Iaido
Japanese martial art of quickly drawing the sword
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 (bokutō 木刀) 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.
Origins of the name
The term "iaido" 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 and responding by harmonising with a sudden attack as quickly as possible (合).
The last character, 道, is generally translated into English as the way or path.
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