居合道 Iaido

 

Iaido competition, posted a year ago

Iaido is the art of drawing, cutting with, cleaning the blood from, and returning a sword in one movement. Iaido comes from  Iaijutsu, where one trains at the same skill in order to surprise-attack an enemy and cut him down in one strike. Both still exist today, with Iaido being the more modern form that lacks the intent to kill. The kanji in the name of the two arts embody their differences: The 居合 (iai) is said to have come from the phrase "常に居て、急に合わす" (Tsune ni ite, kyū ni awasu), roughly meaning "to be constantly prepared and meet the opponent immediately".  The kanji for "-jutsu" is 術, whose meaning emphasizes the idea of technique or skill, whereas the "-do" in Iaido uses the kanji 道, which means road or way. Thus, Iaido especially focuses on this sword drawing art as a way of life as well: being present, prepared, and resolute.

Japanese martial arts are comprised of kata (型 or 形), which are a unit of choreographed movements that are repeatedly practiced to master the art. Iaido has twelve kata, but, like any art, they are perfected over years. This is a video of the twelve:

After researching Iaido more, I've gotten excited to see it in real life, and learning about the old Japanese arts like this and 書道 (shodo), Japanese calligraphy, make me want to learn Japanese even more,