What do you think about this idea?

Question

When i Do Move #8 and move# 16 on the (Shotokan)Kihan kata,...youre suppossed to scream "KIAH!!!!"
for the purpose of Frazzling your opponent's nerves ( To Scare him up a lil bit) The idea I had was,.....Instead of Yellin "KIAH!!!!" I'll Scream "Fck-You!!!!!!!!!"
(My logic is: that the fck-U is way Way More Damaging to your opponent than a Kiah!)
What do you think?

Answer 1

Kiai doesn't mean "yell". Ki (essential energy) and Ai (harmony) are put together in this way to mean to "focus your energy" both mental and physical, into your attack. You don't need to actually yell to do this, but it helps to focus mind and body, it helps to remember to exhale when you apply power, and the sudden sound is a distraction to your opponent's concentration.

Answer 2

I think you've missed the point of the noise you are making and its essential purpose. You should perhaps go back to your instructor for more guidance in this area but:

In general most hard systems exhale when in the execution phase of a technique primarily to expell the air in the lungs and tighten the abdomen muscles. This helps to relax the torso allowing for greater movement and speed, and it protects the practitioner from being winded if the person being struck by your techniuqe is lucky enough to land a simultaneous technique on your diaphragm.

Breathing and meditation exercises with the martial arts shoudl help you to understand how to breath properly when at rest, when exercising, and when engaged in combat. Breathing in during transitions between techniques, and exhaling on execution of each technique. Note however, the breath shoudl be exhaled from your diaphragm, (like a 20 pack a day smoker first thing in the morning lol), not from your throat.

The biggest mistake many students make is to mimic a stylized noise in their throat - forming a word or a specific sound. This is o.k. only if you are also clearing your lungs and tightening your abdomen muscles at the same time. Most people do not. If you do this, and you wish to verbalize a noise, yes, it may induce fear or concern in your opponent. But the most important thing in ensuring you are breathing properly.

You should check with your instructor to confirm this however, and take their advice on the suitability of your idea. Good luck!


Ken C
9th Dan HapMoosaKi-Do
8th Dan TaeKwon-Do
7th Dan YongChul-Do

Answer 3

Enough people have chimed in with the true reason for a martial shout, so I will not repeat and waste time.
Instead let me pose a "what if". Instead of yelling obscenities, try this in your next sparing match. Pick your nose, load up your finger with a big IL' snot wad. Once armed, swing away. Body functions are way scarier that curse words!!

Answer 4

You don't shout 'Kiah' as the word means shout in Japanese. It is the same as yelling 'SHOUT' in English.
I am a karateka for 35 years, 4th Dan Shotokan Karate.

Answer 5

The kiai does more than just startle your opponent. It also contracts muscles in your core which will help you both focus your strike and be able to take a punch or kick with less injury.

However, in order to do this properly, the "yell" need to be something that starts with a very fast exhale and ends with a tight contraction.

Answer 6

You are not supposed to yell "kiah", the "kiai" just means yell, you can yell whatever you want, as to release extra energy and give more power to your move, it's not to "frazzle" your opponents nerves.

You could scream "fck-you" as you plan to, but that would be disrespectful, and that's not what martial arts is about.

My kiai used to be "HEEY" and it worked pretty well.

good luck!

Answer 7

I think that it is an idea. Personally I think it's funny and could work. In the Army they have you yell "Kill". Same idea, it is to scare your foe. My personal view is why expel energy in a yell, put it into your physical attack, make it stronger and more deadly. Yelling at them could just make them even more mad?

Answer 8

The best way to answer that is---ALWAYS RESPECT YOUR OPPONENT..You must always remember, there is someone better than you are..No matter what Belt, Sash or level..Stay true to your Art and yourself

Answer 9

People are too used to hearing that. I doubt it would be as effective.

Answer 10

Heck with shouting "f**k you!".

Why not yell the really fun one: "HULK SMASH!!!" lol ;-)