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Old 07-20-2009, 09:07 AM   #8
DH
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,394
United_States
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Re: Self-Taught Iaido

There is no way to do Iai; particular, highly detailed, or other wise.
Drawing a sword is drawing a sword and any number of teachers will tell you the other guy is right or wrong-though granted- some things are just plain dumb!
Stated clearly there are any number of ways and methods. Some are almost completely inane even with kokyu skills. Kokyu skills are NOT a panacea for all that ails the arts. You would have to know a bit about iai-do and various Koryu to really understand why that is so. Suffice to say once you change your body and the way you move, those body skills will permeate all the martial skills you then learn. But they will NOT make waza that were essentially pointless -effective. You will just be doing what was already inane waza more efficiently for what ever that is worth.
There is a prevailing presumption that all waza, in all arts, were and are martial. And that they had and still do have underpinnings of viable martial movement in all things. Nothing could be further from the truth.

One final comment. Never, E-V-E-R use a live blade as a beginner slow or not. Heck, I don't even know you, but I can like you enough to want you to stay intact!
You can teach yourself generic means and methods to draw a sword. It's not rocket science. But you will also spend many years either reinventing the wheel (repeating mistakes that generations of men before you already fixed to one degree or another) or not even getting what are mistakes and what are better ways to do it. Then again, sorry to say you can also find a teacher and get caught up in arts that will-in the end-wreck your knees and elbow and give you a never ending, exhaustive list of overly exact nothings to fit their way of doing Iai.
Find a teacher.
Cheers
Dan
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