Иайдо: Путь мгновенной реакции и осознанности

Japanese martial art

Iaidō (居合道), abbreviated iai (居合), is a Japanese martial art that emphasizes being aware and capable of quickly drawing the sword and responding to sudden attacks. Iaido consists of four main components: the smooth, controlled movements of drawing the sword from its scabbard (or saya), striking or cutting an opponent, shaking blood from the blade, and replacing the sword in the scabbard. While beginning practitioners of iaido may start learning with a wooden sword (bokken) depending on the teaching style of a particular instructor, most of the practitioners use a blunt edged sword called an iaitō or mogitō. Few, more experienced, iaido practitioners use a sharp edged sword (shinken). Practitioners of iaido are called iaidoka.

The term "iaido" appears in 1932 and consists of the kanji (i), (ai), and (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 and responding to the sudden attack as quickly as possible (合). The last character, , is generally translated into English as the way. The term "iaido" approximately translates into English as "the way of mental presence and immediate reaction", and was popularized by Nakayama Hakudo.

Iaido started in the mid 1500s. Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu (1542 1621) is generally acknowledged as the organizer of Iaido. There were many different Koryu (customary schools), however just a few remain practiced today. Just about every one of them additionally concentrate on more seasoned school created amid 16 seventeenth century, in the same way as Muso Shinden ryu, Hoki ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin ryu, Shinto Munen ryu, Tamiya ryu, Yagyu Shinkage ryu, Mugai ryu, Sekiguchi ryu, et cetera. After the collapse of the Japanese feudal system in 1868, the founders of the modern disciplines borrowed from the theory and the practice of classical disciplines as they had studied or practiced. The founding in 1895 of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai (DNBK) 大日本武徳会 (lit. "Greater Japan Martial Virtue Society") in Kyoto, Japan. was also an important contribution to the development of modern Japanese swordsmanship. In 1932 DNBK officially approved and recognized the Japanese discipline, iaido; this year was the first time the term iaido appeared in Japan. The All Japan Iaido Federation (全日本居合道連盟) (ZNIR) was founded in 1948. In 1952, the International Martial Arts Federation (国際武道院・国際武道連盟) (IMAF) was founded in Tokyo, Japan. IMAF is a Japanese organization promoting international Budō, and has seven divisions representing the various Japanese martial arts, including iaido. Also in 1952, the All Japan Kendo Federation (ZNKR) was founded. Upon formation of various organizations overseeing martial arts, a problem of commonality appeared. Since members of the organization were drawn from various backgrounds, and had experience practicing different schools of iaido, there arose a need for a common set of kata, that would be known by all members of organization, and that could be used for fair grading of practitioner's skill. Two of the largest Japanese organizations, All Japan Kendo Federation (ZNKR)

Musō Jikiden Eishin ryū School founded during the late Muromachi period (c. 1590). ('Mae giri')
Mugai ryū School founded in 1695. ('Zengo giri')
Shindō Munen ryū School founded in the early 1700s. ('Kiri age')
Suiō ryū School founded during the late Sengoku period (c. 1600). ('Shihō giri')
Hōki ryū School founded during the late Muromachi period (c. 1590). ('Kissaki gaeshi')

Seitei or Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Iaido (制定) are technical forms based on seitei gata, or standard forms of sword drawing techniques, created by the Zen Nihon Kendo Renmei (All Japan Kendo Federation). This standard set of iaido kata was created in 1969 by a committee formed by the All Japan Kendo Federation (AJKF, Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei or ZNKR). The twelve Seitei iaido forms (seitei gata) are standardised for the tuition, promotion and propagation of iaido at the iaido clubs, that are members of the regional Kendo federations. All dojos, that are members of the regional Kendo federations teach this set. Since member federations of International Kendo Federation (FIK) uses seitei gata as a standard for their iaido exams and shiai, seitei iaido has become the most widely practised form of iaido in Japan and the rest of the world.

Single style federations usually do not have a standardized "grading" set of kata, and use kata from their koryu curriculum for grading and demonstrations.

Many iaido organisations promote sword technique from the seiza (sitting position) and refer to their art as iaido. One of the popular versions of these is the Musō Shinden ryū 夢想神伝流, an iaido system created by Nakayama Hakudō (1872–1958) in 1932. The Musō Shinden ryū is an interpretation of one of the Jinsuke Eishin lines, called Shimomura ha. The other line of Jinsuke Eishin, called Tanimura ha, was created by Gotō Magobei Masasuke (died 1898) and Ōe Masaji Shikei (1852–1927). It was Ōe Masaji Shikei who began formally referring to his iaido branch as the Musō Jikiden Eishin ryū 無双直伝英信流 during the Taishō era (1912–1926). Another popular iai school mostly found worldwide is Mugai ryu. Mugai ryū (無外流) or "Outer Nothingness School" is a Japanese koryū martial art school founded by Tsuji Gettan Sukemochi (辻月丹資茂) on 23 June 1680. Its formal name is Mugai Shinden Kenpō (無外真伝剣法). Actually in the beginning, Mugai Ryu started as kenjutsu only school, but sent and recommended its disciples to learn another koryu named "Jikyo ryu iaijutsu", and after Jikyo ryu vanished without any successor. It is renamed Mugai ryu iaijutsu/iaido up until today. Another popular Iaido school is Toyama ryū (戸山流), which was established in 1925 in Japan. It was created by the Japanese army during World War II to create a simplified form. This style emphasizes the most important aspects of drawing and cutting. After the war it became obsolete, but was revived after 1952.

Ranking in iaido depends on the school and/or the member federations to which a particular school belongs. Iaido as it is practiced by the International Kendo Federation (FIK) and All Japan Iaido Federation (ZNIR) uses the kyu dan system, created in 1883. Modern kendo is almost entirely governed by the FIK, including the ranking system. Iaido is commonly associated with either the FIK or the ZNIR, although there are many extant koryū which may potentially use the menkyo system of grading, or a different system entirely. Iaido as governed by the FIK establishes 10th dan as the maximum attainable rank, though there are no living 10th practitioners in Kendo, there still remains many in Iaido. While there are some living 9th dan practitioners of kendo, the All Japan Kendo Federation only currently awards up to 8th dan. Most other member federations of the FIK have followed suit.

Iaido, in its modern form, is practiced as a competitive sport, and this competition continues to be held every year with a few exceptions.