Jeff’s Testimonial

Jeff is an online Iaido Student, based in Minnesota.

“Almost three years ago, I was lying around the house searching on social media, Instagram, via my phone looking at random videos of what people around the world were doing to occupy themselves during the pandemic time. I came across a gentleman wearing a hakama swinging a samurai sword with finesse and focus. Since I’m an Aikido practitioner, I recognized the uniform the artist was wearing in the video, thus I was wondering if I was missing something in Aikido which I have not encountered during my time practicing this martial art.

Normally I would not contact people on social media and only push the “like” button, but my intuition pushed me to enquire about what was happening in the video. I sent a message to find out what this man was doing and how did it relate to Aikido. When I learned the art was termed Iaido and there is a strong relation to Aikido, I wanted to practice this new found art because it would immensely help me with Bokken practice. During my communication exchange with the man from the video, I learned he went by Ivan and thus our student-teacher relation was born…

…When we started our lessons together, I was nervous because I did not know how long this would last since it was online and new; more importantly, the curiosity of how my mistakes will be corrected. As I progress in my training in Iaido, I realized Ivan Sensei is an honorable, knowledgeable, and awesome teacher. It is these characteristics which helped cement my realization of how privileged I am to have an exceptional teacher showing me the art of Iaido.

Practicing Iaido online requires discipline, determination, and working solo for a common goal of self-improvement and progression in Iaido. Under the guidance and instruction of Ivan Sensei, new and current students will have the best opportunity to learn and understand Iaido. Additionally, Ivan will emphasize how Iaido and Aikido are closely related to one another by providing examples via demonstration. Because of Ivan Sensei’s demonstrations, I had several “a-ha” moments while in Aikido class solidifying the relationship between Iaido and Aikido.”

Jeff

Minnesota, U.S.A.