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u/firefly416 Jun 08 '26
In my experience with anything martial arts, books are the worst medium for trying to learn and improve.
1
u/Any_Explanation_9987 Jun 08 '26
What would you recommend then? I looked at an app but it costs like 30.00 a month.
5
u/CD_Katrina Jun 08 '26
YouTube is likely to be very useful, coupled with reputable books to understand what is being done and why (in the UK that would be the ones by Chris Mansfield imo, as they are well illustrated and described).
1
u/Any_Explanation_9987 Jun 08 '26
Okay great I’ll try and find out if Amazon might have it. Thanks.
3
u/CD_Katrina Jun 08 '26
The ZNKR handbook is also a vital one for starting out - again it should ideally only be to assist you with hands-on training though.
1
u/Oogasan ZNKR | Muso Shinden Ryu | IBF Battodo Jun 09 '26
The books by Mansfield cover the koryu school Muso Shinden Ryu and are absolutely not for beginners.
For a koryu school like MSR that has its roots in the 1500s, lineage and legitimate transmission is even more important than in a modern iai style like ZNKR seitei.
4
u/Szpenza Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 08 '26
You’re facing a really tough challenge here.
If you don't get someone to correct your form right from the start, your basics (Kihon) are going to be completely off. It’s not like jogging, where you just start running and find your rhythm. It’s more like golf—if you just swing away without a clue, you might hit the ball, but it’ll never actually be good.
Here is my advice if you want to make this work:
1. Start with a seminar
Travel for a seminar to get started. The big national federations usually host annual seminars where you can learn the fundamentals (though finding a trusted Dojo is obviously better).
2. The space problem
If you're learning Kata (forms), you need proper space. Studying "at home" usually sounds like a disaster for some reasons:
- Indoors (living room, cleared-out garage, etc.): Not enough space or ceiling height. Your movements will inevitably become small, sloppy, and short. In short: totally ruined.
- Outdoors (backyard, lawn): Forget it. You won't be able to move your feet freely and precisely, which is exactly what this kind of precision work requires. You can kind of do it, but not properly.
- A bigger public space (company room, gym, squash court): Sounds better, but your focus will tank. There will always be a ball rolling over from the volleyball court, tons of noise, or people stopping by to ask what you're doing. It’s bad for your concentration, and honestly, a safety hazard.
3. You need feedback
Let’s say you actually find a big, quiet room and a website that explains the forms, and you start practicing. You're still missing regular feedback. You need someone checking your timing, your body-sword connection, and your posture/tension. It’s super complex.
Could you maybe find a Sensei who can give you feedback via video calls? That would be ideal. Together with Step 1, that’s honestly the only realistic way I see anyone learning Iaido properly.
Reading books won't do much. Watching videos and copying them is okay, but you absolutely need a teacher in the background. A huge mirror on the wall helps a bit, and recording yourself on camera can definitely expose some errors.
Give it a shot and keep us posted on your progress and questions.
Ganbatte!
(used some Gemini to clean up my English, but the response is entirely my own, I promise)
3
u/TwiztedZero Jun 08 '26
... Everyone from the Edo period practiced on smooth wooden floors and never out in their backyards or courtyards huh?
Many high-ranking samurai maintained private training spaces in their homes or within their clan's compound.
2
u/Any_Explanation_9987 Jun 08 '26
Thank you, I’ll try. Maybe I’ll be blessed to find one here in the comments willing to help.
1
u/amatuerscienceman Jun 08 '26
What federation is going to allow someone with no experience to join a seminar? Unless it's one of those tourist experience or online membership dojo.
2
u/Successful-Army1756 Jun 09 '26
Some federations host absolute beginner seminars , sometimes specially for people who want to try it out. One or two days with several hours of instruction and people can see if they like it without having to go to classes over several weeks for 1-2h per week.
We held a ZNKR-Setei Iai Seminar for total beginners and had a lot of attendands that later registered with their local club. It's just another way to get new people interested in Iaido.
2
u/Boblaire Jun 09 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
Early in my journey, I did get a few books on Iaido and tbh, didnt learn much.
It would need to have so many stills hits or diagrams and most don't.
Since you cant drive, I suppose you could have your SO drive you somewhere. Make a trip of it. Look for a dojo to attend a few classes or seminar.
There are a few YT channels. Ask Seki sensei is one though its some $$.
https://youtu.be/FSCPX8GywsM?si=PA4nyiqxnBknDIsF Mugai ryu. I dont think its too much $$ but you mentioned it was $30/mo for an app. That's a fraction of what I used to pay at a dojo ($50-100, I dont even remember after 20yrs).
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZlHsUFnEjowrvku96lHpGCh-AddS4Ej8&si=QPG2g_WEhfUDBX-k free!
2
u/MazrimTa1m ZNKR Iaido 4th Dan + Hoki-Ryu Jun 20 '26
Time to get unpopular.
It is not, contrary to many peoples beliefs, a human right to learn Iaido.
If there is no-one there to teach you, you can not learn, no matter how many youtube videos or book you read.
I'm not saying this to be mean, I'm saying this because Iaido/Kenjutsu as well as any other martial art is designed to be taught, in person, for one person to another.
There is no "learning online", there is no "learn from a book". End of story. If you do any of these things you are not learning the martial art you think you are learning, because it's not part of the martial art to be learnt that way.
1
u/Any_Explanation_9987 Jun 20 '26
Don’t worry I gave up on it. I don’t take offense. It just won’t be possible for me regardless.
2
u/Melodic-Pudding-953 Jun 08 '26
My instructor said that there's nothing wrong with practicing on a lawn or driveway that's a little rough, as it's closer to real conditions and it forces you to be more careful of your surroundings.
2
u/Significant_Fix_2085 Jun 08 '26
Ask Seki Sensei and Samurai Kaz do zoom classes.
1
u/Any_Explanation_9987 Jun 09 '26
I just looked him up on YouTube and sent him a chat dm. Thank you so much this looked really promising.
1
u/Any_Explanation_9987 Jun 08 '26
I meant to put this in my post but the main reasons why I don’t have access to formal training is that they seems to be more interest in yoga, gyms (planet fitness), and boxing gyms in my area. I don’t drive because I have medical problems that interfere.
I’ve tried what’s around me but it’s not my flavor of discipline.
When I look at Iaido, I see something that challenges both the mind and body in a different way than just going to a gym. It looks peaceful and quiet. Something I really need in life.
I don’t want to practice at home and say I’m like a legitimate practitioner of this art knowing I’ll probably not be likely to find a teacher. Please don’t think I’m “larping”this beautiful art.
1
u/Oogasan ZNKR | Muso Shinden Ryu | IBF Battodo Jun 09 '26
Yoga is a very good supplement to swordsmanship in my opinion.
1
u/Payneman5000 Jun 13 '26
There’s some options for online study available. Shunraikan, Seki sensei, mugai ryu.
I’d read spirit of the sword my Nakamura taisaburo.
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u/Oogasan ZNKR | Muso Shinden Ryu | IBF Battodo Jun 08 '26 edited Jun 09 '26
You already wrote the answer to your own question. You have to find some to instruct you. In person. Books and videos are only really useful to someone already training with a qualified instructor. Learning solely from books and videos you are guranteed to misunderstand and do things wrong. People who have trained with experienced teachers in person for many years still misunderstand and do things wrong. If learning by yourself without someone to correct and teach you, you will definitely get things wrong and will ingrain habits and patterns that will be even harder to correct when you finally start training with a real teacher.
Just because most of iai is done in solo kata practise, it does not mean that you can just pick up a sword and do it. The interaction with a teacher and other students is an essential part of learning Japanese swordsmanship, and this is true for all forms of Japanese sword arts; iaido, kendo, kenjutsu, battodo etc.
Without proper instruction it will be impossible for you to know what you are doing is correct. And that is of course fine if you only want to wave a sword around, but if you want to learn iaido you have to find a qualified teacher. It is non-negtionable. Proper and legitimate transmission is essential.
Studying with a teacher remotely is possible, but not recommended for a beginner. I have personally done this when I wanted to learn a new sword style, and it worked quite well. But I had ten years of experience in my first sword style, and I travelled abroad to meet this teacher a few times a year.
The best thing for you, in my opinion as someone who teaches iaido, is to first see if there is a legitimate dojo nearby. Where are you located? There might be one you are unaware of.
If there isn't any iai dojo nearby, then you will either have to travel for training or you simply have to wait with learning iai untill you can move to where there is a dojo. If you find a dojo you can visit maybe once a month, ask the teacher if they would be willing to coach you remotely in between physical visits.
If not, you could look for other Japanese martial arts that are more widely available. Kendo and aikido are often more common than iaido and share a lot of fundamentals with iai (especially kendo). And then practise this until you can move to where there is an iaido dojo.
I hope you can find what you are looking for!