By Mathis Isaksen, Member until 2017

A deadly scene unfolds in the forest. Two men fight against a hundred, all armed with blunt swords, Japanese katana. Men fall one by one while the two flee and fight. In the heat of battle, one chooses to return his sword to the scabbard (saya). He is dressed in white, and in Japanese culture this is often a symbol of death and purity. He is ready to meet his maker. The fact that he returns the sword does not mean that he is done fighting, on the contrary. As soon as someone steps towards him, he quickly draws the sword and slashes in a continuous motion, only to immediately return the sword again. He performs iaijutsu – quick sword moves – and shows superiorly what the difference in level is. The clip originates from a Japanese samurai film, and is rich in both symbolism and action. But is it reality? Probably hardly; it's just a movie.

In reality, one would never return the sword in the middle of a fight. And on the battlefield, the sword will be drawn long before you meet the enemy. But what is the point of studying just moves with the sword as a style in itself? There is no doubt that iaijutsu and iaido is a very popular sport worldwide.

If you look at the official history, most iaijutsu systems date from around the 17th century. Japanese swords are somewhat older than this, and people probably knew how to draw the sword before that, but in this particular period, Japan had been united by the Tokugawa shogunate (the conquerors). After several hundred years of constant civil war, there was a period of a degree of peace not seen for a long time. And suddenly iaijutsu was more relevant than ever. Because when is it necessary to draw the sword quickly to defend yourself? It will only be in a surprise situation, where you are on the street, or in domestic situations, and are suddenly attacked. In a period where war is not the main theme, this suddenly becomes one of the more relevant things to defend against.

Iaijutsu is therefore about being constantly prepared, and being able to perform one's technique instantly and to perfection when required. If you are truly surprised, it is not certain that you will be able to defend yourself, and therefore you have to sense the danger before it happens. It is therefore not surprising that for many iaijutsu and iaido are truly a symbol of the old warrior's attitude and philosophy. So even though iaido is a sport with many displays, the essence is that it is not about bling bling. It is one's life that depends on the sword and the technique, and therefore no compromises can be made, and one often trains only a few techniques.

We have worked with 4 techniques, or kata, as it is called in iaijutsu. They show some of the basic possibilities you have with the sword, but essentially you could train just a single technique. The technique is built up step by step and it is important to do all the details slowly, many times before it can be done quickly. It is said that one should practice one's technique 10,000 times slowly before performing it quickly. If it doesn't work out quickly the first time, you should train 10,000 times slowly again.

Of course, you shouldn't make things more difficult than they are either. The sword is designed to do its job, and to make it as easy as possible to do it. As it is essentially an "old" weapon, it still requires a lot of technique, but it is actually the sword that does most of the work. The difficult thing about iaijutsu is learning to let go of control and trust that the sword is an extension of one's body. Subconsciously, you believe that you are doing it yourself, and that you, for example, must chop hard or fast. But if you do this, you're just going to fight the movement, and then it won't be fluid or harmonious.

With this in mind, it's no wonder that so much focus is placed on training the inside. If you are not calm, the technique cannot reach its full potential. And if you are not clear, you can never find the peace that you need.

It was also with the interior that Yakami Shinsei-ryu iaijutsu started. Besides theory and history, the first topic was how to properly handle the sword. Japanese swords are usually kept in silk bags whose colorful patterns are filled with symbolism. Taking the sword out and into the bag is considered to be at least as important as the execution itself. It is a small ritual in itself, and it is said that the bag is sealed with ki, to keep out bad energy.

The first technique, or kata, was nana-me. It is also called ippon-me or ichi-me, because it is really the "first" technique, the basic technique. The sword is drawn forward and slashed horizontally in one fluid motion. Quite simply. Kimu Sensei demonstrated the technique quickly and powerfully. At that moment, there might have been someone who thought, "Will I ever be able to do the same?". But of course that was what the course was for.

The technique was reviewed step by step, and soon confidence spread throughout the room. The contestants slowly got to know the sword better and soon the swords were cutting through the air. It continued with ura-kesa, which was a variation of the first technique, but with a different ending, which was in direct relation to modern iaido. Next came tsuki no me, where you got to know the sword very closely, as you had to let it slide across the stomach before thrusting it forward at the imaginary opponent.

The icing on the cake was the 4th kata – nuki-ai. Kimu Sensei avoided the big explanation, and grabbed the sword, after which it was swung in a circular motion all the way above the head, and then fell down, in one straight cut, mako. The sword was eventually swung an extra time around, and returned to the scabbard - you could say that jaws dropped in a few places. Not many thought that it would be easy to perform such a violent technique. But don't be fooled. It's not about bling bling, and once you know how to do it, it's not that difficult at all.

Thanks must be given for a memorable course which will probably not be forgotten any time soon - especially not by the childish souls who like to play with metal swords.

Look forward to more articles on Iaijutsu