Rather your sword should be on your right-hand side with the edge presented in the most non-threatening manner. In certain contexts, this is true - however, it is easy to forget the many circumstances within keiko where we do not treat our swords in this manner.įor example, it is inappropriate to enter a dojo with your sword ready to be drawn or to have it placed on your left-hand side when you are preparing for kata. This often means a sword is held in the left hand, so it can be drawn quickly to respond to a perceived threat. It is often said that the way we hold our equipment is to always be ready to act and strike at a moment’s notice.

This article is going to look at some established conventions for handling swords in iaido and kendo and then discuss how these relate to etiquette within keiko and how they inform our attitude in training. Even the way we hold and place our swords are expressions of respect towards our partners and the practice we are undertaking.

It can be easy to forget the significance of these actions when focusing on what we consider the main part of our training, but these small actions demonstrate an awareness of the greater context within which our training sits.Ī great example of these expressions of respect can be found in how we handle swords, in their various forms, in both iaido and kendo. However, we also perform plenty of actions throughout training that are all about respect and bringing a serious manner to our training. This is distilled into the common phrase: 'Training begins and ends with etiquette.' Iaido and kendo are both budo that places a strong emphasis on manners and etiquette – not only to our partners but also to the spaces within which we practice and to opponents who are not even there. Though we use iaito, bokuto and shinai we must never forget that these are swords

Iaido sword draw stance