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

1. Mae (Front): Starts from a kneeling position and is intended to stop a frontal attack.
2. Ushiro (Rear): Again starting from a kneeling position, and intended to stop an attack from behind.
3. Uke Nagashi (Receive, Parry, and Cut): From a kneeling position, you parry an attack coming from the left.
4. Tsuka Ate (Striking with the Hilt): Beginning with one raised knee you stop both a frontal and rear attack.
5. Kesagiri (Diagonal Cut): Beginning from a standing position you forestall a frontal attack.
6. Morote Tsuki (Two Hand Thrust): From standing, you stop three attackers. Two coming from the front, and one from behind.
7. Sanpogiri (Three Direction Cut): Starting from a standing position you stop three attackers (coming from left, right, and front).
8. Ganmen Ate (Hit to the Face): From standing you stop both a frontal and rear attacker.
9. Soete Tsuki (Joined-hand Thrust): Stopping an attacker from the left; starts with a standing position.
10. Shiho Giri (Four Direction Cutting): Forestalling four attackers from a standing position.
11. Sou Giri (Complete Cuts): Five different cuts beginning from a standing position.
12. 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.

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!

My name is Andy Brown, I’m a 53 year old male who lives on the west coast of Scotland. I’ve been practicing Shotokai karate with Kyle Karate Club and have reached the level of 1st Dan Black belt. Shotokai was developed by Sensei Mitsuzuke Harada and brought to the UK in the 60’s when he moved here.

Over the years since then there have been some splits within the original group which has left us independent. We still recognise Sensei as the developer of our style even if we no longer have the opportunity to practice with him.

I, like so many others, got interested in martial arts during the time of the Bruce Lee movies. I tried Kung Fu from books (nearly permanently damaged my knee – ALWAYS go to a club with a good instructor!), Aikido, Judo, Sport karate and finally Shotokai.

I’m not an aggressive person and found that I was regularly getting injured when sparring at sport karate so gave it up. It did however give me enough knowledge to know that it was some form of karate that I wanted to study. I looked around locally and finally found Kyle.
Shotokai karate is closer to the traditional karate taught by Gichin Funakoshi and puts emphasis on relaxation and gaining a rapport with your opponent. In this way, you can react to his/her attacks almost as soon as they start.

Because of this relaxation and timing you find you have plenty of time to avoid your attacker. We also practice sensing your opponent’s body condition and movement with light touch. When you combine this with the previous you find that it takes very little “assistance” to cause your opponent to lose balance. This is the essence of our practice.

Some of the higher grades (3rd Dan and above) can take this to extremes and actually stop you attacking them by seeming to attack you a fraction of a second before you move to attack them. I can assure anybody who doubts this that it is possible. I have personally experienced it on numerous occasions and can tell you that it is the most frustrating thing I’ve felt.

Although we practice full contact (we don’t touch and pull back as is done in sport karate) we spend a lot of time training to maintain a safe distance and get out of the way when an attach comes. Even if you are hit, it’s nothing like as hard as it would be if you were standing still. I have to say that incidents like that are few and far between in our club. There is an atmosphere of helpfulness instead of the competitiveness I’ve seen in other clubs. Yes, we practice hard and try to catch our opponents. In that way they will get better and in turn put pressure on us to improve.

When I started with Kyle many years ago I promised myself “When I stop enjoying this I’d stop practicing”. I think the fact that I’m still a member says it all …….

Regards,
Andy
PS if anyone wants more information about us (including lots of photos) our website is at www.kylekarate.com

The Japanese sword arts that are commonly taught today are divided into three main areas. We could further differentiate these by talking about different families and styles, but an overview of kenjutsu, kendo, and iaido should be enough to get you started.

KENJUTSU – THE ART OF THE SWORD

Kenjutsu translates to “the art of the sword”, and it is the more traditional of the arts taught today. Kenjutsu is primarily combative in nature. It is the main way that koryu (traditional schools) train their students to use their swords against a variety of classic weapons.
When you study this form of Japanese martial arts you can expect partnered practice with a variety of kata. If you study Kenjutsu you will also likely study sword drawing and sheathing techniques.

KENDO – THE WAY OF THE SWORD

Kendo is one of the modern budo that developed from the more traditional Kenjutsu. Practitioners of this art are referred to as kendoka. With this type of training the focus isn’t all combative; there is also a focus on discipline and improvement of the mind. Kendo is sometimes referred to as the Japanese style of fencing.

If you practice this form of budo you will learn techniques that start with the sword drawn. You will be able to take part in competitions, learn to perform one of 10 katas, and advance through dan grades as you progress.

IAIDO – THE WAY OF MENTAL PRESENCE

Iaido is another of the traditional sword arts. In this case the focus is on drawing the sword, striking your opponent, and re-sheathing the sword. The focus here is one precise, controlled, fluid motion and also on preparedness. It is often referred to as a sword drawing art. The practitioner of iaido is known as an Iaiadoka.
When you study to become an Iaiadoka you can expect to learn individual katas that you will practice against imaginary opponents. Since this form of martial arts uses actual weaponry instead of practice swords it is rare to practice with an opponent. Some schools do include partnered forms of practice, and some also teach tameshigiri (the Japanese art of test cutting).