Well, it occurred to me that a couple of months ago, I said that I was going to write something about kiai, commonly known as the “karate yell”. It is a very important aspect of our training and I am remiss in not discussing it earlier, so here goes.

I usually teach only a few things on the first day someone starts, these are: dojo etiquette, tsuki, age-uke, soto-ude-uke, gedan barai, zenkutsu-dachi…and kiai. I always explain that it is differentiated from regular yelling since one must learn to bypass the lips, tongue/teeth, and throat altogether to get it right. The usual sound of a good kiai, therefore, are vowel sounds: A, E, I, O or the soft U (my personal favorite is the A). Interestingly, when I started, I copied some of my sempais and used the “Toh!” or Soh!” sound.

A good kiai starts with a powerful/quick contraction of the stomach muscles. This horizontal movement inward, coincides with the forceful upward move of the diafragm, which in turn, releases a short but loud and clear kiai that is projected with much vigor and strength. Again, the kiai bypasses the lips, tongue and especially the throat. Most commonly, beginners tighten their throat, resulting in a raspy/throaty yell. There are similarities in the process with singing and with the yelling out of military commands. For these related activities, the desired result is projection, loud/clear sounds and….to be able to do this numerous times, day after day, without losing one’s voice (which invariably happens when the throat comes into the picture). To a great extent, the same is true in karate-do…from the trainee whose kiai’s punctuate every 5-10 techniques or during specific points of the kata, to the sensei who must continuously bark out the commands and counts throughout the training sessions (yes, I’m actually kiai-ing during most of the class). Senseis greatly limit their teaching abilities if they lose their voices.

In karate-do, however, there are other desired results from the kiai. One is the ability to help one better focus one’s mind on the technique. The fusion of body and mind, even if for a nanosecond, is an extremely powerful phenomenon. A well-developed kiai can help accomplish this, and even help unify the third aspect, spirit…into the technique. Another curious thing is that at the moment of proper kiai, the body becomes far more able to resist the damaging effects of incoming attacks (perfect kime throughout the body? a perfect containment of an air pressure bubble within the body cavity? diffusion of the incoming impact to flow harmlessly throughout the body into the ground? the advantage of readiness/awareness of the attack?…I don’t know). What I do know, is that for me and many of the old-time trainees who suffered the ocassional inadvertentl full-power punch or kick during the endless dojo sparring sessions…if the technique caught us just while we were kiai-ing and executing our own technique, we often escaped unharmed.

Kiai usually starts off as a hesitant, muffled, self-concious sound. At this point, it’s really a totally mind thing, muffled by embarrassment. Over time, it becomes more and more of an unconcious thing powered by a combination of the mind-body connection thing. As it really starts to mature, it comes out whenever one is really focused on trying to deliver strong technique, representing a mind-body-spirit thing. Make no mistake, it takes years and years to develop your kiai to its true potential.

Beyond this, there are all kinds of discussions and stories about the wonderous things some masters could accomplish with the kiai all by itself. So often ignored or shunned by the beginners, misunderstood by the general public, used merely for effect in sport competition, abused by some in anger…the humble kiai is so much more than it seems, a window into one’s heart and spirit. Keep practicing!