If you've ever seen the movie Sanjuro by Akira Kurosawa, you've seen a fictionalized version of iai in action. What is iai? It's the samurai equivalent of a Western gunslinger's quickdraw skills. The iai expert is supposed to be able to draw his katana in a blinding flash on a moment's notice, dispatching ninja assassins or his lord's enemies in the blink of an eye.
