Winning or loosing is decided upon the very moment the sword leaves saya.
In Iaidō, it is of great importance to suppress your enemy without drawing.
This [concept] is the same for all martial arts and especially in Iai – drawing the sword is the last of the last resorts, however if [the sword is] drawn, it shall strike by one move. It is necessary to be mentally prepared that “if we are attacked by a horse we shall strike the horse. if we are attacked by a man, we shall strike the man”.
‘Nukitsuke’ is [not only] the most important part of handling the sword, not to mention the real survival of the art of Iai, it is [also] the most advanced way of drawing and therefore a lot of training is needed [to master it].
Absence of tameshigiri videos containing ‘nukitsuke’ is the proof of its level of difficulty.
Because the difficulty level is high, numbers of those who use unreal ‘nukitsuke’ and over and over again cut using [just] the strength of their arms, are spreading.
Cut with your hips! cut with your navel! do not forget ‘zanshin‘! keep your elegance and grace!
sōke Nakagawa Kinji
