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?

Recently joined ZNTIR and I've been facing a bit of a challenge with my kesagiri 45° diagonal cut during tameshigiri practice. No matter how much I try, I often find my cut morphing into a shakuri pull cut.

Has anyone else encountered this problem? What adjustments or drills have helped you maintain the correct blade line and avoid the shakuri pull?

Any tips or guidance would be greatly appreciated!

If anyone is here and want to mingle, Im with the Israeli team!

Good luck to everyone!!

Dear Budo People,
Dear all,

After years of training in ZNKR Iaido, I would like to expand my skills by studying IAI/Battodo and possibly Kenjutsu using daisho. What schools do you know where two-sword techniques dominate, or at least where a second sword is kept in the obi?

I know this question is asked a lot but I'm specifically asking because I am currently in Japan. Please skip the next paragraph to get to my question if you are uninterested in why I want to pursue Iaido.

I am a beginner at Iaito, training with an 8th dan Iaido master (Japanese only) and two 7th dan masters, so its been a very fun experience, and I believe its a martial art I want to continue as I did aikido in the past and it enriched my life so I think Iaido can as well. Also I have a dojo in my home city so I am able to continue when I go home in a couple months.

What I want to know is two things, firstly whether or not I should purchase a Iaito here in Japan because though I am able to bring it back, it would cost extra for oversize luggage and its a hassle with paperwork.

And secondly what brand I should go with if I buy one here in Japan or online.

I've been trying to find some used ones online but not much luck since its difficult to identify the legitimacy of the sword for iaido practice. That being said sellers have been honest about whether its a replica or a real iaito (thanks japan high trust society), in any case i think used is a bad idea unless i have confirmation of its source.

And though I've seen some decent cheap brands on amazon or elsewhere its difficult for me to justify spending 200$(CAD) on a knock-off (meaning a lesser known brand) instead of 400$ on the real thing (such as Tozando). Not to mention the knock off brands don't have swords at 2.45 shaku for a cheap price, its around 300$ so I may as well buy the real thing instead of buying a cheap sword that is too short (2.35-2.4 shaku).

Since I'm in Tokyo I will visit Shobudo Sangyo soon to see what they have but i can always order online in Japan for a while.

So please provide your best recommendations on purchasing a Iaito in Japan.

I would like to have advice and feedbacks about the 100% polyester/synthetic cashmere uniforms (available on Tozando, Seido or Sakuraya). They are presented as high quality equipment, guaranteeing a comfort of practice and a « perfect look ».

Are they really worth the investment requested? And if so, are they flexible enough for regular pratice (durability, washing) ?

I have already a good keiko uniform in tetron, but I always wonder if this type of uniform was more tradionnal regarding the appearance and cut of the clothing ?

Hey everyone! I did iaido for quite some time and had a big break bcs I moved from Brazil to Germany and couldn't find a new dojo, now on the search again!

My saya is loose and I wanted to fix it, I remember back that my sensei told me I could fix with gluing a piece of wood inside the saya. Then I did my research online and seems I need a really specific kind of wood that I can't find around Germany or online.

Like this end of the year I am going to Japan (Osaka and Kumamoto), if someone knows where I could find it in person there, that would be really nice!

My question is that if I really need that specific kind of wood or could I use any kind? The picture is the wood I am talking about.

Thanks for helping me here!

Now, I realise that a lot of people in this subreddit have probably heard this question many times, but I would be very appreciative if someone could help me with how to get into Iaido.

I don't have the budget to purchase most of the gear, but I would like to know just what I would need as a baseline or even just the principles if starting with them would be better than material gear.

I live in England so I would (also) be appreciative if someone could recommend maybe some dojo's that I could join? (I'm pretty new to all of this so I don't know how these kind of joining things work 😅)

Thank you for any help.

Does anyone know of any really good knee braces with pads (knee pads with brace) that are good for Iaido?

I can not use a metal blade, not even a dead blade. I can find plenty of beautiful wood blade options, but they are all the same length. I’m below 5’3” and the ones I’ve found so far are too long for me, making my form off when I practice. Does anyone know of someone who will create a good quality custom wood Iaito with saya?

Meant to say ‘Changes to ZNKR’. Trying to get used to the changes now that furikaburi can be lower than 180 degrees. Fear of bad habits forming like over exaggeration of the movements.

I’ll be operated soon and I want a book to read that is interesting but not too difficult when laying in bed for recovery.

Both Iaido/kendo welcome and its philosophy/history.

I know both are good options but I can’t decide myself right now :’)

looking for a book explaining iaido's philosphophy , not about samurai , not about the moves , something about relation between the practitionner and his surrounding

My buddy was on minosaka website on my phone and precceded to make a custom iaito that i didnt approve of and it said order 168 submitted and he put my address and phone number along with email what should i do?

Hi All, I have been away for a while, and now my iaito has some dark spots on it and the blade overall is less shiny. I think it is corroded, although I was sure to wipe it with a microfiber towel after each use.

Do you recommend to try to wipe it with any products, such as Basch Never Dull? If so, should I then apply a layer of sword oil to restore the shine?

Hello everyone.

I started training in Iaido in 2011-2012 but had to stop due to being pregnant and my belly getting in the way 😂

I have only just returned to Iaido again and whilst I seem to have retained some of my training, I am really struggling to do sitting forms. I’m finding this quite disheartening as it’s very disrupting to the lesson as I struggle to do seitei 1-4.

Since I last trained I’ve had 3 children and have broken both of my ankles (the right one twice). As such, I am struggling to perform these kata as I can’t move from sitting to standing without putting a hand down or actually falling over. It seems my core strength is very weak and I’m not sure how best to improve this to help with the seitei seated patterns.

I’d be very grateful if someone could please recommend some exercises to help me with balance and improve my core/leg strength. I do have some ideas that were given by my instructors, but I’d really appreciate any other suggestions please.

Thank you so much.

Hey all. The soles of my feet cramp within 30 seconds of getting into the seiza position. As in sitting on top of the soles.

I have electrolytes and various vitamins daily. Iron. Magnesium. Vit D.

How do I stop the cramps?

Thank you!!

Hi all, I'm new to iaido and yesterday I did my first lesson with a hakama. Due to financial mayhem, I did more than a month with an old karategi that I have from years. I quickly learn the importance of sayabiki and did it diligently. But now, with my hakama, I struggle to do it properly. The back plate of my hakama stop my sayabiki mid-way.

I will gladly take some advices :)

PS: Do to holidays, my next lesson will be in three weeks and I first thought that my problem came from a bad obi and hakama wearring so I didn't think of bringing it to my sensei :/

Howdy fellow iaidoka.

As I dive deeper into Iaido/get more committed I figure it’d be a great idea to match my knowledge of the art to the experience I am getting doing it (right?). I think doing Aikido kind of jammed this idea into my head as they include history of the art in testing in the school I used to go to when I had time. My big problem doing research into Iaido is I can’t really find actually good sources for the schools I practice; Muso Shinden Ryu and Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu. Anyone have any known sources or ideas?

I got a good Iaito, and the gear. I even got a CD from my masters master for the basics and some katas... but I don't really have anyone to correct me. Do I just proceed with extreme caution as to not get bad habits? I already know a lot of the cultural stuff (even knots), but I seriously need advice as to not royally f up my muscle memory, I don't have a master to correct me but I really want to do this. I'm putting in at least an hour a day for now, but probably more later.

Featuring legos

Who else nerds out about how their sageo and hakama looks after class? I learned some knots yesterday and now I’m totally going to be making them every time I finish practicing.

Are there any lil hidden groups on Reddit for the different styles of Iaido? My dojo mainly practices Muso Jikiden Eishin Ryu but also has knowledge of Muso Shinden Ryu.

Keeping it simple. My saya in my obi and hakama rests almost fully vertical like more than 45 degree angle.

The way I put it in the obi is through the top of the hakama, my outermost layer of the obi (there are like 3 or 4), out the bottom and above the bottom hakama strap.

Could obi be too loose? Hakama too loose? Should it be in a layer of the obi closer to my body (intuitively I feel that would make it worse)? Could it be because of how skinny I am And is just inevitable?

Domo arigato peeps.

So I have decided to join a dojo in my city after looking for many years for a new activity.

The dojo is "small" in the sense there are 3 theachers (1 japanese, two westerners) and classes 3 days a week with an average attendance of 3/4 people.

I had experienced two sensei so far and both were very kind and patient with me, and they appreciated that on my first day I did for 90 minutes straight the same exercise (still have to learn the Japanese name... the one where you swing the bokken from over your head down making one step forward and one back every swing).

I have now purchased my own bokken with a sheat, the sensei says this way I can also practice on some basics like the sheating and un-sheating of the sword.

I am waiting also for my uniform, waiting from Tazando (?) to dispatch it.

So far I am enjoying it greatly the experience and I found it very good also for my mind... I have a lot of stress from work and family and after each class I feel super-relaxed.

So off to a good start let's see how it progress!

Last night before our embu, our sensei introduced us to a series of 5 waza (2 seated, 3 standing). He explained (more on that in one second) that they are waza that all "schools" of iaido know how to do, as they are a "compilation" of moves. Well - okay - so I think that's what he said/explained. He has a serious accent, and I tried and tried to understand what the "series" was called and what each waza was called, so that I could look them up. Too embarrassed to ask more than 3 times so . . . Help? They included a ki'ai if that helps? Appreciate ya'll.

During last night practice, while going into hassou no kamae I heard a distinct twang kind of sound (kind of like a guitar string snapping) coming from my tsuka. I inspected the sword and now I hear a slight creaking noise near the tsukagashira if I apply a slight twisting motion.

I let my sensei know immediately and he inspected my sword, he thinks that it's just the two wooden halves of the handle rubbing together and nothing to be concerned about, the tang seems to be intact and so is the mekugi.

I kept on practicing and I could hear no sound whatsoever coming from it when swinging. The sword doesn't feel any different than before.

I'd still like a second opinion on this, though. Should I be concerned? This is a Nosyudo Chuden and it's only a year old at this point. Also, I have a grading in just a month, would I need a replacement?