Iaido, an art of mind (by Jacques MARTIANO)

The result is far from being glorious since it participates in a vast enterprise of intoxication or even worse in a vast breach of trust, whether knowingly or not, on people that passively attend these illusionist acts.

The term "demonstration", used most often for designating the person that is performing the show, is charged with meaning when you think about just what verities they are trying to demonstrate.

Am I the strongest?... The fastest?... The most what?

When you attend a combat sport event, things are clear. Points are earned, a winner is designated, and a prize is awarded. Nobody tries to explain to us that so‑called philosophical content is hiding behind all this action.

But everything is different in our case, because if I were to let you believe that the image that you see when I practice Iaido is Budo, I would be lying.

Some people thirst for spirituality, others are looking for recognition from others, and the venalities of yet others come together in these bazaars where these technicians perform who have taken only the image from the art since they haven't learned the rest. The mirror can reflect the illusion of a third dimension but in reality the image is flat and devoid of content.

Budo is a "state of being" in which all of the senses participate in fulfilling a requirement that we want to be as perfect as possible. And when I speak of senses and requirement, these are those of the person involved in this search.

Technical expression, the daily focus of our attention, is not Budo.

Correcting the image is only one of the many tools that make it possible for who is practicing to polish the physical expression of an approach that is much more complex.

"I sincerely hope that those wanting to learn the Iai taught in our school will improve themselves, without either adding the slightest personal opinion to the Katas that have been passed down from ancient times to the present day, or altering the figures that our masters have passed on to us, and that they will study with the strong conviction that they will pass them on correctly to future generations.
The sabre is the mind.
If the mind is straight, the sabre is straight. If the mind is not straight, the sabre is not straight either.
Any person wishing to learn the sabre must first straighten out his own mind, since - irrespective of the tips of the branches - the mind is the root. He must calm his mind through techniques, and therefore resolve to reach a harmonious spirit.
Engrave on your heart that Iai is a spiritual art to which one devotes all ones energy and life with unwavering determination."
 
FUKUI Torao 21st Soke