“Those who train when they are young will rise to greatness.
Those who train in maturity will preserve their vigor in old age.
Those who train when old will live eternally.”
Issai Sato
Iaido got its origins in the ancient martial art of kenjutsu, developing into the modern do, or Way. It focuses on drawing the sword (nukitsuke), killing your opponent with a single cut (kiritsuke), flicking blood from the blade (chiburi), and returning the sword to its sheath (noto). Taken from the kenjutsu of the battlefield, iaido became an efficient method of personal combat. The intent is very simply to kill an opponent with one cut.
The first step in learning Iaido is to practice traditional forms, known as waza. Each form teaches fundamental principles of how to handle the sword correctly. Many of these waza are hundreds of years old, and tens of thousands of students have practiced these forms through the centuries.