What is iaidō?
The term “iaidō” appears in 1932 and consists of the kanji 居 (i), 合 (ai), and 道 (dō). The origin of the first two characters, iai (居合), is believed to come from saying Tsune ni ite, kyū ni awasu (常に居て、急に合わす), which can be roughly translated as “being constantly (prepared), match/meet (the opposition) immediately”. Thus the primary emphasis in ‘iai’ is on the psychological state of being present (居). The secondary emphasis is on drawing the sword from the scabbard and responding to the sudden attack as quickly as possible (合).
The last character, 道, is generally translated into English as the way. The term “iaidō” approximately translates into English as “the way of mental presence and immediate reaction”. The term emerged from iaijutsu, and the general trend to replace the suffix -jutsu (術) (“the art of”) with -dō (道) in Japanese martial arts in order to emphasize the philosophical or spiritual aspects of the practice.
Iaidō consists of four main components: the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard called saya, cutting an opponent, shaking blood from the blade, and replacing the sword in the scabbard. While beginning practitioners may start learning with a wooden sword, depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use a replica sword called an iaitō. More experienced iaidō practitioners use Shinken (real japanese sword). Because iaidō is practised with a weapon, it is almost entirely practised using solitary forms, or kata that performed against one or more imaginary opponents. Iaidō also includes competition in the form of kata.