Recently I was working with Rick, my stellar 65-year-old Jiu-jitsu student, on a couple of his higher impact breakfalls (breakfall #8 and #9 in Can-ryu). He had been working on improving them diligently for over a year now, trying to overcome his fear of falling hard. Being an older guy, he is naturally a little scared about hurting himself. As a result, he has always found himself holding his breath, tensing up and resisting the flow of energy when doing these higher impact falls, when what he needed to do was quite the opposite; he needed to breathe out and relax to take the edge off the impact, and go with the flow so his body could naturally turn into the ideal falling position. For months we gave him the same type of feedback, making very gradual progress all the while, but then he reached a plateau and he wasn’t making the jump he needed to really “get” the breakfall.

Then we added the kiai. (more…)

Tags: kiai

The kiai is used on our dojo fairly regularly. We use it during breakfalls, in Jiu-jitsu circles, during tests, etc. Students are often confused about how to do a kiai so hopefully this blog will clarify things a bit.

The concept of the kiai goes back to ancient Japan. Samurai warriors were renowned for their powerful kiai in battle – a startling battle cry that was reputed to paralyze opponents with fear. A warrior who could release a powerful kiai would rarely be viewed as weak or fatigued by his opponents.

The Purpose of Kiai

The purpose of the kiai is three-fold:

1. To focus your mental and physical energy. (More details about this in The Benefits of Kiai for Sharpening Focus & Form for Breakfalls.)
2. To startle your attacker/ opponent
3. To draw attention to your need for help (in a self-defense situation)

When you learn to kiai properly the additional focus that it gives you helps reinforce your technique. You also learn not flinch and freeze at sudden loud noises, making it easier for you to quickly assess the source of the noise, whether it poses a threat and whether any response is required.

Meaning of Kiai

The word kiai is made up of the Kanji characters “ki,” meaning energy or spirit, and “ai,” meaning unification. Many East Asian people believe a force flows through all things, known as “ki” in Japanese and chi (or qi) in Chinese. Kiai is taken to mean “the harmonizing of ki” or “unification of spirit.”

How to Do a Kiai

The sounds martial arts students make when sounding a kiai are varied, including “Hai-ee,” “Huusss” and many variations. The exact sound of the yell varies from person to person. I encourage my students to experiment to find the best sound for them. When I teach women’s self-defense classes, I teach them to vocalize using a word that helps bring attention to their need for help, like “Nooo!” or “Stop!”. Whatever sound you use, it should emanate from your hara (your lower abdominal area), not your throat.

As for timing, the kiai should be sounded:

1. At the moment of impact of a technique, whether it be a block or an attack
2. When you are taking a blow to the abdomen
3. Anytime you want to accentuate an action you are performing

When I’m training, I don’t necessarily limit my use of kiai to the appointed times. Oftentimes, when I get in the zone with techniques I’m very familiar with, I find my kiai just comes out as naturally as breathing.

Tags: kiai