Kiai
- Most traditional martial arts use a kiai or kihap (Korean).
The kiai is usually defined as a spirit yell although some
traditionalists will define it differently.
When teaching the kiai we usually explain the reasons for
it as:
1.
The kiai will make your strikes, punches and kicks
stronger.
Sometimes when teaching this concept I will use Olympic
power lifters as an example.
They have found that if they
let out a strong yell when trying to lift very heavy
weights they can, in fact, lift more. You can watch them
do this the next time a power lifting competition is on
TV.
2. The kiai helps focus your mind on the fight or flight
mode.
Let's say you are getting into your car, thinking about
going home, greeting your family and having a nice dinner.
Just as you open your car door someone appear between
the vehicles with bad intentions.
At that moment, you need to flip the switch from Mr.
NiceFamilyGuy to Mr. KickYourAss in a matter of mili-
seconds.
The kiai is one way to do this.
The more you practice this the more it becomes an
anchor. An anchor is a sound, smell or physical action
that brings your mind instantly to a certain thought
or feeling.
3. The kiai forces you to breathe.
Stress can cause you
to hold your breath.
Think about the situation above when getting into your
car. As soon as you see that guy your heart rate is
going to skyrocket. Your body needs oxygen and lots of
it. But holding your breath is restricting your Oxygen
levels, right when you need it most.
So at that moment the kiai can give you the O2 you need
and maybe remind you to breathe and breathe deeply.
4. The kiai helps protect you from getting the wind
knocked out of you. If you are hit in the abdomen area
when breathing in (Yin), the chances of getting the wind
knocked out of you are high.
If you are breathing out (Yang) and you get hit (kiai-ing)
you have a better chance of absorbing the blow.
Some styles of martial arts practice a tension kata or
exercise (Sanchin).
When practicing this the student
should learn to make the inhalations short and the
exhalations long while tensing the abdomen.
We have found another use for the kiai during our adrenal
stress response training. We have found that using your
voice (kiai) helps break the tunnel vision that accompanies
an adrenal dump.
That is why it is important to practice using your voice
with a strong exhalation anytime when practicing adrenal
stress drills or self defense training.
While I am not a big fan of traditional self defense
training for use on the street the ancients have some
great insight into real fighting.
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