I disagree. A shinken is not essential, but I DO believe it is necessary practice iai with a live blade to evolve it from waza & kata into a true sword art. The feeling of practicing with a shinken is very different from an iaito (as I'm sure you know...).Reprobate said:Since we do not practice tameshigiri in our dojo, a shinken is not necessary for iai, but senior students are allowed to use a shinken instead of iaito.