Iai Etiquette, Bowing and Basic Sword Strokes
Introduction
Etiquette is extremely important in martial arts. Martial arts without saho is organised violence.
In feudal Japan where the arts of budo and bujutsu originated, a rigorous system of etiquette developed. It was perpetuated in an atmosphere of honour and respect. This respect enveloped all classes of people and between the classes also. At all times it was important to know who were ones superiors and inferiors. So that serious breaches of etiquette were avoided at all costs. When starting to learn a martial art the degree of etiquette may at first seem extreme. But once Saho has started to be observed and understood both in and outside the dojo . Mutual respect can and will develop.
Some important aspects of Iaido in particular are listed here. Shoes or outdoor footwear should be removed and placed in an out of the way place and not left in the doorway.
Sword Strokes
Dress
Bowing
Kamiza
The bow should be made towards the kamiza and should be to about 30 degrees, bending from the waist, eyes looking forward, the hands should be held at the sides of the body along the seams of the trousers. The bow should be held for a few seconds.
The correct manner of bowing to another person or teacher when in seiza.From seiza, slide saya on thigh extend the left arm until tsuka is in line with the knees. Take hold of the sword and sageo with the right hand, palm upwards, and thumb on tsuba. Move the sword to your right side, with the tsuba in line with your right knee (for Seitei). (for koryu, the end of the tsuka is in line with the knee). Place sword on floor. The cutting edge is facing you. Both hands are then placed on the thighs, midway from the knees. Begin by bending the body slightly forward and extend the left hand in front of the body and placing it on the floor to the right of the left knee. Then continue the bow by moving the right hand forward and in front of the body so that the fingertips and thumbs meet to form a triangle. Bow forward until the chest is touching the thighs. Keep looking forward. The elbows should be on the floor and alongside the knees and are not extended. Begin to rise and at the same time remove the right hand back onto the thigh and then the left hand. Take hold of the sword with the right hand with the first finger against the tsuba as before. Transfer the sword back to the left hand.
The correct manner of bowing to the sword.From seiza, slide the saya along the thigh until the tsuba is in line with the knees. Transfer the sword to the right hand so that four fingers are under the sword and the right thumb is on the tsuba. Slide the left hand down the saya towards the kojiri . With arms extended lay the sword on to the floor in front of you, so that the mid point is in line with the centre of your body. The right hand should be just to the right of the right knee. The left hand forms a pinch grip on the saya, with four fingers along the top and the thumb pressing against the bottom of the saya. The cutting edge should be facing away from you. Removing both hands together. Straighten the sageo with the left hand and little fuss. Replace both hands back on to the thighs. Begin by bending slightly forward and extend the left hand in front of the body and placing it on to the floor to the right of the left knee. Then continue the bow by moving the right hand forward and in front of the body so that the fingertips and thumbs meet to form a triangle. Bow forward until the chest is touching the thighs. Keep looking forward. The elbows should be on the floor and alongside the knees and are not extended. Begin to rise and at the same time remove the right hand back onto the thigh and then the left hand. This manner of bow is taken from the Muso Shinden Ryu Style of swordsmanship.
TopSword Strokes
Assuming that we are sitting in seiza with the sword in our obi and the sageo tied. Before we can start the actual forms, We need to understand that most forms are made up of several composite parts. The four most important parts are the draw ( nukitsuke ), the cut ( kiritsuki , or kirioroshi ), shaking the blood ( chiburi ) and sheathing the sword ( noto ).
There are within Iai many other parts and we will cover these as we come to them. Nukitsuki is generally the draw and horizontal cut combined.
First the nukitsuki or initial draw of the sword. The sword is sitting in the obi, cutting edge up, with the end of the handle (tsuka) in line with the centreline of the body. Both hands come onto the sword at the same time, the left hand grips the saya at its mouth (koiguchi). The right hand takes a grip so that the side of the tsuka is in palm of the hand. Using the left thumb, break the grip of the habaki on the koiguchi. Start to draw the sword out directly along the centre line of the body. At the same time move the left hand, holding the saya back and around the body. Once the sword is about halfway out of the saya, turn the sword and saya over so that the cutting edge is facing away from you and parallel to the floor. Continue to draw the sword until the kissaki is ready to leave the saya. This point is called saya banare . At this point the left hand pulls the saya off of the sword back and around the body. At the same time, tighten the grip of right hand. Extend the right arm in a horizontal arc across the front of the body at shoulder height, until the kissaki is pointing straight ahead. At this time the right wrist turns to the right slightly and the right arm moves to the right so that a cut is made. The kissaki should end up in line with the right nipple. This is a basic nukitsuki.
KiritsukiKiritsuki is generally a vertical cut from above the head to waist height. In all double handed cuts it is the left hand that does the work the right hand is only there to guide the sword to its target. The sword is above the head slightly angled rearwards. The right hand is above the left. The left hand is about one fist distance from your forehead. The arms should be open so that your view is not obscured. The right and left hands work together but the right hand leads as the sword is brought downwards with a feeling of pushing. As the sword descends the elbows move closer together. This creates an elliptical path and means that the sword will slice and not hack. As the sword finishes its path the wrists are rotated inwards on the handle ( tenouchi ). This action is like wringing out a cloth and stops the sword from bouncing. This is a basic kiritsuki.
O-chiburiChiburi is the action of getting rid of the blood on the blade after a technique. There are two main chiburi's. O-chiburi and Yoko chiburi. We will deal with O-chiburi first.
We are standing, right foot forward, feet shoulder width apart. Holding the sword horizontal at waist height, cutting edge down. Kissaki facing directly away from you. This position is called ( Chudan no kamae ).
The left hand relaxes its grip on the tsuka. And is placed at hip height on the hakama where the saya is held by the himo. All four fingers are together and the thumb lies along the top of the saya. The right hand takes the sword in an arc to the right until the right arm is straight out to your right and at shoulder height. Grip the sword with the little and ring fingers. The sword should be now pointing away and up from you to the right rear. Bend the right elbow and bring the right hand to the side of the head, close to the forehead, turn the wrist so that the cutting edge of the sword is pointing upwards. The elbow should not be allowed to move. It should be in line with the shoulder. In a sharp action bring the right arm down until the kissaki is just outside of the right knee. So the finishing position of the right arm is. A 45 degree angle from the shoulder both down and forward. The timing of this chiburi should be. The downward stroke is twice as quick as the movement from chudan no kamae to the side of the head. This is a basic o-chiburi.
Yoko chiburiAssuming that we are chudan no kamae. The idea of this chiburi is to shed the blood off of the sword with a sideways motion. As the left hand relinquishes its grip on the tsuka, the right hand moves rapidly to the right, until the arm is at a 45-degree angle from the shoulder. At this point the sword is turned so that the cutting edge is facing to the right. The most important aspect of this movement is that the entire sword moves and stops as one. A good analogy of this is if you imagine the cutting edge is resting on a table the entire blade length reaches the tables edge at the same time. It is also important that when this chiburi is complete the right arm/hand does not raise or lower itself but stays at waist height.
NotoNoto is the action of re-sheathing the sword. Most styles of swordsmanship have their own way of performing noto. In the Muso Shinden ryu style the blade and saya are kept horizontal.
So assuming that we have just performed either O-chiburi or Yoko chiburi.
The left hand is holding the saya with the thumb and forefinger covering the mouth (koiguchi). Bring the left hand and saya to the middle of the body at waist height, ensure that the saya is horizontal with the cutting edge facing out. At the same time bring the right hand towards the middle of the body until the back of the collar (habaki) and the mouth of the saya meet. Ensure that both saya and sword are flat, horizontal and form a T. Start to move the right hand in a straight line towards the right and at the same time the left hand towards the left, but so that the left hand goes around the body. The last two fingers of the left hand should retain contact with the body. Once the right hand is extended to its fullest degree, and the left hand has been moved around the body, the kissaki of the sword should be in line with the koiguchi. Using a hooking motion push the LEFT hand forward so that the kissaki enters the saya. Do NOT use the right hand. Once the sword has entered the saya start to bring the hands together the sword and saya should still be horizontal. After the sword is about halfway in, loosen the grip of the right hand slightly. Start to turn the saya, NOT the sword from the horizontal position towards you until the cutting edge is up. Quicken the movement of the right hand so that the koiguchi and the habaki meet in the middle of your body at waist height. At this time place your left thumb onto the tsuba. This completes a basic noto.
Dress
ClothingCorrect dress for the practice of Iai consists of a keikogi , hakama , and obi. For general practice dark colours are preferred, although the use of a white keikogi top is acceptable. The montsuki and striped hakama, or embu-gi are usually only worn by senior grades for competition or demonstrations. All items of clothing should be clean and freshly pressed, correctly worn and tidy. Worn knees in hakama should be discreetly patched, keikogi should be long enough so that the bare thigh and or buttocks are not seen through the matadachi .
The manner, in which one wears the uniform, can to a third party, determine to a certain extent the skill level of a practitioner. Also the general appearance should be given some thought. The wearing of jewellery and rings etc in the dojo is generally frowned upon. Finger nails and toenails should be kept short and clean. Socks or tabi are not normally worn without permission.
Some people wear an uwagi . This is put on first and wrapped left over right and tied so that the chest is not bare. It is acceptable for women to wear a T-shirt. The keikogi is then put on and wrapped left over right, leaving a collar of the uwagi showing. The obi that is normally used is called a kaku obi , this is also used in Kyudo . The obi is approximately thirteen feet long and about four to five inches wide. Dark colours are usually used for these also.
Leaving about twelve inches from one end, place obi on the right hand side of your body and start to wrap anti-clockwise until you have about eighteen inches left (this should come just passed the middle of your waist. Taking this loose end fold back on itself so that you have a double thickness above the twelve inches hanging down. Take the hanging down loose end and fold up and over obi and tuck under all wraps. Until a small, neat knot is formed, slide complete obi around body. So that knot is in the small of the back.
Step into hakama, with the stiffened panel at the back and place the front of the hakama above the obi. Taking the front himo one in each hand wrap around behind you, cross them over and bring them around to the front below your tummy and wrap them over each other (left over right). Take back round, slightly lower and tie into a bow. Across your buttocks. Take the rear of the hakama and place the koshiita above the small knot formed by the obi. Some hakama have a Hera fixed just below the koshiita. This should be tucked under the obi. Take the himo, and bring them around to the front, wrap them left over right. What is now the right himo should be tucked under where the front himo cross. Then tied into a knot. The loose ends of the himo can then be tucked in at the waistband. All himo should be flat and not twisted. An alternative to this is as follows. Once the knot is formed at the front of the hakama, take what is now the left-hand himo and fold back on itself so that you end up with about four inches left. Place this over the knot. Taking the right himo, tuck over and under both knot and himo to form a small, neat, bow. All himo should be flat and neat. At this time, pull keikogi down and adjust dress.
The hakama should hang straight and reach to the anklebone.
Tying the sageoThe sageo is a cord that is used to secure the saya to the body. Most Iai styles have their own way of tying the sageo to the himo of the hakama.
The sageo is attached to the saya by the means of a Kurigata
The loose ends are attached to the himo of the hakama as follows.
Straighten both loose ends so that they are even and together. Take loose ends under the sword and to the right of the centre of the body. Make sure that both hands are under the sword at all times. Fold loose ends back on themselves to form a loop approximately 6 inches long. Feed this loop under the bottom himo. Pull loop up about three inches and fold down over himo. With the loose ends form another loop and feed this loop into loop created earlier. Hold all loops with the right hand. With the left hand take hold of majority if sageo and pull gently to the left. This will tighten knot.