By Walt Bushey
The next style of iaido I will discuss is the Zen Nihon
Kendo Renmei Seitei Iaido (Japan Kendo Kederation Standardized forms of
Iai). This is a gendai "compromise" style of Iaido brought about by the
Japan kendo
Federation in the mid 60's in order for kendoka to learn the mechanics
of weilding a real sword. The ZNKR brought twelve modern masters of swordsmanship
from various ryu ( Omori-ryu, Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu, Hoki-ryu and Muso
shinden-ryu to name a few), to the Budokan in Tokyo where they brought
their respective experiences together and created a standard set of Iaido
kata.
In 1969 the first seven Seitei Iai kata were publicly introduced at the Taikai held in the old Butokuden site in Kyoto. These seven kata were named by Oei Masamichi, the 17th master of the Muso Jikiden Eishin-ryu and are as follows:
| 1. Mae (front)
2. Ushiro (rear) 3. Uke-nagashi (recieve and deflect) 4. Tsuka-ate (Handle butt strike) 5. Kesa-giri (Scapular cut\scarf cut) 6. Morote zuki (two-hand thrust) 7. Sanpo giri (three direction cut) Photo on the right:
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These standard Seitei Iai kata are used by most koryu and gendai styles of swordsmanship as well as the ZNKR for universal grade testing purposes. As recently as 2000, two more kata: Sougiri and Nukiuchi, were proposed for8. Ganmen ate (face strike)
9. Soete zuki (reinforced thrust)
10. Shiho giri (four corners cut)
introduction into the seitei iai curriculum. Seitei Iai is a living, growing and evolving system of swordsmanship and changes and differences between practioners are not uncommon, yet the lessons taught by the kata reflect the
skills and techniques of a proffessional warriors class and link us to the spirit of the samurai of ancient times.