Nakamura-ryū

Nakamura-ryū Happōgiri Battōdō (中村流八方切り抜刀道) is a battō style created by Nakamura Taizaburo (1912–2003).

Nakamura Taizaburo (中村 泰三郎) was born in 1912 in Yamagata Prefecture. He resided in Tsurumi, Yokohama, where he presided over the International Iai-Battōdō Federation and taught battōdō for the Kakuseikai until his death in 2003.

Nakamura was awarded 10th dan hanshi battōdō by the International Martial Arts Federation, 7th dan kyoshi by the All Japan Kendō Federation, 8th dan hanshi, Jukendō and 8th dan hanshi, Tankendō. In 1973 he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure in recognition for his services in promoting the martial arts.

Iai to wa, hito ni kirarezu, hito kirazu.

Jiko no renma ni, shugi no michi.

Iai: not killing others; not being killed by others.

Self-training and polishing, the road to discipline and cultivation.

Nakamura developed battōdō while teaching kenjutsu in northern China. He was inspired by the idea that the eiji happō (the eight principles of writing kanji) could be applied to swordsmanship. He began to organize his understandings into a system of practical swordsmanship in which non-martial techniques were discarded (much like the practical Toyama-ryū of the early 20th century).

The system is based on Nakamura's studies whilst teaching Toyama-ryū: bringing the sword blade to a halt after a cut, parrying, progressing to the next combative posture using the sword's kinetic energy. It also makes use of what, through his researches, Nakamura found absent from many other schools of iaidō, kendō, and battōjutsu: the kesagiri, a cut he thought extremely useful.

...
Wikipedia