Hello, I am a 15 yo teenager, went through a Iaido free trial, i have been practicing another martial art involving Kata for a while(Karate), i have tried to convince my mother for a while on joining Iaido for fun, but she calls it vile and inhumane for no appearing reason. Maybe because it involves a Iaito? She talks all crazy stuff about Iaido and how it’s made to kill others without even giving me a chance to explain it’ history and usage.

Does anyone know of any good Iaido schools on Long Island? TIA.

My tozando iaito I got a few days ago seems very hard to unsheathe from its Saya it seems far too tight about and I was wondering if I should shim or just try using it till it loosens ?

I just ordered my nosyudo shoden last week. I was trying to find info on Tsuka wrap thickness. Couldn’t find much . I decided to get an extra thick wrap as I figured I would get better grip on the Tsuka. I am 5’9 and getting a 2 Shaku 4 sun 5 bu length blade. Anyone have experience with the extra thick wrap or that vs standard? I hope it isn’t uncomfortable. Thanks

Anyone have pics of their uguisu or tetsukon wraps? Trying to decide which one to go with. Thanks!

Dear Iaidoka, do any of you have experience with Online Dojo - https://gen-universe.com/ ? I am interested in deepening my knowledge about koryu and I see that among the presenters is the head of the IAIDO ZNKR section. I don't care so much about training (I train traditionally offline in doho), but about information about the history of various styles, their philosophies, etc.

This is a quick research just to know how Iaido is managed. I know it's usually handled by the country's Kendo federation but I'm wondering if there is any other organizational model that is applied somewhere.

The inquiry is basically because in my country, Iaido started as association a part from kendo. But it seems it's required by FIK a single entity that manages kendo, Iaido, and Jodo. That's why later it joined the kendo association in order to participate in examinations, tournaments, and seminars. But the Iaido organization kept its "power" and a single point of view, to the point that every Iaido dojo in the country should obey their decisions (even opening a new dojo). The main kendo association recently started to take the Iaido community into account.

Do any practitioners from this subreddit go to Kenyukan Dojo in Stevenage (England)?
Just wondering as in my search for dojos I completely missed it and it's barely a 20 minute drive from where I live.
It would be great to know if anyone here trains there and could maybe give some information not present on the website e.g the school of Iaido that they teach?

Hello,

I am really curious about trying out different martial arts involving a katana, and my current top choices are kenjutsu and iaido. So far I'm just doing research and stuff, but I'm kind of worried that my mom won't really be happy with a teenager swinging around and buying swords as one of his hobbies. She's always paranoid about me and my brother, to the point that she's shaking from even the thought of my brother (who's 24 years old) snowboarding on a remotely dangerous track. How can I tell her that I won't die/be seriously injured and that she shouldn't worry? Are there any dangers that could her say a straight up no to this? I did a tiny bit of judo back in elementary school, and we stopped because I found the discipline to be too harsh. However, I feel like I can do this now and stand through the discipline. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

Hello fellow practitioners,

I'm thinking of buying a nosyudo iaito, and contacted the english support. They informed that prices rised since last year, since a shoden iaito is now 49000 with a thick blade, 46400 with a thin blade (i don't know how much they cost back then), and some customisations are more expensive.

Does anyone know if they do that regularly ? A friend from the dojo told me to buy in July, since that's when the yen currency rate is at the lowest. Do i risk having to pay raised prices by that time ?

I'm back with another question, and I do again thank everyone for any advice they could give me, but I would love some help regarding the correct time / correct way to buy gear in the UK.
I'm really excited to be starting Iaido (as with my last 2 posts), but is it better if I purchased the stuff before starting or sometime into starting?

I am also not sure about how to purchase such equipment, I am aware of Nine Circles, but also the issues of buying through a site like it, and how buying straight from the companies is better.

What are the best options for just a beginner? Is it buying straight up with a website or waiting some time?
Thanks for any help that can be offered!

Hi! Is there any official video course of seitei iaido (ZNKR) other than the one with sensei Ogura?

I have a hanwei cutting sword, and now looking for an iaito practise sword.

Tozando looks really nice, but after taxes all of them are in the 600+ range. I hope I can find something slightly cheaper. I don't want to cheap out, but would like some advice if there is something more affordable or logical to buy in europe.

Hi Iai-People! Have any of you seen videos of Yamatsuta Shigeyoshi performing the Muso Shinden Ryu kata?

Hi everyone!

When buying a montsuki you can choose the size of the mon.
During a taikai in Japan, I've noticed a trend where men seem to have large mon and women have small ones.

My question is if there is an actual gender-based rule to this? I've seen exactly one man have a montsuki with small mon, all the other ones were women.

I thought choosing a smaller mon might communicate a sense of humility, but maybe it just means it's a woman's montsuki?

If anyone knows this it would be greatly appreciated, as I'm trying to avoid any faux-pas!

Hello dear iaidokas !

So I'm currently customising my first iaito, and nearly everything is done, all that is left is choosing tsuka ito/same. I'll get a cotton ito since it's a first iaito and i need it to be affordable, but i'm not sure of which color. The options i have are Black and tetsukon (iron blue).

I'd like to take tetsukon but i have no idea how it will look like with all the sweat from training, Does anyone who had or is having a tetsukon ito could show me or tell me if the color suffers a lot from sweat ?

As for samegawa, i'm not sure either, i don't know if i prefer it black or white (which will probably be decided once i've chosen an ito color), but most importantly i'm not sure of plastic vs real rayskin differences. I asked my sensei, but he never dealt with plastic samegawa so he can't help me. What does it changes ? does one have a better grip, aspect, durability ? I hope you'll be able to tell me what's the real deal and if the upgrade is worth it or not.

Thank you in advance for your help !

I am currently considering to get an iaito from Tozando, but I am uncertain about the customs. My fellow Canadians, just curious how much did you pay for the customs?

Hey guys, long time lurker here. I have a question regarding to MSR and I wasn't sure if my sensei could answer this, and I didn't want to bother him with it too much so I'm asking here.

I previously learned MSR a long time ago, and started to pick it up again. As I was learning MSR from a different sensei this time, I thought it was just some movements and riai changes, but the names and wazas are similar to MJER.

Then I searched the internet and I was genuinely surprised of how a lot of MSR schools follow the MJER namings. Then I thought, maybe the MSR I learned is... different?

e.g. Kasumi - Mukobarai, Misumi does not exist in the current school I'm in, etc.

So I was wondering what made MSR change like this? Different namings I do understand, but there are different wazas also. Can somebody explain why?

The recent post asking about comparing the entry level Nosyudo and Minosaka inspired me to make this post. When I was deciding on an entry level Iaito, it was actually not easy to find lots of quality pictures of the Nosyudo Shoden (probably because it's just a basic model with limited customization). Reddit and Nine Circles has many good pictures of the more expensive Nosyudo Chuden and Okuden Iaitos. Seido has done a great video showcasing the multiple tiers of Minosaka products and all the little details in how they differ as you go up the product range. I ended up having to piece together what I wanted my Shoden to look like based on Nosyudo's Catalog, pictures on Mercari of second-hand Shoden Iaitos, and scraping Google and Nosyudo's social media posts for more images.

This post here is for the benefit of others who may be wondering what exactly they can get for the money going with Nosyudo's entry level product. It really is much more than a simple basic Iaito, the Nosyudo Shoden in my opinion punches well above its price-class and compares favorably against Tozando's Tenryu Semi-custom (for a similar amount of money in the Japanese Tozando site, and much less compared to the international site), and Minosaka Tokusei. Others who have used the Shoden and Chuden describe the Shoden as essentially a Chuden with limited options, which I can concur is accurate. There is very little being compromised in the Shoden, I believe Nosyudo really did just use the very good Chuden as a base and simply pared down the available customization options to save costs with parts standardization. What is available might be standard and not very fancy, but the quality is not skimped in any part or process (the only exception is the plastic samegawa panels which is molded so well it's difficult to tell it's even plastic AND Nosyudo is transparent about it). Like the other quality Iaito makers, Nosyudo has perfected a formula and it has stuck to it over the years with typical Japanese determination.

Here is what arrived at my locale three months after ordering with Nosyudo's fine customer service team:

• Specs
• Base Price: 49500 yen
• Blade Thickness: Thick blade
• Blade Length: 2.35 Shaku
• Hamon: HM-03 Double Notare (+1100 yen)
• Ito: Black Cotton (Stock)
• Samegawa: Black (+2200 yen)
• Tsuka Thickness: Standard
• Tsuka Shape: Up to craftsmen
• Tsuka Length: 0.83 Shaku
• Tsuba: T3 Higo (Stock)
• Tsuba Plating: None
• Fuchi & Kashira: KY-02 Vines (Stock)
• Menuki: MY-60 Butterflies (Stock)
• Menuki Position: Reversed
• Saya: SY-03 Cha Ishime (Stock)
• Habaki: Plain (Stock)
• Sageo: Black Cotton (Stock)
• Final Price not including shipping: 52800 yen
• Weight with Saya: 1175 grams
• Weight without Saya: 865 grams

Chaishime Saya and Black Cotton Sageo

Stock Higo Tsuba, Black Cotton Tsuka-ito, stock Fuchi+Kashira+Menuki, reverse Menuki position

Thick 2.35 Shaku blade, hamon is barely visible

Close up of Hamon, Upgraded Double Notare Hamon

Kissaki with visible Boshi in the right lighting

View of the whole sword from tip

At the right angle the double hamon glows brilliantly

Hello fellow practitioners,

I'm a beginner looking forward to buy my first iaito. As I'm not very rich, i'm looking for the cheapest one, while still looking for some quality (i'd like not having to buy another iaito for the next few years if you know what i mean, i'm looking for a cheap over time investment). My sensei advised me to not buy non-japanese iaito, so i thought about Nosyudo and Minosaka, which seems to be the best while their cheapest options are still affordable.

I still don't know which model to take, The cheapest minosaka model, Tokusei koshirae, have very few advices online, so i don't know how good it is and if it can last me a few years in my training, or if i'll need to upgrade it in the future, which i'd like to avoid, in which case i should probably opt for the Jidai koshirae, which is slightly more expensive.

On the other hand, Nosyudo seems to have very good entry models, some people saying a shoden model is basically a chuden without all the customization possibilities, which i don't really mind since i'm looking for something cheap and sober. The prices of a shoden model are roughly the same as a Tokusei from minosaka.

I'm learning ryushin shouchi ryu so i'll probably take a quite short sword, 2.25 or 2.3 shaku probably (ryushin shouchi ryu is usually practiced with 2.25 shaku swords but i'm quite tall so i might need a slightly bigger one maybe)

(I'm planning to buy directly from minosaka or nosyudo, since it seems to be cheaper than resellers like tozando, seidoshop or nine circles, but i'm not sure how the shipping goes, in term of prices and safety for the iaito)

On top of that, i'm living in Europe, which means import fees, so i also shall look on that, any advice on how to not sell my kidneys for import fees ?

Did anyone have tried both of them and can compare their quality ?

Did anyone have tried one of them and knows if they're good enough for me to keep several years (ideally, something like 7 to 10 years) without needing to upgrade ?

I'm looking forward to your advices, thank you in advance !

Edit : Since i'm practicing ryushin shouchi ryu, i'm considering buying a women/children model if i'm going for nosyudo, since we use shorter and lighter sword (and it's cheaper), do you know if there is any difference between men, women and children models beside thickness and weight of the blade ?

Edit 2 : Thanks to u/Greifus_OnE and everyone for your returns and posts !

After reading all the comments and looking for all the options, my budget seems a little bit too short for a mid-range priced iaito such as the Nosyudo chuden or equivalents in prices.

Since i'm going for an entry level iaito, my choices are The Nosyudo shoden iaito (47,000 yens shipping included by getting rid of nearly all customisation, 54000 with reasonable amount of customization, enough for having a cool looking and satisfying iaito), The minosaka jidai koshirae (53000 yens while getting rid af all customisation from seidoshop japan, weirdly cheaper than seido international (roughly 60000 yens) and directly minosaka (68000 yens)), and the Tozando Toryumon V2 (roughly 60000 yens from Tozando French store for the same range of customization as nosyudo shoden with the least customization possible).

From the informations i gathered (another thanks to u/Greifus_OnE for his amazing post on Nosyudo shoden iaito) :

Nosyudo Shoden (47000 yens with minimum customization, 54000 yens with decent customisation) seems to be slightly better than Tozando Toryumon V2 (60000 yens) and slightly better than the Minosaka Jidai koshirae (53000 yens without ANY possible customization).

So Nosyudo Shoden seems to win while being the cheapest, best quality of entry level iaitos and having the most customization possible even while reducing to the maximum.

I think i'm going for Nosyudo Shoden series, Thank you all for your time !

Is it a generic term for a series of cuts, is it a specific cut in a specific kata or what else?

Following on from my post 12 days ago (thank you to everyone who responded), I've been searching for a Iaido dojo near me, but I've found that most of them are over 1 hour away from my residence.

How could I train and learn without going to a dojo?
Is it recommended I try to find a way to get to a dojo regardless?
(Thanks for any help)

Thanks for your replies everyone, I'm certainly figuring something out, but thank you all for your input, it's so much appreciated and I have now realised that just under an hour drive really isn't that bad, we British sure love short drives

I have ordered items from Tozando many times over the years. I recently ordered and received a new custom hakama (separate discussion). Then I got a bill in the mail from UPS for customs and handling fees. First time this has happened. Not a lot, but not expected or budgeted. Is this a new norm or a random event?

Looking to match sageo and Obi in a dark-brown/chocolate fashion. It is proving slightly difficult to find within a reasonable price range. Any helpful advice/links would be greatly appreciated. (Location: Atlantic Canada)

I want to congratulate the International Batto-do Federation on a great tai kai, held yesterday, November 10th in Yokohama. Over 100 competitors from 10 countries came together in friendship. A long day of good effort, preceded by three days of training and followed by a group bus trip to Mt. Fuji and overnight in an onsen hotel, arranged by our senior sensei (plural). Plus several pre- and post parties. Exhausting and incredibly worthwhile. Lots of pics and vids on FB and Instagram You might check the KenKonKai Dojo group FB page.

I'm going to Japan for about 6 weeks and will be traveling as far south as hiroshima and as far north as Kusatsu, with some wiggle room there. I'm looking for any recommendations for things iai related you fine folk may have. I'm open to anything from shops, to historic places, museums, or something more modern I'm unfamiliar with. Thank you!

Hello all, Currently I am a 3rd Dan kendoka. Recently I’ve been to Japan and trained at the Kyoto butokuden. There they also let me join their iaido training straight after, this sparked my interest in iaido so I went to look for an iaido dojo in my area.

I found there is one dojo in my hometown but instead of iaido they have Ryushin Shouichi ryu iaijutsu.

I am a bit confused to what the difference actually is between normal iaido vs iaijutsu. I know the difference between The way of drawing the sword and the art of drawing the sword. But is there a lot of difference between the two?