Kensei Kendo- och Iaidoklubb
Vill du träna Iaido i Stockholm?
Vill du komma och titta, börja träna, bara prova hur det är att träna Iaido eller undrar du över något? Kontakta oss gärna!
Vi tar emot nybörjare till vår nybörjarträning under januari - februari och augusti - september. Läs mer om iaidoträning här.
Kalendarium 2009
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Sommarschema för Iaido
Träning under sommaren i Karlberg måndagar och onsdagar 19.30-21.
Träningen i Blackeberg har sommaruppehåll.
För medlemmar
Esoterica
Here you will find information about Iaido on the philosofical or Ura level. That which is not common or obvious knowledge. The information you find here might not conform to conventional ways of thinking, even among Iaido practitioners. You might find this information provocative, and have thus been warned. Learning requires freedom of speech and mind.
Zen and Iaido
All is one. Iaido, Kendo, Zen, Flower arrangement, Qigong, Long-distance running, etc. All have the same goal. Self-attainment. The vehicles may be different, but the final destination is the same.
The methodology of Iaido follows that of Zen closely. Even if this, from a historical standpoint, may not always have been the case. I think Karl Friday expresses it best in [4], "The Kabala lies within the Pattern". The Pattern referenced, is in our case of course the Iaido form or Kata, in Zen it is Zazen. The Cabala mentioned, is the mastery of technique and the mystery of self-attainment. Hence, by repeating the kata (or zazen) over and over one will not only master the techique, but also ultimately attain Kensho. This is the essence of a very famous japanese proverb, which was also one of Michioka-sensei's favorites:
(Endless practice yields self-attainment).
We see that Iaido and Zen are the same even though the methods are different. Buddha stated that it suffices to sit in zazen, and eventually one will reach attainment. For Buddha, who was an extraordinarily spiritual person, this took six years. For many people, doing only zazen day-in and day-out, even for six months, would be extremely boring. Therefore it is common that Zen-practitioners also do "Moving Zazen". Iaido is equivalent to any moving zazen; the same straightness of the spine, the same control of breathing, the same intense inner concentration. Thus Iaido and Zen are one.
Note however, that Zazen and Iaido kata are not just methods to attain mastery of technique and enlightenment. If that was the case then it would be unnecessary to continue practise after awakening. As a matter of fact, the opposite is true, which has been stated by Dogen-zenji [7]. The deeper you experience Satori, the clearer you will understand the importance of training.
"Iai-do" versus "Iai-jutsu"
There is an ongoing debate among Bugeisha, especially westerners regarding the difference between Do and Jutsu. This section elaborates on this topic and provides the definitions of these concepts used among memebers of Kensei kensan kai.
Jutsu is contained in Do. Without Jutsu there can be no Do. However, Jutsu doesn't necessariliy imply Do. Where Jutsu focuses on the technique, Do goes beyond technique. Technique cannot be de-emphasized in Do, for without technique there will be no Do. Mastery of technique is the basis for Do. And Jutsu. But Do does not settle for mastery of technique. Mastery of technique is but the first step of Do. Next lies mastery of the heart. For without heart there will be no Do.
Historically the purpose of Jutsu was not mainly to foster sword-masters. On the contrary, the purpose was to, as quickly as possible, disseminate techniques so as many as possible could survive as long as possible with a weapon in hand. Compromises were made as to the economy of movement, precision of technique, and tactical finesse. This so that one could quickly grasp the techniques and use them for survival. Jutsu therefore, belongs cheifly to the Sengoku (Country-at-war) period in Japanese history.
Within Do, perfection is both goal and purpose, but not only technical perfection but also perfection of the heart. Because one lives with Do ones whole life, the final goal of Do is not quickly attainable. This doesn't mean that one can idly sit back and wait for Do to come. On the contrary, only through arderous training during a long time can one hope to come close to completeness in Do. Even in Japan it is very difficult to attain this today, because of the demands and temptations of everyday life. But it is exactly this is Do, the lifelong strife towards perfektion and universal understanding.
Sports and Budo
Unfortunately, the lack of insight (or interest) concerning Zen and Budo is just the case with the "sportification" of Japanese Budo; such as modern Kendo and Judo. Here, Budo has been reduced to a simple goal of winning matches instead of conquering the self; since no awakening ever occurs with the practitioner, even after years of hard practise, the practitioner ultimately looses interest when matches are conceded, thus giving up practise all-together when no meaning in the "sport" can be found.
This is a very sad chain of events indeed, which will also lead the dojo in a downward sprial: experienced practioners end up quitting, thus leaving little legacy with the young practitioners. These continue practise without the required guidance, in turn only focusing on the apparent. When matches aren't won at the same rate anymore, they ultimately quit too.
For these reasons any attempts to "sportify" a Budo causes it a great disservice, both to the Budo itself, but also to the country or dojo, and should for these reasons be disuaded. Ultimately, it will only lead to the distruction of the Budo itself.
However, participating in Iaido competitions is an important and valuable part of Iaido practice. It is easy to become lax and comfortable when practicing in ones own dojo. For this reason it is important to challenge ones Fudōshin and wholeheartedly compete with others. This looks like a paradox concerning sports and Budo, but in reality the concept is quite simple: "participate and do your utmost regardless of the outcome". Of course this concept is hard to live by, and we need to tame our emotions and avoid succumbing to the greediness of winning. Again a good exercise in conquering the self. For that reason Kensei Kensan Kai promotes competition and actively participates in Iaido Taikai worldwide, remembering that albeight winning is the goal of the competition, it is worth nothing in and of itself.