Iaido Sword: Kamimoto-ha Techniques of Muso Shinden Ryu

by Richard Babin

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.

Genres: Martial Arts

266 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2002

Reviews

[Anthony Alessi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so far right on the money as an overview of Muso Shinden Ryu. There have been, of course, some updates comming out of Japan as updates to Seite Kata, but all in all, a very well written book on Muso Shinden Ryu Iaido.

[Maksym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting to me.