Seitei Kata Iaido: A Look at the 12 Forms
Iaido is the art of Japanese swords drawing. For those who are interested in Iaido, in today’s world, instruction can be found in many of the Kendo regulated martial arts schools. In fact most Iaido taught today is learned as part of Kendo.
The All Japan Kendo Association has developed 12 katas, representative of forms, for Iaito. They are often referred to as Seitei Kata Iaido or Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Seitei Gata Iaido. As a beginner with Iaido here are the 12 main forms you can expect to learn. With each one I have given the name of the kata, its rough English translation, and a basic overview of what the kata entails.
Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei Seitei Gata Iaido
- Mae (Front): Starts from a kneeling position and is intended to stop a frontal attack.
- Ushiro (Rear): Again starting from a kneeling position, and intended to stop an attack from behind.
- Uke Nagashi (Receive, Parry, and Cut): From a kneeling position, you parry an attack coming from the left.
- Tsuka Ate (Striking with the Hilt): Beginning with one raised knee you stop both a frontal and rear attack.
- Kesagiri (Diagonal Cut): Beginning from a standing position you forestall a frontal attack.
- Morote Tsuki (Two Hand Thrust): From standing, you stop three attackers. Two coming from the front, and one from behind.
- Sanpogiri (Three Direction Cut): Starting from a standing position you stop three attackers (coming from left, right, and front).
- Ganmen Ate (Hit to the Face): From standing you stop both a frontal and rear attacker.
- Soete Tsuki (Joined-hand Thrust): Stopping an attacker from the left; starts with a standing position.
- Shiho Giri (Four Direction Cutting): Forestalling four attackers from a standing position.
- Sou Giri (Complete Cuts): Five different cuts beginning from a standing position.
- Nuki Uchi (Sudden Draw): Beginning from standing you avoid and then respond to a frontal attack.
After you have learned these 12 forms well, you can take your 1st Kyu. Once you are finished most students move on to study Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido, one of the older forms on Iaido.
A few new Samurai Swords For Sale in our Shop at the moment
Just some updates in our samurai swords shop
The response on the survey we held a few weeks ago was just amazing and I need to thank you if you did participate ! Really, these kind of things are so important to us in order to make the perfect sword for you. Everyone has a different taste, that’s true but it can point us out in the right direction.
Anyway, more than 70% of the voters were choosing for the Japanese fittings on the new Konron swords so….you get what you asked for 
and currently the swords are being mounted and they should arrive here within 3-4 weeks. Not only will they come with improved fittings and ito , there’s another bonus.
The swords will be signed on the tang…”Voila !” What about that my friend ? They will be signed and possible numbered so we can issue a certificate with them. You can find the sample signature here.
Now, what more do we have for you..ow yes, a few swords from the other new forge arrived in our store. So now we have available the new cheap battle ready katana swords with black and brown ito. As I told you in our previous posts, I did some cutting tests with it and the video is about ready to be released so you may expect them within 1-2 days .
We already finished another video of another 1060 steel sword with Japanese fittings, ito and sageo. We didn’t had the time yet to do cutting tests with this katana but I can assure you they’re excellent cutters.
2 Custom katana are ready too , a 1095 Huanuo katana and a customized Practical Plus XL Light katana. This katana isn’t on the site yet so no need to search for it. The price is 425 euro..Just send me a mail if interested in this one.. Video’s are on the way as well. Yeah, planning to make a lot of video’s in order to give you an exact idea of the stuff we’re having here
Anyone who like to work on our samurai Tv channel by doing video sword reviews ? We send you the swords of course
By the way, we also have an affiliate program now if you like to earn some $$ ! You can subscribe here and if you don’t know what that is or how it works, just give me a little time to make a how to guide for you !
An introduction to Batto Jutsu
I am often asked, what is batto jutsu. In its literal translation the term refers to sword drawing. In today’s uses though, that is rarely what batto jutsu actually refers to. In this article we will look at Batto Jutso Ryu. I will teach you what it is and what it isn’t.
WHAT IS BATTO JUTSU RYU?
To start our look at this particular branch of the Japanese sword arts, let’s first talk about what batto jutsu really is. There are actually a couple places where you may find the term used, so I will define it both ways.
In its most common usage batto jutsu ryu refers to the Japanese martial arts schools that focus on tameshigiri (cutting with the sword). The emphasis of their teachings is the actual cutting with the sword. When you learn batto jutsu in one of these schools you can expect to put in a lot of time with cutting practice.
You may also here batto jutsu used interchangeably with iaijutsu. In this case the term is referring to the actual act of drawing and cutting with the sword in one fluid motion. Batto iaijutsu techniques involve drawing the saya back and the sword forward. This allows you to begin and complete the cut quickly.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE TO KENDO, IAIDO, ETC?
Batto jutsu differs from Kendo or Kenjustsu in that the sword usually begins in the scabbard, where with the other two budos the sword is already drawn. It also differs because in batto justsu the focus is on cutting, and cutting practice. In the other two arts dueling tends to remain the focus.
It also differs from Iaido in a couple of ways. There is more focus on actual cutting that there is in Iaido. The batto jutsu practioner will often practice real cutting techniques to practice on wetted straw mats, or bamboo. There is also more focus on the cut itself. With Iaido the cut usually takes place with the drawing of the sword. Batto jutsu requires a draw and then a cut.
You now have a basic overview of what batto jutsu is, and what it isn’t. If you’re interested in this budo, simply find a school that teaches it, get yourself a sword, and then get learning!
