YOUR IAIDO SUCKS!

 by Phillip Starr

The iaidoka (iaido practitioner), a full 7^th dan and the foremost authority of the art in the U.S. began his kata again, for the umpteenth time. His teacher, the foremost authority on the art in the world, was visiting from Japan. But there was a problem; the performing iaidoka was nisei (2^nd generation Japanese, born in America) and spoke very little Japanese. His teacher, very old school, spoke no English and he was berating his student about something or other. The senior student tried to argue, but to no avail; his English words fell on Japanese ears. He was frustrated. At long last, his wife, a Japanese with a full command of the language and a skilled martial artist herself, stepped up to him. He looked at her with inquiring eyes.

“He says your iaido sucks!”, she said. “Do it again!” And so he started the kata over.

True story. I won't mention names because the senior iaido student is my iaido grandfather. But the phrase that his wife repeated for him stuck...”Your iaido sucks!” My teacher was present when this incident occurred. His teacher (my grandfather) is not known for handing out compliments (on one's performance), regardless of how well one has demonstrated his skill. When my teacher took his last examination, he anxiously awaited the posting on who'd passed the test. I knew my teacher would pass the testing; his technique is very, very good and his kata performance is equally excellent. When the posting was put on the wall, his name was on the list! His teacher was standing behind him and scowled.

“I passed you”, he said. “Barely.....”

These seemingly harsh admonitions aren't intended to be caustic at all. Rather, they are intended to keep the practitioner “honest”, aware that his skills can and should be polished further. Praise is extremely rare; the closest phrases to indicate approval might be something like, “That's better”, or something like that. In this way, the aspiring practitioner understands that he is slowly improving but still needs more polish. He is never allowed to be content with his performance. Those who look for, expect, or need accolades are in the wrong place.