Thread: kiai in aikido?
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Old 11-03-2011, 09:51 AM   #9
Cliff Judge
Location: Kawasaki, Kanagawa
Join Date: Sep 2005
Posts: 1,276
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Re: kiai in aikido?

If the vocalizations that some folks make when doing the rowing exercise (at my dojo we often do "EE - HO" and "EE - SA") can properly be termed a kiai, then this mean that a kiai is more generally a use of the vocal chords to manifest a particular type of reality from the breath.

Just saying....if you don't like to drink the coolaid you don't have to drink it but the martial aspects of the rowing exercise are just the tip of the iceberg.

On the other hand, in all my training currently my actual "I am trying to impose my will upon this conflict" type kiai is silent. So its not just sound that you use to manifest.

I guess kiai is something like....using your energy to impose your will on reality. And combative uses of this are a very small, restricted subset of what that can be.

Last edited by Cliff Judge : 11-03-2011 at 10:01 AM.
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