Tag: Iaido

Hiki-giri 引き斬り is a pulling cut in Japanese swordsmanship. It’s a Japanese sword-cutting technique in which the blade is drawn through the target with a pulling action. Rather than relying solely on the force of a swinging blow, the movement…

Ken no Kamae 剣の構え are sword positions or guards used in Japanese sword systems such as iaido and kenjutsu. Kamae 構え | Sword Guards Chūdan no Kamae 中段の構え Middle-level guard. The sword is held in front of the body with…

Atarito 当刀 means “a direct draw-cut that meets and strikes the opponent’s attack immediately.” It describes the principle of the blade movement from seiza ushiro. In an iaidō context, it refers to a type of draw-cut where the sword is…

Chiburi 血振 is a term used in Japanese sword arts to mean “blood-shaking,” the motion of flicking or casting off blood from the blade after a cut. In iaido, kenjutsu, and many koryū systems, chiburi refers to the ritualized action…

Uke Nagashi 受け流し, which means “receiving and flowing,” is a classical sword movement where you receive an incoming cut on your blade while letting it glide/flow off, combined with evasive body movement (tai sabaki). As the archetypal deflection in many…

Iaido (居合道) is the art of drawing the Japanese sword (katana), cutting, and resheathing it — performed with control, awareness, and grace. It’s both a martial discipline and a meditative practice centered on drawing and cutting with the sword in…