The word 'IAIDO' is derived from these Japanese words:

 I = Being, AI = Harmony, DO = Way  " My way of harmony ” 

but as it is in conjunction with the sword, then Iaido can loosely be translated as  "My way of the sword" or more specifically " My way of drawing the sword for the instant kill"

Iaido is based on the explicitly controlled method of drawing a Samurai sword~Katana from its scabbard~saya, striking an opponent, 'waving off' blood from the blade via a slashing movement and then placing the katana back into its saya as fluidly as possible.  No unnecessary  movements of the katana are required or practiced.

A set movement from drawing the katana, to the decisive strike and replacement of the katana back in the saya is called a Kata.

It is strictly a non contact martial art, as Samurai katanas are razor sharp implements.  The student will initially practice with a wooden sword ~bokken as illustrated below.

  When the student ~ Iaidoka  becomes more adept at this martial art form  he will upgrade to a metal katana with a blunt edge called a Iaito.

The Iaito below looks and feels like a real live blade Samurai katana but the blade edge is very dull, so that no injury can be sustained by an accident.  Even so, this katana could still injure if handled improperly.

Experts of Iaido who have been practicing for several years and are very competent can perform with a real live blade Samurai katana otherwise known as a Shinken.

Whereas practitioners of the martial art known as Kendo will don body armor protection and will make contact during sparring, in Iaido this is not the case, the emphasis is strictly based on fluid movement of katana handling with discipline of character and correct attitude.  It is more a spiritual and development of mind issue, requiring finesse and panache instead of wrought aggression and brute force.

There is much emphasis on the mental state of the Iaido practitioner, keeping calm, cool and collected throughout the entire syllabus.  The katana must be drawn with determination, suppressed controlled aggression and enthusiasm as swiftly and smoothly as possible, to strike at the enemy (albeit imaginary enemy) from every possible posture, be it sitting, standing, crouching etc.

The Samurai katana is traditionally made by using hard and soft steel that is expertly folded to create a laminated blade construction.  There can be hundreds of thousands  or even millions of layers  in a Samurai katana and this gives it its strength.

Each time the metal is folded the layers double up, 20 folds for example will give an amazing amount of 1,048,576 (1 million, 48 thousand, 576 layers )

Because the Samurai Katana is so strong and explicitly sharp it is understood that only one single blow is required to fell an opponent, in that a good single slice from a katana would result in a very deep and lethal wound.  Hence only one lethal strike is practiced, and never several strikes against the same opponent.

Iaido is something that I was practicing for a while, it is a discipline that takes years to perfect.  Just as an Olympic athlete is marked on the floor exercise so an Iaido practitioner is marked on his precise movements of drawing the katana.

One of the best European exponents of this art form is Stefan Stenudd and the 'YouTube' video below shows a complete set of kata's that one would practice.

I hope like me that you will agree that this is quite a breath taking performance.

I appreciate this guy, performing a disciplined and difficult set of kata's to the fine degree that he has mastered.