iado/iato?

[Jon_Bahey]

is this weapon iado/iato the same as the katana? Because I have a wooden bokken for practice and i wanted to buy a wooden iado/iato for my aikido but was wondering if its the same thing. Then i could just use my wooden bokken i already have? Or is the iado/iato like a lighter wood? thanks for the help guys.

[Patrick Hayes]

is this weapon iado/iato the same as the katana? Because I have a wooden bokken for practice and i wanted to buy a wooden iado/iato for my aikido but was wondering if its the same thing. Then i could just use my wooden bokken i already have? Or is the iado/iato like a lighter wood? thanks for the help guys.

An iaito is usually a practice blade sold specifically for the practice of iaido/battojutsu. It looks identical to a katana, but the blade is unsharpened and usually made of a soft aluminum/zinc alloy. I have never heard of a wooden iaito, I would suspect that it is the same thing as a bokken.

[Jon_Bahey]

Thank you very much thats good to know. You mean the iado is just literaly a practice blade is like a blunt peace of metal? Couldn't you still harm your self as a beginner?

[David Anderson]

Thank you very much thats good to know. You mean the iado is just literaly a practice blade is like a blunt peace of metal? Couldn't you still harm your self as a beginner?

Hi Jon -- first let's get a few terms straight...

Iai-DO is the martial art of drawing the sword...

Iai-TO is [usually] a metal alloy practice sword used in Iaido. As mentioned it's not sharp, and while you could probably hurt yourself with it if you tried hard, it's much safer than a sharpened steel sword. However a good iaito will closely resemble a proper katana in most other respects.

It is possible to get a bokken with a plastic saya that is useable for iai practice. It's not the perfect thing for serious study, but will do for beginners still trying out Iaido.

Broadly speaking, an iaito is any kind of sword that is exclusively used for Iai practice...it might even be a sharp steel sword [aka shinken, according to some usages]. However people generally mean the unsharpened alloy bladed swords.

[Jon_Bahey]

Thanks Davied! that helped! Thanks everyone! I Think im going to start with a plastic iato and my bokken and see which one serves me better.

[Jon_Bahey]

Does the Bo-Hi add any effect to the sword? Does it help hurt balance of the sword, does it really do anything or is it just there too look cool?

[CDunn]

Does the Bo-Hi add any effect to the sword? Does it help hurt balance of the sword, does it really do anything or is it just there too look cool?

A steel blade may have a bo-hi(english:fuller) in order to reduce the overall weight of the weapon. A competent smith can make it have very little effect on the balance. Some practice swords may have bo-hi for the express purpose of making the sound easier to listen to.

[David Anderson]

Does the Bo-Hi add any effect to the sword? Does it help hurt balance of the sword, does it really do anything or is it just there too look cool?

Bohi are installed for a variety of reasons. They can affect the balance of the sword depending on what effect the smith or the user wants, or just lighten it a bit. Sometimes they were used to eradicate flaws in the surface of the blade, and sometimes they were done just for the look of it. Some Iai practitioners like bohi because the sword will make a very noticeable whooshing noise [also called tachi-kaze] when the blade cuts through the air at the proper angle.

The installation of a bohi will weaken a swordblade somewhat, although not fatally of course. It's not a preferred option for katana that are used in tameshigiri for this reason, although expert cutters probably wouldn't be concerned with it.