Seitei Iaido is the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei’s (全日本剣道連盟) Iaido kata set which was put together from various koryu kata. the Seitei kata are the standard all over the world for gradings and as a standardised form of Iaido. traditional Iaido or Koryu was formed in the Edo jidai of Japan, over 500 years ago. The kata are all different depending on the Koryu. each koryu was the creation of the founder of each style, usually some enlightened Samurai of the time. Each Koryu has its own philosophy which can often be seen in the higher levels of their kata. Seitei is a form of Iaido which is the same wherever you train, whereas Koryu changes from style to style and sometimes from place to place as well. Seitei iaido was created by the ZNKR after WWII as a way to study kenjutsu in a peaceful context. Directly after the war, the Japanese were forbidden to own weapons and to practice martial arts. As a result, Iaido was re-worked to make it very clear that practice in the use of the sword was for a Zen purpose rather than a martial purpose, and various Koryu kata were chosen and slightly changed and standardised, and hence the ZNKR Seitei iaido came about. In Japan (and hence the world) there are basically 2 bodies which oversee iaido. One is the Zen Nippon Kendo Renmei [ZNKR], the other is the Zen Nippon Iaido Renmei [ZNIR] and each Ryuha will have a Soke which is the head of the style who will oversee their particular style. Gradings in Iaido only have legitimacy if they are given by the Soke of the Ryuha or the overseeing body. the ZNKR is the biggest organisation and ranking awarded by them is recognised all over the world.

Seitei iaido is practised first in most ZNKR affiliated dojos because it is generally more neutral than Koryu Iai. Doing Seitei is a good way to rid yourself of bad habits in your Iai. Seitei requires you to be straight and exact in your execution of the kata, wheras Koryu kata are often more flowing and seem more natural. Doing Seitei first allows you to have sufficient contol over your body and sword to be able to not fall into bad habits.