I was curious about the Picking the Correct Weapon Size post. Which specific styles' recommendations are the dimensions based on? (I've done some Muso Shinden Ryu iaido, so I was mainly curious about the katana description.) I just found it odd that it was all "according to tradition..." without stating which tradition.
A number of koryu have specific lengths for particular blades however, in terms of MSR I've not heard of a specific length other than what 'fits' the individual. I study MSR, I use both 2.4.5 and 2.5.5 shaku toshin and have drawn longer but feel uncomfortable doing so. Steve Delaney will be one of the more knowledgable posters who may provide more detail in terms of ryu-ha specific weapon data.
Well, I wasn't looking to it for advice; I already own my own swords for use in the arts I practice (MSR, Takamatsu-den Ninpo). I just was wondering as a more general curiosity of how "tradition" could be so generic, and whose tradition it was being identified. After all, the Kage guys would certainly disagree with the Yagyu guys on what constitutes a suitable katana for iai.
Size The best way to measure size is go to top of your shoulder to end of your hand. This gives you the perfect draw. The sword should lay perfect from end of the hand to top of shoulder.
