Sparring in Iaido

Our dojo recently had a fun breakaway from the usual waza practice by introducing foam swords and contact sparring.

When I started sparring in iaido, it was purely as a means of self-indulgence. Reliving my kendo days, but with the open possibilities of iaido. But here are a couple of things I've discovered over the course of these exercises:

1. An old adage by Uesugi Kenshin states: "Cling fearfully to life, and you will be defeated. Engage fully, prepared to die, and you may live." ** It is natural to be afraid, even when the thing that might hit you is a soft-ish foam sword. In my earlier attempts to spar, I noticed that I would sit my hips back, as a means to allow myself the option of backing out. However in all Iaido waza, we are reminded to stand upright, hips forward and performing our waza fully. To do these required a build up of courage to enter the danger zone. Once I adopted these proper practices, I noticed my waza in sparring had better results. Even in situations where I was "wounded", my partner would be receiving the more "lethal" blow.
   

2. I was taught to treat waza not as real, but as crystalized abstracts of a scenario. Alternatively, view these as Lego bricks, and not dogma. Most walking waza in MJER Iaido have the first cut entering in a straight manner. While that is certainly useful to build up the courage from point 1, it can also be smart to engage at an angle, putting yourself out of harm's way while cutting your opponent. Being prepared to die after all, doesn't mean foolishly walking into the tiger's jaw.
   

3. Iaido waza teaches us to apply metsuke, but it can be a little difficult when all you're staring at is a floor, and lucky you if you have a dot on the floor to reference with. By sparring, there is a real tension, even in jovial situations, that allow your eyes to build that metsuke. Eventually, with enough diligent thought and practice, you will allow your eyes to apply that second stage of metsuke: ENZAN NO METSUKE 遠山の目付 ***
   

4. If you're dealing with a taller partner, aim your kissaki a little higher. With a shorter opponent, aim your kissaki a little lower. The idea is that, especially in a frontal encounter where both parties are drawing against the other, if you do not have the height advantage, you will want the monouchi of your sword to cut and disable your opponent's arms first, rather than aiming for their body. Similarly, if someone is shorter, you may need to angle the kissaki to cut into their arm first, otherwise, it might take a longer time (>1 sec) before your blade hits anything vital.

   
   

That's it from me for now. I hope this was an enjoyable read, and you ponder on the merits a little pressure testing might give to you on your iaido journey. Till then, see you at the dojo!

** This is a paraphrase I've taken from multiple sources. It also seems to be a recurring phrase across multiple nations. But I'm using Uesugi Kenshin because samurai haha.

*** Hey! That sounds like the name of our dojo ENZAN IAIDO 援山居合道! It was an intentional play on the concept, but swapping out the 遠山 which can be read as Touyama (might be confused with Toyama Ryu) with 援山 which uses a helping hand, paired with a mountain, to encase the idea of building a community on this journey up a neverending mountain.