Your Kiai

[Andoy]

Hey guys, i'm pretty sure everyone here's noticed that all kiai sound different....what does yours sound like??? Is it a shriek? A 'yaaah!', or just 'meeeennn!!!!'?? Or maybe something different. Keep em posted! :D

[Shu2jack]

Even though I have not started Kendo yet, (I read all the replys in my first post and decided to try Kendo since the club also offers Iadio training) I believe one's yells carry over styles.

My yells sounds like a very loud "I-AHHH!!"

I wonder how a person yells reflects apon their attributes, such as aggressiveness, "flashy-ness", confidence, etc.

Another question to ask: I noticed that students who have no previous training in the fighting arts tend to take on the yell of their instructor (or favorite instructor if there is more than one), while students who have had taken other arts or have been in one art a long time tend to develop their own yell.

Did you guys find your own personal yell, or did you "adopt" someone elses? If you adopted someone else's, did you change the pitch, loudness, or tone of the yell? For example, I adopted my instructor's yell, but he is very agressive and can be quick to anger if in the wrong mood (and a very tough fighter) so his yell is VERY loud and when you hear it you know he is ready to kick ass. I "adpoted" his yell (he was my first instructor and he brought me into the "arts), but made it my own. I "changed" it to suit my style and personality. It doesn't sound like, "I am going to waste you", but "Let's Go, bring it"

That is another question, What does your "yell" say about you?

[dorkusxmaximus]

Curse the day I decided to change my kiai! It's now a freaking bad habit now. I miss my old kiai T_T. Somebody during the summer suggested that I change my kiai, so that's what I did. He said that I gave myself away whenever I kiai'd. Now, it's some ridiculous high-pitched kiai that's a cross between Bruce Lee and a victim in a horror movie. Do you recall hearing any loud, ridiculous kiai early in the pnkf taikai, Andoy? Oh my throat hurts just thinking about that high-pitched scream.

[Eldritch Knight]

I used to do Tae Kwon Do, so my kiai developed from the kihap we have in that. Before an attack, I'll usually use a loud grunt, something like "Kaaaa", but if I'm feeling really riled up and ready to go, then I'll do something like a high-pitched, varying toned scream sounded out to "kiai", but so diluted that you can barely tell. It's something like what dorkusx just described as his, but mine sounds fearsome when I do it.

[dorkusxmaximus]

I'm a girl!!!!!!!! My voice is naturally high-pitched!!!

[Andoy]

Curse the day I decided to change my kiai! It's now a freaking bad habit now. I miss my old kiai T_T. Somebody during the summer suggested that I change my kiai, so that's what I did. He said that I gave myself away whenever I kiai'd. Now, it's some ridiculous high-pitched kiai that's a cross between Bruce Lee and a victim in a horror movie. Do you recall hearing any loud, ridiculous kiai early in the pnkf taikai, Andoy? Oh my throat hurts just thinking about that high-pitched scream.

Actually this year's taikai was pretty crazy! Never before i've seen so many different kamae used. And so many nito players! This year i've seen a nito vs nito match 3 times! But for kiai yeah i've heard a couple....one person's kiai sounded like a pig being slaughtered....honestly! The other one sounded like an owl or something....but both seem really effective because i saw the faces of their respective opponents and they were thrown off!

Hey dorkus are you coming to the vancouver or steveston tournament in jan?

[dorkusxmaximus]

Actually this year's taikai was pretty crazy! Never before i've seen so many different kamae used. And so many nito players! This year i've seen a nito vs nito match 3 times! But for kiai yeah i've heard a couple....one person's kiai sounded like a pig being slaughtered....honestly! The other one sounded like an owl or something....but both seem really effective because i saw the faces of their respective opponents and they were thrown off!

Hey dorkus are you coming to the vancouver or steveston tournament in jan?

I thought my kiai was bad =X. Yup, I'll be at Steveston for sure, but I'm not so sure about Vancouver. I was there last year though. My match didn't even last 10 seconds against Hayashi and Fukushima LOL, but the free food made up for such a short match ^_^. Ohh they whooped me so bad. The taikai was just as long as Steveston's. Do you remember freezing during the Vancouver taikai last year?

[Eldritch Knight]

I'm a girl!!!!!!!! My voice is naturally high-pitched!!!

I've seen some girls do fearsome high pitched screams too. Ganbare!

[Andoy]

I thought my kiai was bad =X. Yup, I'll be at Steveston for sure, but I'm not so sure about Vancouver. I was there last year though. My match didn't even last 10 seconds against Hayashi and Fukushima LOL, but the free food made up for such a short match ^_^. Ohh they whooped me so bad. The taikai was just as long as Steveston's. Do you remember freezing during the Vancouver taikai last year?

Yeah, our place is a refridgerator during the day! That's why it's always tough to warm up right before a match. But yes the food makes up for it though! Oh well, hopefully you can make it to vancouver early next year but if not, see you at steveston!

[Shiro]

I think mine is quite scary, one of my sempai was hiding behind the coach during my shiai, lol :).
It's kinda loud and deep I guess.

[Kenshin Himura]

my kiai sounds more of a hut+ha sometimes.. I'm trying to break the "hut" habit now, since its not that.. intimidating.. Imagine me a 14 year old, coming at you to attack going "HUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!".. ooh! so scary! lol. Sometimes I catch myself going "HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" or "HAAAA!!".. hm.. what about noises besides Kiais that you usually make during a form?... like grunts? usually I'd be like "uh! rr! mh!" and such.. *shrugs* I'm only purple belt in Shaolin Kempo, wich is karate, so I've got time.. this makes me want to practice kiaing... good thing I've got martia arts class monday. heh

[ALI G]

my kiai sounds more of a hut+ha sometimes.. I'm trying to break the "hut" habit now, since its not that.. intimidating.. Imagine me a 14 year old, coming at you to attack going "HUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!".. ooh! so scary! lol. Sometimes I catch myself going "HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" or "HAAAA!!".. hm.. what about noises besides Kiais that you usually make during a form?... like grunts? usually I'd be like "uh! rr! mh!" and such.. *shrugs* I'm only purple belt in Shaolin Kempo, wich is karate, so I've got time.. this makes me want to practice kiaing... good thing I've got martia arts class monday. heh

Homeboy iz eyeda waching too much footballz or too manyz Kung Fu theeaterz moviez....Maybez youz can workz on da timingz of da kiaiz likez da dudez in da xtreme mahshal artz documentariez.....

[Hattori Hanzo]

Hmmmm I thought the kiai has to correspond with the location of the strike?

Men if you are going to strike men and so on.

[JimB]

I haven't yet developed my own kiai yet, it tends to be a composite of the ones I have heard in my dojo. I am not yet able to copy the piercing screams I hear many of my sempai emit as they spar with each other. Some of the guys in my dojo can curl your blood with their kiai and one guy in particular always causes me flinch everytime he starts screaming. :scared: He could win just with the kiai!

[Caleb]

Thats the use of kiai. It makes you 100% into the fight (If you put effort into your kiai-meaning scream your kiai at the best) and sometimes scares the opponent/distracts him. One of my sempai always screams YAHOOOOO! as his kiai when hes testing. He stopped doing it though, because he thaught it might be disrespectful. (dont know if thats true or not, but better safe than sorry) Another guy at a seminar had a kiai that was actually the word "bitch". Your kiai doesn't have to match your strike. Its as costomizable as you want it to be. Just keep in mind that you need to be respectful too. So I wouldn't advise you going around screaming four letter obsenities on the top of your voice for kiai. Although, technically, you could. Another use for kiai is to get you warmed up. If you put 35% effort into kendo, your only going to get 30% back, so even during warmup and stretches, count off with voice, and I garuntee that your keiko will go better. If your too relaxed, and are falling asleep, make yourself yell. I just figured that one out saturday. My kiai is absolutly random. I have no thaught, or try not to have any thaught of my kiai when Im in keiko. Thinking takes too much time, so after 5 months, Iv finally gotten my kiai to an automatic function- Im kiai trained (potty trained- hohoho lol) anyway, no more corny jokes

[Yosho]

Hehehe, here's a part of kendo I like, yelling at the top of your lungs. I have a voice that can go into the high c's (and yes im a guy), so maybe i'll do some sort of banshee like scream when I take up the sport :smiley:

[Hattori Hanzo]

Sort of the Bruce Lee twisting the foot into the gut Kiai hehe

[Kenshin Himura]

Hehehe, here's a part of kendo I like, yelling at the top of your lungs. I have a voice that can go into the high c's (and yes im a guy), so maybe i'll do some sort of banshee like scream when I take up the sport :smiley:
If I try I can go to a high g on the treble scale with my voice.. practiced singing some songs on my own for a bit.. *shrugs* I have good control over my voice.. hehehe I just though of something funny

imagine fighting a master at kendo, he goes at you to attack and screams like a little pansy "eiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!!!"
lol! it would catch you off guard possibly. lol

[ALI G]

Hehehe, here's a part of kendo I like, yelling at the top of your lungs. I have a voice that can go into the high c's (and yes im a guy), so maybe i'll do some sort of banshee like scream when I take up the sport :smiley:

Maybez youz can makez da MP3z & pozt it on da intah-net..........dat wayz Kenshinz can downloadzit & learnz howz 2 kiaiz off da intah-net......

[Kenshin Himura]

Maybez youz can makez da MP3z & pozt it on da intah-net..........dat wayz Kenshinz can downloadzit & learnz howz 2 kiaiz off da intah-net......lol! funny, but true! heh.. although I know how to kiai already..lol I just need to take some time and make my own. ^^x heh

[Yosho]

Maybez youz can makez da MP3z & pozt it on da intah-net..........dat wayz Kenshinz can downloadzit & learnz howz 2 kiaiz off da intah-net......
Hehe, I don't think I want to start marketing my voice on MP3 files just yet. But its a tempting idea :cool:

[Hattori Hanzo]

Hooked on Kiai worked for me hehe

[Caleb]

Hehe, lets, hehe, put it up on, hehe, ebay, hehe, and maybe, hehe, stop doing the hehe thing thats acompanied by the shrugs bodily gesture over the internet thing- Im going crazy as im reading a kendo thread- reminds me of geometry *shrugs* :ogre:

PS- walk the plank

[Hai_hai]

Hey guys, i'm pretty sure everyone here's noticed that all kiai sound different....what does yours sound like??? Is it a shriek? A 'yaaah!', or just 'meeeennn!!!!'?? Or maybe something different. Keep em posted! :D
I guess you're talking about the non-attack position kiais because everyone yells the men, kote, do, tsuki words during the strike. I don't know why someone would kiai with "men" while not attacking.

[Katana]

I can barely talk after practice. My kiai is just a huge, loud 'MEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!' At first I wouldn't say anything, but my sempai would slap my shinai during practice and would say, 'YELL! YELL!' I got pretty scared and just roared at him, did a big men then kendo step to the far wall, screaming all the way there. He looked pretty suprised :smiley:

[Hattori Hanzo]

Yeah the Head Sensei is back this week at my club....That dude is such a hard ass compared to the assistant sensei and he is the one that works with all the noobs...I know I am da noob....lol

[gUnDaL]

hmm my kiai for other martial arts have been a grunt sorta.. but i dont know about kendo is it different from tae kwon do?

[tango]

hmm my kiai for other martial arts have been a grunt sorta.. but i dont know about kendo is it different from tae kwon do?

yes. i did taekwondo for 5 or 6 years and i think it's considerably different... grunting a kiai -- the way i'm trying to hear it in my head right now -- will probably not fly in kendo.. LOUD VOICE is extremely important here...

you'll see, once you get into it more..

[nodaka]

your kiai is an expression of your martial self (the warrior within), that is what it should sound like, it shold sound like what is in side you.

[Chopstix]

...it shold sound like what is in side you.
lol I heard some one yelling "asssssssss" during training yesterday.

[Takuan]

My kiai is something like "Zzzzoooooeeeeeee!" which sometimes transforms into "Soooo!". Because I'm in Germany there is one problem related to this kiai; sometimes it sounds like "sau" which is the word for a female pig and a very popular swearword over here :wink:

Takuan

[tango]

if you think 'sau' is bad... try something like... 'depp'... ;)

[gUnDaL]

lol I heard some one yelling "asssssssss" during training yesterday.
LOL that guy has an ass warrior inside him :)

[IsahoNaginata]

Hmm. You know, personally I dislike using kiai. But that is a habit I picked up from Wu Shu where everything is done in relative silence since the focus is on keeping your breathing even and constant and a kiai - as good as it is for power - can interrupt that breathing if done improperly. Though occasionally a Southern Fist form will end or begin with one. But I studied northern long fist so... yeah, silence all around.

It has gotten to the point where I hear people doing all sorts of kiai and all I can think is "Damn, how in the world can you possibly concentrate on what your body is doing internally?" The last time I yelled a kiai the whole room turned around and was like "Crap! Who was that guy!" Then they noticed it was me and were like "What the hell? That was EMILY?"

Pretty embarassing. :p

[Cypher]

I was constantly being reminded to kiai during practise...initially I found it hard to concentrate on the strike, footwork and kiai, which I thought was a bit embarrassing considering parents sit watching us...but now I just ignore them ^_^ and kiai when necessary

[Niels]

Kiai is half of the fun :wink:
Mine sound something like HOOOOOOO or SOOOOOO,the O sounds really helps me to kiai from the tip of my toes, so to speak

--Niels

[not-I]

Kiai is awesome!

But if you can't speak the next day, you're doing it wrong! :robot:

Kiai should come from your hara / belly. Ask a singer how they sing. They, and any marital artist worth his/her salt, will tell you it's all about abdominal breathing. If your diaphram's doing all the work, there's no stress to your vocal chords, your breathing is true, and your body is activated.

Your breath is the basis of your kendo. Kiai is an expression of your breath, i.e. fighting spirit. If you scream your head off, who cares? If you let loose a shout from the depths of your spirit, who will challenge you?

Forget trying to imitate someone else's kiai or affecting "your own". Real kiai manifests True Self, not your own idea. Let loose from the hara and see what comes out.

Another contribution to one of several kiai threads (look em' up). :old_man:

[ctan]

I actually just mimic-ed one of my sempai's kiai; copied it right off! It sounds like "Hoiiii!". The thing with this kiai is that the nature of the sound sort of encourages a diaphragm-driven sound rather than a throat-driven one. So, if you emphasize the "O" sound in the middle and drag it out, you get that "breath from the belly not the throat" training that sensei always talks about. BUT, if you kind of spit the word out in a disdainful fashion, it can be a pretty effective taunt! :smiley:

[[Kensei 剣の聖者]]

everyone has the same kiai to begin with, something like Heeeyaaaa (men/kote..etc).. always helps to name the area your striking for focus and aim i suppose, i sort of go "wasssssssssaaaahhhhhhhhh"

[litige]

Nah, the best is crying Ippon really hard and long after a good hit.

[Eiliries]

I usually just yell men, kote or do, but sometimes I go with a crazy Bruce Lee, just to make everyone laugh.

[GBN]

Hmm. You know, personally I dislike using kiai. But that is a habit I picked up from Wu Shu where everything is done in relative silence since the focus is on keeping your breathing even and constant and a kiai - as good as it is for power - can interrupt that breathing if done improperly. Though occasionally a Southern Fist form will end or begin with one. But I studied northern long fist so... yeah, silence all around.

My previous experience is pretty similar. Ba gua zhang, hsing i and tai chi almost never use any forced exhalations. I saw a few in China but it's really the exception and not the rule. I used to think kiai was silly too, but I'm just doing what sensei says and trying to learn what they are teaching. I figure I can always fall back to my previous training if I want.

Brian

[djlanders020]

I've been told that I sound like a bear and look like a werewolf....

/shrug :-p

~ djl

[Anjin-san]

sometimes I go with a crazy Bruce Lee
my kiai changes every week, though recently since I started tensing my stomach muscles deliberately while cutting my kiai starts loud then goes all 'bruce lee's foot twisting in your gut' :P

[Hai_hai]

Hmm. You know, personally I dislike using kiai. But that is a habit I picked up from Wu Shu where everything is done in relative silence since the focus is on keeping your breathing even and constant and a kiai - as good as it is for power - can interrupt that breathing if done improperly. Though occasionally a Southern Fist form will end or begin with one. But I studied northern long fist so... yeah, silence all around.

It has gotten to the point where I hear people doing all sorts of kiai and all I can think is "Damn, how in the world can you possibly concentrate on what your body is doing internally?" The last time I yelled a kiai the whole room turned around and was like "Crap! Who was that guy!" Then they noticed it was me and were like "What the hell? That was EMILY?"

Pretty embarassing. :p

That's because kendo is an aggressive martial art. Kiai is to break the concentration of the other person. In your case, it breaks your own concentration, thus causing a self-faulting ippon.

[meow]

I just try to imitate the kiai of our teacher and try not to shout but to do it more from my guts. (I hope this is correct.)

When we do loooooooong kiai I have a hard time not to run out of air. ("meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrgggsssssssssss s...") :D

[Yann]

lol ... You should try "MMMEEEOOOOOOOWWWWW" ;)

[meow]

lol ... You should try "MMMEEEOOOOOOOWWWWW" ;)
Great idea, I will try that next time. :D

[beinsteiner]

I've just started kendo, and have studied jujitsu for a while and taiji for a shorter while. Kiai is different for different purposes. Silent kiai is good for rolling or blending with the attacker, very close to the regular breathing pattern (soft ki).

Loud kiai is for breaking the opponent's kuzushi/balance or extending hard ki. It can open up a tiny chink in the opponent's stance and allow the ki to be extended through it. Many folks in my jj dojo don't kiai much, and I'm really enjoying the focus on kiai that kendo offers. The kendo mindset helps me very much in executing jj techniques.

[Andou]

Loud kiai is for breaking the opponent's kuzushi/balance or extending hard ki. It can open up a tiny chink in the opponent's stance and allow the ki to be extended through it. Many folks in my jj dojo don't kiai much, and I'm really enjoying the focus on kiai that kendo offers. The kendo mindset helps me very much in executing jj techniques.

I remember seeing a visiting sensei do keiko with our regular sensei and his kiai broke my balance...and that's when I was sitting in seiza! Then again it was maybe my first or second day...

[Lloromannic]

Ever since Episode III came out I've been thinking of doing an Ewok kiai.
AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIYAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

[Random]

Don't try to sound cool. =.= There is this one guy who tried to make his kiai deep and he sounds like a rhino on steroids. (It made me laugh as opposed to intimadating me....)

Just do whatever feels right in the heat of battle. ^^ I don't even yell anything in particular...heh. :)

[mad_god]

I've just started kendo, and have studied jujitsu for a while and taiji for a shorter while. Kiai is different for different purposes. Silent kiai is good for rolling or blending with the attacker, very close to the regular breathing pattern (soft ki).

Loud kiai is for breaking the opponent's kuzushi/balance or extending hard ki. It can open up a tiny chink in the opponent's stance and allow the ki to be extended through it. Many folks in my jj dojo don't kiai much, and I'm really enjoying the focus on kiai that kendo offers. The kendo mindset helps me very much in executing jj techniques.

I am very interested to know what kind of kiai you have practiced.
And how they are exteriorized in "form" that we can hear/see.

MG

[bluhawq]

lol ... You should try "MMMEEEOOOOOOOWWWWW" ;)

LOL!!!my friend actually kiais like that!!!well..ok..similar to a cat meowing...her 'men' is soooo cute!!!

[JByrd]

At a recent seminar I noticed Stroud Sensei kiai with his mouth closed. I've been trying it and it helps me focus my energy down in my hara, and the result is that my upper body relaxes. When I kiai that way it feels like I'm pumping up the energy level in my lower body.

Yoshikawa Sensei from Tacoma showed me that I can make a lot of my opponents attack just by kiai-ing loudly at them. They perceive my yell as a threat of imminent attack, and they feel pressure to attack first. I use it to create opportunities for debana- and oji-waza.

[MrUnWaki]

To score in an IKF shiai u must shout the target you are aiming for, Kiai in general is a rumbling started in ur hara and slowly cascading throughout your body and expelled out through the mouth