It’s a chilly evening in Emeryville, where half-a-dozen martial arts students at a community center are practicing with katana. They kneel, jump and slash, then slowly mimic wiping blood off their blades.
This is iaido, the Japanese art of drawing your sword well. Unlike kendo or karate, there are no opponents in iaido. It’s so meditative in nature, it’s sometimes called “zen in motion.” And if you do it well enough, the enemy won’t even want to fight.
“In our school, we draw really, really slowly, as if to tell your opponent, ‘Think about it, let’s not be too rushed here,’ ” says Bruce Mitchell, a pediatric-care nurse who trains with a 450-year-old sword and runs iaido groups in Palo Alto, Oakland and San Francisco. “If you can demonstrate enough skill, your opponent will say, ‘I don’t want any part of this.’ ”
It has been practiced in Japan for hundreds of years, but iaido is still little known in the United States. The Bay Area is one of the few places where it thrives, with regular classes held in San Jose, Palo Alto, Alameda, Emeryville and Kentfield. Some of the most skilled practitioners outside Japan hail from here, including Mikhail Faiguenblat, the sensei leading tonight’s class in Emeryville.
A soft-spoken software engineer from Alameda, Faiguenblat holds one of the highest ranks — seventh dan — in the U.S., as certified by the Tokyo-based World MJER Iaido Federation. Faiguenblat uses iaido philosophy outside the dojo as well for everything from avoiding conflict on BART — the martial art is known for its disarming stares — to coding programs with razor-sharp focus.
“There’s a poem from one of the famous Japanese swordsmen, Toranosuke Shimada, who wrote that your mind is your sword, and if your mind is correct, your sword will be correct,” he says.
For Steven Scott, a retired surgeon who introduced martial-arts legend Joe Lewis to karate in the Marines and later worked out with Bruce Lee in his Oakland dojo, martial arts such as iaido are a lifelong pursuit. Though nearing 90, Scott is spry in movement and thought, offering wisdom such as “be like a mirror, reflect what your opponent does.”
“It’s hard to understand the personality of the iaido-ka (the practitioner) because we meet the definition of insanity. You pursue perfection every day in the dojo your whole life,” Scott says. “When you really are serious about it, it crisps up your thoughts and makes you more aware of everything.”
Iaido began in the 16th century, when Hayashizaki Jinsuke Shigenobu, a swordsman whose father was killed before his eyes, developed a technique for drawing and slashing in a sudden motion. He used the move to avenge his father, according to one account, and in the process set the stage for a new martial art — a samurai’s version of the Old West quick draw.
Modern iaido is about fostering situational awareness, control of movement and a calm mind. Students perfect a slew of wazas, or fundamental actions, such as drawing, slashing, resheathing and chiburi — symbolically shaking blood off a sword blade.
The latter, Mitchell says, is a way to release tension from the body. “The Japanese centuries ago figured out the psychology and physiology behind combat,” he says. “You have adrenaline under stress with not-as-good blood flow to the hands, and you can lose fine motor control.”
You must control your face, says Ron Campbell, a professional actor and former lead clown for Cirque du Soleil, who teaches iaido in Marin. If you make any kind of expression, it should be very serious and not weird, because “you’re face-to-face with your opponent and don’t want the final thing for him to see is this grimace.”
If everything is executed correctly, iaido can provide a perfect high, Campbell explains. “I think it’s unlike any other martial art or any other art, really. The only thing I can liken it to is maybe surfing. The surfers are searching for that perfect wave, where they’re relaxed, and they’re inside it. And we’re looking for that perfect cut, you know?”
In Japan, iaido is a fairly elite art form. Campbell has practiced there with the auditor of the emperor. During tournaments, the parking lots fill with Mercedes and other luxury cars. But in the Bay Area, it’s embraced by all, from preteens wearing Gap shirts to senior citizens who enjoy its less-physical nature, and some swear that female practitioners regularly outclass men.
“I’ve been in kickboxing, MMA, karate and a few more I can’t remember. I like the ease of iaido and how it trains my footwork for multiple occasions,” says Patrick Hanbury, a 14-year-old attending the Emeryville class. “And I like that it’s the first martial art that I get to use a weapon.”
It’s a common theme among tonight’s younger students. “I really like weapons, so this satisfies my martial arts stuff,” says 11-year-old classmate Emery ErnstFriedman.
And has Emery ever used iaido to disarm a baddie? “Not really,” he says. “Well, sometimes when I’m play-fighting with my sister.”