of the sword to comfortably reach the opening of the saya.
I dig it OG San,haha, jodan.. Ive only been studying here in Himeji for the past three years, but youve got a great grasp..peace
That is Stenudd sensei and he is also a 6 dan in Aikido. He wrote a few books also about Budo. Mostly Iaido practitioners uses Iaito (unsharpened sword) for kata practice and only uses shinken (live blade) for tameshigiri (cutting).
I congratulate you on being a master already at the age of 17 :) I guess you think of the meaning of the word iai, as well as the word batto, both refering to drawing the sword. A swift draw and strike is certainly the core of iaido.
Yes, I mention it in the text about the video. It's a habit I guess I have copied from earlier teachers. I'm trying to get rid of it :)
That's a special "chiburi", shaking off the blood. I spin the sword around its axis, a movement originally intended to shake the opponent's blood off. There are several ways of doing chiburi - I think you see four or five different ones on this video.
I am open to suggestions :)
One good Finnish aikido and sword art teacher is Petteri Silenius. I guess that he still holds seminars in Finland, now and then.
I've wated to learn iaido since I did some research on japanese sword arts and felt that iaido was better for me than kendo. I also will be re-starting my aikido education after soon so I'm glad to find out there is a link between them.
Amazing video thanks for sharing.
Well, there is a draw which is also a one-hand cut. Apart from that, there's a lot of draw-cut as two separate movements in iaido. But you have to be able to move quickly from one to the other.
Sorry, it's very hard to describe. But I'm sure you can find a video showing it - at the beginning and the end of a demonstration or kata. Something similar is done in other iaido styles, too, so you can also check out Seitei and other style videos.
It's the ninth of my Aikibatto exercises, harai ate. You find it explained on my website.
Beautiful to watch!
Thank you for your kind words, which were not lacking humbleness :) Of course, anyone is welcome to check out my books.
Wow. Iaido is so majestic and harmonious. I will hopefully be learning Iaido soon. I found a ryu that teaches it near me.
Nicely done!!!! I love iaido but also do Jigen Ryu and your powerful style of iai impressed me!
You mean the chiburi ('shake off the blood') where the sword spins around its own axis? It is done in some iaido schools. This way to do it, I learned from Nishio sensei.
You probably refer to the spinning chiburi, where the sword is rotated around its axis.
These kata are a mix, from different sources.
I believe tradition is a must. It teaches respect, honor and integrety. Too many people make a few kata and say they have formed their style, which is the same old style with the movements rearanged. I also believe MA evoves and allways will this is good. Add kata that works for you, but give respect to the masters, and don't dishonor them by digarding their forms. Remember it got you where u are.
You're not seeing it wrong. That's just another way of doing it. Quite practical in iaido training.
Yes, the sword is spun around to shake off the blood, which is called chiburi.
No problem. A pleasure to have someone ask a well phrased question and give a couteous reply. That doesn't seem to happen much on TH-cam :lol:.
I would appreciate a concrete example of what rhythm you recommend. Certainly, rhythm is one of the essentials. I do a lot of aikiken style partner training, so I guess I have my ideas of rhythm from that.
I avoid extending my arms fully, because that weakens them in many ways. I can see on the video, though, that the arms seem to be more bent than they feel like when I do iai :)
Interesting. I can only agree :) The rhythm of the chiburi should be optimal for doing just that: chiburi, shaking off the blood.
I really like to see students of the art come up with their own ideas. Everybody seems to love clinging to tradition and discouraging creativity, but I think creativity is essential in order to grow as a swordsman. How many of the kata seen here are original formulations of yours?
Yes, it's a chiburi - shaking off the blood, in this case by spinning the sword around and hitting it.
This guy is really good. I do both Iaido and Kendo but I love Iaido a lot more. Such a beautiful art.
Not really, although the noto is similar to that of Katori Shinto. I learned this way of doing the noto from Nishio sensei, who was a very prominent aikido teacher with impressive iaido knowledge (among many other merits).
I notice about 3 diffrent style, Muso Shinden Ryu, Muso Jikeden Eishen Ryu, and Katori Shinto Ryu also some of those were Kendo Federation Setei Gata. I like the ideas, although I don't see alot of Zanshin. Good work though keep it up!
Question. Why is the scabbard not secured in the obi? but instead in the hakama ties? Or am I seeing it wrong?
Effective and beautiful. Keep waching this video every week. Perfect.OSU.
Wow! Best iaido moves I've seen so far on TH-cam. The most fluid transitions between consecutive strikes. That's what Art should look like. ^_^
Of course, some things could indeed suffer improvement, like the overhead chiburi, which is too relaxed to shake off anything, or the decisiveness of some strikes (kata is make-believe fighting, so it should Make Us Believe you're really fighting some opponents). IMHO as a non-practitioner, at least. :P
BTW, are you a roku-dan at aikido or iaido?
Way back, I did Omori ryu, later Nishio sensei's Aikido Toho and ZNKR Seitei, among other stuff.
Iaido is very elegant. You look great! I am hoping to start kendo soon, and I will also do Iaido. I love the "Way of the Sword". 5/5 stars
Beautiful in it's simplicity. This is the ONLY martial art I have ever wanted to study. Unfortunately there are no schools in CT which teach it.
Out of curiosity what kind of katana do you use?
I practice Gracie Jiu jitsu. Do you think that some Iaido concepts and forms can be applied to other styles of martial arts that are very differnent from it?
Question: At 1:09 how come your hand moves like that?
I've never had any weapons training before, I'm kinda curious.
Parr53, I agree with your instructor that iaido improves one's aikido, but it has nothing to do with grades.
for me, it's so hard to learn the noro.
How do I start learning it? It is never fluently when im doin it (without spreading my indexfinger to bring the movement of the blade into the exact direction of the koiguchi.)
it feels like im missing a certain technique or something :(
It is kaiten chiburi - shaking off the blood by spinning it around.
I have a few questions for you. First how long did it take you to recieve your shodan in Aikido? Also is their a "ranking" system in Iaido? If so what is your current rank? I mean no disrespect im a begining Aikidoka myself and was told by my instructor that Iaido would improve my Aikido.
How anyone could NOT rate this 5 stars is beyond me, really nice clean kata, especially your nikitsuke very nice. What is the purpose of the hand movement, kind of hitting of the tsuba just before doing noto? What ryu are those kata from? your invention? I've done muso jikide eishin ryu for about 10 yrs now and yet to see that but there's plenty I've yet to learn, every time I see a fellow iaidoka as adept as yourself I'm reminded of that, sigh... But enjoying the journey just the same
hooo! that katana slicing was so smooth it went 'wha!' lol
I make sort of a circle with the saya, before noto. I should not. It should just be grabbed. I try to stop doing it, but it's an old bad habit, and those are difficult to get rid of.
Absolutely superb.
May I ask what the occasional flick against the tsuba was for?
Yes it is. Some chiburi, though, include a moment where you are supposed to wipe the blade with a cloth, before noto. Actually, that's the only realistic way of doing it. No chiburi cleans the sword enough.
I can only say: Wow and thank you!
Nice video, thinking of starting Iaido practice next year.
Very Nicely preformed iai
wow, this guy is quick taking that sword out. :D nice form!
Well, as I said, I don't want to be critical because the chap is an aikidoka and not primarily a swordsman.
Anything I said would have to be taken as purely the view of someone who trains in [i]muso jikiden eishin ryu[/i]. That mostly would invalidate anything I critiqued.
As to the 'pace' of execution, iaido is practised slowly to build precision but speed comes as the years and skill mount such that, when you choose, it can be executed at 'fight pace' :D.
Don't worry about sounds. That depends on so much else than your skill.
great demonstration, thought as a fellow swordsman there's always room for improvement in the way of the sword.
:))
this makes me happy.
very nice movement and flow. and you still say you need to do more work: great idea. no one stop learning.
i am in aikido. i want to do iaido. what do i need other than a bokken and what would be the best katana?
out of curiosity, what was that flicking thing he did with his hand at 1:10
May I ask, how much did your sword cost? I'm looking to buy one pretty soon, but I want a good quality.
Excellent technique too, btw. :)
wow
this is really powerful iaido. I can only judge from the point of view of a muso shinden ryu student, these were excellent, but I'm impressed.
What is the name and ryu of the kata that starts at 1.06? I'd really like to know that
What is the little "knack-thingie" you are doing at 1:11?
That was very nice.
Hello, i am thinking of starting iaido very soon, i was wandering if you could tell me what sort of things you do exactly in iaido?
@supermonkeylee, in the art of iaido, long blades are appreciated, but that's more of a development within that art than any faithfulness to history. Also, although westerners are taller, the blade should not be extended that much. Considering how sword movements and the body work, the extension should be just a fraction.
I suppose it is a danger if one makes up katas which are not rooted in the basics which tradition has brought down to us. However I have found that mixing up the use of the basics to respond to new bunkai can be very helpful, by increasing the scope of how you could respond to a combat situation.
My favorite one was at 1:05. How do you do the flick in the end? I usually "knock" on the back of the tsuka with a closed fist.
I make the sword spin around its axis, in a kaiten chiburi. It is used a lot in Katori Shinto ryu, for example.
Stefan Stenudd .จุ๊ฟนะคะพี่สเตนุตยอดรักน้องยาตื่นแล้วนะคะคียอดรักแก้วตาวยาสเตนุตรักแท้อมตะนิรันดร์
As far as I know, this is the traditional way, contrary to western fencing. My left-handed students use the right-handed grip and seem to be fine with it. Maybe you should try both, and see what you are most comfortable with. During the difficult initial learning process, it might be easier to do the same as everyone else, that is the right-handed way. But then again, why not try the opposite?
Anyway, I think in this case it is not awkward for a left-handed to do the same as the right-handed.
Oh, that is a chiburi. I spin the sword around 360 degrees. I have described this chiburi in a recent reply to another comment.
:) you can pick out an aikido student becasue they never let the energy out of a cut. never pinted down.
I started iaido about half a year after starting aikido. That would be early 1973.
My comment above was in response to Ixdee's statement "If this is the entire sport it's pretty boring" which I felt was naive and uninformed. I am personally very aware of the need for technique and as such iai is an art. I also do not think kendo is just a fight. It too is very much an art even though it includes fencing. Some dojos do emphasise the sport element, though.
The sound also depends of fact that u have bo-hi on your katana or not (traditional katana without bo-hi)thats what i heared
Yes, it is a mix of iaido styles.
just awesome
how do you do that chiburi when you hit the sword so quickly?
Was that kata a variant on Katori Shinto Ryu? Sure looked like it. Interesting Noto.
To begin, you need little more than a bokken. But after some time you probably want to get a iaito or shinken. On my website (see the links on the info text above to the right), I give some advice about getting a shinken.
Excellent Iaido really beautifully done, now I have something to practice with my Katana in my underwear. LOL My only humble suggestion is you post what Chiburi is next to the video since you have been asked so many times what it is.
looks smooth! I have never done any kenjustsu related martial arts but I have recently started developing an interest in katanas and all that entails. Is Iaido a discipline per-se, or does it come as part of Kendo? I think I would like studying something like that, but I am not sure what I should take up. I would really appreciate if you could give me some useful advice-info. Thanks a lot!
If you are interested in iaido and the Japanese sword, of course you should practice it. Good luck :)
I don't know enough about Chinese sword arts to be able to compare them with the Japanese ones. Trust your own judgement.