Iaido is the classical Japanese discipline of drawing and cutting with the long sword in defense of an unanticipated attack, throwing off the blood and returning the sword to its sheath. It is the direct inheritor of techniques perfected by centuries of samurai whose life and honor depended upon their spirit and prowess. Author Richard W. Babin brings together all the practical and theoretical information needed to pursue a formal study of the classical Japanese martial art of iaido. You will learn how to choose a sword, how to cut with it, how to take care of it, how to assume the clothing and how to enter a dojo. He covers not only the basic moves and positions, but the entire curriculum of forms of the muso shinden ryu of iaido. Equally important, he puts the art in its historic and social perspective, helping to clarify for the reader the spiritual pathway that the way of the sword offers. If you want to learn iaido, this is your textbook.
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Iaido Sword: Kamimoto-Ha Techniques of Muso Shinden Ryu Comment: I dont study MSR, I study Mugai Ryu, but to find GOOD books in english on Mugai Ryu is extremely difficult(only so many ways you can cut). As a reference guide, this book is really good, it's all there, history, philosophy, etiquette and technique etc. The only issue I have, is that 90% of the text from page 217 is missing, as that is a judging guide, it doesn't bother me too much. All in all, a good book for any iai practitioner Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent Comment: This books is excellent. The language that is using is easily understanable even for a non-native english speaker, and there are many photos that are used to clarify many points. Customer Rating: Summary: Iaido Comment: Actually, this book wasn't what i expected, you'll get bored from all that reading. Also, iaido is not a straightforward art, i don't see that emphasized. Every situation has a different bunkai, it's really a mental building system. And that's why i like books like e.g. Aikido: Harmony of Nature by Saotome Sensei. Also i'm quit sure there are some mistakes in that book regarding the naming of some kata's. Customer Rating: Summary: Excellent Book for Reference... After Instruction. Comment: This book is very comprehensive and helpful, but don't think it can be relied upon totally. I must agree with L. Vassallo, in that the teaching of a sensei is indispensible. This book is best suited for students who need to have a reference to look at so they can keep up with the training they recieve at intervals in the dojo. I do believe it is possible to learn a great deal from this book in conjunction with a good video guide on MSR, but I won't recommend trying it unless you have no possibility of joining a dojo. Some of us might live in a region where Iaijutsu is not practiced anywhere nearby. If that is the case, I won't discourage anyone from doing what they can. However, mastery in this case would be an unrealistic goal. Customer Rating: Summary: This is my textbook. Comment: This book has become my text book for iaido. It saves note taking and helps memory from class to class. While it is not exhaustive, if I had to choose only one book, this would be the one.
