Icetuete Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 heyya! recently we practiced techniques with kihap in beginners class. kihap is very difficult, and few actually gave it a try (obviously because they didnt want to make a fool outa themselves). my head instructors can kihap that the walls begin to shake and my question is: how do you practice the kihap and how can you make it a decent cry? i noticed more than once (not only in beginners classes) that many have problems with them and that excersise might be needed... so what do you suggest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasori_Te Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 You just have to let it go. You need to be able to feel it down to your toenails. The kiai/kihap has to fuse your mind, body and spirit into that one point of focus for the technique being performed. I know, easier said than done. It's just something else that takes earnest( ernest ...sp?) practice. By that, I mean that you have to practice it with your utmost ability and not think about what you look like doing it or what everyone thinks about how you do it. Everyone that understands kiai has a different way of doing it. It is a very individual thing. You don't even have to make any noise at all. A block is a strike is a lock is a throw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mu Ryuk Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 I've never really..."Practiced" the Kiai...I just kind of do it. Always have, since I started when I was three. Just let it go. Don't do those Kiai's you hear at tournaments that are ten seconds long. "AYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" A Kiai should be a short sound, almost like a bark. "HAI!" or something. Pretty much anything that's not a word works Passion transcends pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Icetuete Posted September 22, 2004 Author Share Posted September 22, 2004 The kiai/kihap has to fuse your mind, body and spirit into that one point of focus for the technique being performed. i can imagine the faces in class when i say this to the students i was actually asking for some excersises to prepare your throat for such a cry. its a long way to a decent cry, but what do you start with? my kihap came as i proceeded in my training, but this is a very unsatisfying answer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathal Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 In my Shotokan dojo we practice the kiai a great deal. At the beginning and ending of our drills, during our katas, and whenever we can practice to develop kime. It helps to focus our minds, energy, and the power of the movement. It is excellent for developing a student's self confidence and helps to bring them out of their shells. Some people use something like "kiai" or "hai", I've heard people use many more like go, ha, gaaa, and many more. Oh, but my all time favourite: "Back off, get your own sandwitch!" LOL .The best victory is when the opponent surrendersof its own accord before there are any actualhostilities...It is best to win without fighting.- Sun-tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathal Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Icetuete, try getting your voice from your stomach. The kiai doesn't some from your throat. It comes from your power base, the abdomen. You won't ruin your throat, either. .The best victory is when the opponent surrendersof its own accord before there are any actualhostilities...It is best to win without fighting.- Sun-tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorinryu Sensei Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 Icetuete, try getting your voice from your stomach. The kiai doesn't some from your throat. It comes from your power base, the abdomen. You won't ruin your throat, either. I'll agree with this. Like singing, the sound needs to be projected by the diaphram. Here's a couple of exercises: 1. Have a student stand in a solid stance, feet apart of course, and hands behidn their backs. Tighten their stomachs, and you put your fist on their stomach. As they kiai, you push hard on their stomach, forcing the sound out via that spot. 2. Same thing, only student lying on their back with arms at their sides. You can have one of the lighter students (100 lbs or so) stand on their stomachs to help with this. Also a good exercies to learn to tighten the stomach muscles. One exercise I haven't done in quite a while, and thsi made me think of it, is to have everybod line up laying on the floor..side to side, alternating head to toe (every other person laying opposite the one next to them), interlinking the arms so that they are close to one another, and I...or one of my students..walk slowly across their stomachs as they talk, count to 100..something. Teaches muscle control. yeah...I'll have to do that tomorrow night. My nightly prayer..."Please, just let me win that PowerBall Jackpot just once. I'll prove to you that it won't change me!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasori_Te Posted September 22, 2004 Share Posted September 22, 2004 You missed my point entirely, and maybe I missed yours as well. A proper kiai/ kihap is not about the shout at all. The shout is a by-product of proper kiai if you will. But if you're simply intersted in making noise then it should be as everyone has described it. Short and powerful from the tan dien. The noise itself actually should depend on whether the technique is defensive or offensive. A block is a strike is a lock is a throw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts