I was in Chicago this past weekend to teach some seminars and while I was there I had the opportunity to participate in an Iaido class. This is the Japanese art of the sword, not to be confused with kendo. Iaido is translated as "The way of harmonizing oneself in action." I am sure there are other translations but this works for me.
Kurt Barnhart invited me to go along with him to their Sunday morning class and meet his instructors and fellow practitioners. Kurt is a long-time friend and student and has been in the arts for many, many years. The sensei is Bob Garza, who was very nice and allowed me to fumble around without laughing. I was made welcome, shown the formalities and followed as best I could.
The 90 minute class went very quickly and I was introduced to a lot of fascinating aspects of this art. Sensei Garza knows his stuff. I asked a few questions and was given some well-thought out answers and comparisons to other methods of using the sword. Very interesting.
I picked up some basics cuts, blocks, footwork and how to draw and sheath the sword. That's where I was told my sword was upside-down. Not ever having any real instruction in this I had put the sword in my belt and when I was attempting to do something one of the guys advised me of my error. That fixed, the rest of the class went OK.
It's not at all like the other weapon systems I've done. Most of it is solo work, I'm told, and it's done slowly, with a lot of consciousness of every move, much like tai chi. And it's not always slow, they do the sequences at speed and have some interesting cutting drills.
It was a good experience, very positive and in a nice atmosphere. My thanks again to Kurt Barnhart, Sensei Garza, and the Japanese Cultural Center.
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