The Iaido Journal  Aug 2013
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Iaido: The Beginning of My Journey

copyright © 2013 James Mowry, all rights reserved.

I have been interested in martial arts since I was a kid, joining my first style of Karate at the age of 6. Through moving across Canada, I have trained in different styles of karate till I was 14. After a 15 year gap between styles and yet again moving across the country, I was missing something in my life; I wanted to find a martial art again.

This led me to find yet another style of Karate, but with a twist, that was our sensei also taught Iaido.  As I started training, I would watch the Iaido students finishing their class, hearing the whoosh of their swords gliding through the air as they practiced their techniques. This art I would watch was not one I was familiar with, nor had I thought about pursuing.

It wasn’t long before I figured out that the two martial arts would complement each other and I planned to try this out. What I have found during my training in both martial arts is that Iaido, by its nature of precision, has benefited me in all around balance, the understanding of techniques through soft, smooth, and sharp motions, and through timing. This relates very well to Karate. Also the stances and posture from Iaido have very quickly increased the strength of my stances in Karate, and vice versa.

Iaido is very calming for me.  I find in practice at the dojo or at home that I become very calm and aware, and a sense of joy and serenity befalls me. This helps me in life in general. Taking the lessons learned through Iaido and applying them to my outlook on life has increased my confidence, focus, and even analytical abilities - all in the short 3 months I have been training.

At the same time as I was intending to start, my father was attempting to find ways of spending more time with me.  This is a tough thing to do, as we are both very busy and…well…to be honest, like most father/son relationships, it is complicated to say the least.

So, in watching the end of Iaido practice as I was coming for my Karate training, I was able to see how meditative this martial art was. And knowing my father, who has not done any martial arts, and who would not be attracted to most martial art styles, I could see the tranquility and the precision of Iaido, both being qualities my father and I could appreciate.

With all that in mind, I suggested to my father that he join with me.  We joined this last February and have been quite active in it since.  Iaido has helped me in my study of my other martial arts and vice versa, but more importantly, it has given a common interest for my father and me to pursue, and assist in our continuing journey that is our father/son relationship.



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