Quote:
Mike Haft wrote:
if you're looking for an Iaido class you probably would be better off either looking for either an aikido or kendo dojo in your area ...
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And it's certainly not just the UK where that is true.
I've done both, and simultaneously for some time, and I'm inclined to broaden the question a bit. It's always struck me that doing a gendai art like aikido, with a prominent and modern philosophical content, is a bit of a contrast to training in a koryu art (assuming your iai is koryu, I suppose). The kendo folks always had a clear rationale for including kendo no kata and iai training - the old fogies (reasonably) observed that the uppity youths weren't real clear on the handling of a sword after all that shinai work (and enrollment in their koryu dojo was declining, too). I know lots of people like to talk about how "aikido came from the sword" and all, but I wonder what folks perceive they take out of such dual training.
John