In addition to aikido, I practice iaijutsu — the Japanese art of drawing the sword, in the tradition of Musō Jikiden Eishin Ryū.
Iai begins before the sword is drawn — the blade still in the scabbard, nothing yet in motion. And yet everything is already present. Tomita Shihan describes it this way: before you draw, you must be fully aware of all the surrounding circumstances. Feel where the sound is coming from before it is there. Understand what is going to happen before it takes shape.
The movements are slow, concentrated. But that slowness already contains the end point — the speed and power of the final draw are present from the beginning, in compressed form. As Tomita puts it: it is not about learning a certain form, but a certain spirit — and using that spirit in everyday life.
居合とは 人に斬られず 人斬らず
ただ受け止めて 太平の勝ちIai to wa / hito ni kirarazu / hito kirazu
tada ukestomete / taihei no kachiIai is this: not being cut by the other, not cutting the other —
— anonymous dōka, classical iai tradition
just receiving and catching, and thus the victory of great peace.
This poem does not refer to gentleness. It describes a state in which you are so completely present — so completely ready — that nothing needs to happen. By giving the other person the opportunity to attack you with his cutting sword, he also becomes accessible to your sword. There is only one chance to survive — and you must seize it fully. You do what must be done, on the cutting edge.
That is the direction in which iaijutsu has evolved: from satsu jin ken — the life-taking sword — to katsu jin ken — the life-giving sword.