Hey everyone, Hope you're all doing well. I have a question for everyone about yelling during strikes. I'm a white belt in ****o-Ryu with about... a whole week of experience lol. Our Sensei has us yell during strikes/kicks and I wanted to see you opinion on it. When you yell, should you yell as loud and as strongly as you can? Is the yell to make the kick stronger? To scare an opponet? Whats the deal with it? I enjoy it but am hungry for info . Thanks for your time, -Sincerely -Ryan
it serves multiple purposes it serves to purge used air from your lungs it tightens your core, adding resilience to your body and lending stability to your strikes it can serve to distract an opponent who's not expecting it (this is the most "minor" use for the kiai) by the way, these kinds of things, you should ask you sensei first (then if you want, you can get other people's opinions here). it's what he's there for, and what you pay him for
I'm not a Karate guy but I do "exhale" through my nose (like Hen sound) when I make 100% commitment. I assume the reason is the same in Karate.
It's also, I think, to help break some of the boundaries of self-consciousness that most people carry. The attitude in karate should be about putting yourself "in the zone", not being tied to the regular "norms" that most of us have been raised to follow instinctively: don't fight, don't hurt others, don't shout at the top of your voice or people will think you're odd. Usually, the people who can ki-ai at the top of their lungs are the people who've either lost the self-consciousness that makes them check their behaviour or (more rarely) never had it in the first place. I think this is important as, despite what you could believe from reading MA forums, most people who take up martial arts aren't testosterone-filled 19 year old guys with celtic band tattoos who just want to fightfightfight. The average law abiding citizen would tend to trip themselves at the first hurdle in a self-defence situation by the simple fact that they've been trained their entire life to avoid behaving in a socially unacceptable manner. I would view the shouting as being partly an exercise in learning to mark yourself as a target, mark yourself as an eccentric, step outside the social boundaries, whatever, without giving it a second thought.
Yes! My senseis love a nice loud kiai! The louder, the better, in their opinion! when we all kiai together....lets just say the biggest set of earplugs wouldnt drown us out
hey, not at my regular machine right now, so I can't give you a full in-depth analysis, buuuut I just wanted to throw this in... Kiai=distraction whenever I throw a fake I throw in a kiai. If you throw a fake without a sound, the opponent will have one sense focused on your technique (sight). Add a kiai on, and two senses are saying WTF (sight and hearing). One of my favorite things to do is throw a "jump front kick" and kiai as loudly as I can, except I don't kick. I close the gap, while they're busy blocking something that isn't even there, then I punch them. It works a lot of the time. Of course, there's more, but I've got to go now. I'll check back in later.
I think this is a good starting point and certainly explains the concept of "Kiai" and harmonised energy. To this end what you choose to say as a Kiai can be quite important. My Daito-ryu instructor used to teach different words for different stages of engagement. From memory phonetically they were/are: - "Kyup" "Toe" and "Ya" (meaning arrow tip) - that’s the only one I remember I am afraid I cant remember which words Tori uses and which belong to Uke, but the point is the words are formed in such a way that they deliver a sharp and focused delivery of energy as and when it is needed. A random yell (as loud as it may be) may lack a certain phonetic cadence necessary to make the kiai work (beyond just shouting you oponent to death) Gary
I was never personally taught a specific word for my kiai, it was more whatever came out at the moment was the one for you. I was never big into it, but for some reason during one of my first belt tests for Kyokushin I started doing it all of a sudden. It's kind of like a "he", tough to describe. I think that's how a kiai should be, not a set word.
I think thats the point Kuma, There arent any specific words, more like sounds - and your karate will form your Kiai as part of your natural development. Gary
It won't come as a surprise to many that I'm not a great fan. YouKnowWho - you exhale through your nose? Isn't that a bit dangerous for your partner - or do you in such a climate that you can always guarantee your nostrils are 100% clear?
It's not so much as objections as need. The type of striking that i do is repetitive - each hit is rolling into the next - so a Kiai is not really suitable. There is no big 'final' strike per se, each strike is done in anticipation that there might need to be another.
or maybe use different syllabes that spell out different profanities you can even name your combos that way!
I don't know which one is worst, fluid come out of your nose or fluid come out of your mouth. I'm not a big fan of making any loud noise. If my move works, I don't need that noise. If my move does not work, that noise will make me look like an idiot.
The biggest problem I have with the kiai is when people do it through an wide open mouth. All I think is one hit KO. It usually starts from people trying to 'speak' their kiai, rather than the sound being the result of tension. If I see students doing this, I get them to put their hand on their diaphram. If they can't fell it work, then they are breathing from the wrong part of their chest.
I agree with that, newy085. I remember watching my friend Shane doing some sparring at his TKD studio for his belt test. One of the guys I was watching was big onto letting out a bloodcurdling KIAI and stomping forward at his opponent in his horse stance to disorient them, then throwing his kick. Problem was, he did it right from the beginning each time. Shane saw this. During their match, he caught him right upside the chops with a roundhouse kick that dropped him like a stone. Great kick, though sadly Shane got corrected for too much contact.
well, alright, now that I finally have a minute, here's the biological information on the kiai. I have no sources for this information except my teachers and experience. First thing about kiai: it teaches you to breath. Way to many students come into class holding their breath through kata and drills and becoming way too tense as a result. We throw kiais in to alleviate this somewhat. The end target is a quick expulsion of air with your strikes, similar to how MMAers train if you've ever heard them. This is to avoid winding yourself in the middle of a fight Second thing about kiais: it brings your muscles together. I was taught by my instructor that there is a small nerve in your lower spine that is pressed when your lungs are full of air. Releasing the air releases pressure on this nerve and allows your body to commit more to every strike. After practicing out the difference, I believe I can feel it. If anyone wants to dispute this point I'm happy to hear, but my strikes generally seem to have more drive when I expel air/kiai with them Third thing about kiais is mainly for grapplers but can also come into play in karate sometimes. Basic biology for you, when we hear something what is really happening in our brain? It receives a command from the nerves in our ears telling us what we're hearing. When we get touched basically the same thing happens, brain gets a command, right? Well we can use this to our advantage by overloading the brain with commands. Yell and then grab (or hit) the guy and the muscles will seize up, as the brain is trying to receive two commands already and sending one out will be much more difficult. I know that a trained fighter can bypass this sometimes, but I have both experienced and seen the effects of this tactic and it can work. Along with the ability to draw attention to a fake, and the artistic quality, that's most the uses for kiais as I know them.
Also remember on CNN? or some news channel...it talked about how you know people grunt/curse when they lift heavy objects..say a couch? Yelling allows you to lift/push more weight then not yelling. I think that strength can go into an attack.
