I take part in an iaido and jodo club every Wednesday. It’s something I wanted to try when I moved to Japan but I had no idea how to find a class. A friend invited me to a kendo club that met on Sundays. I went a few times, and met someone who also did iaido. He said he would ask his teacher if I could join and I started going the next week.

Just to be clear, iaido is the practice of katana drawing and slicing in set routines. It was practiced by samurai to make their sword work very clean and precise. Jodo is a different type of martial art. It uses a short staff that is a means of defense against a sword. However the feeling of doing both is pretty similar.

We meet in a temple and have our teacher watch our forms and fix things that she sees. It was very overwhelming at first since everything is taught in Japanese but with time and help I got the hang of the class. Since we are using weapons it’s all about form practice. You want to be able to move smoothly and fiercely. It is almost like memorizing a dance routine.

Every once in awhile we have a competition or a test that allows me to have a goal to aim for and really focus on what I’m practicing. The class is a good stress reliever for me and allows me to shut out whatever was bothering me before class and enter a state of flow. It also let’s me have a community I wouldn’t have without the class.

Written by – Ben Hammond