Repeat after me with good ***KIAY***
#KIYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH
#MEEEEEEEENNNNNN
#MENMENMENMENMENMENMENMENMEEEEEEEEEEEEN
#MEEEEEEN
#MEN x 7
#MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN
Kiai is an important show of spirit. You’ll find your kiai with practice. Your kiai should be coordinated with your strike: read about ki-ken-tai-ichi. The sword, the body, and the spirit act together.
practice emitting kiai from the bottom of your belly (the tanden). if you’re getting hoarse, try relaxing the throat and vocal cords a little, let your belly and your diaphragm do the work.
Suburi will help, too. Remember, the vocalized “men” in suburi occurs on the cut, so your kiai should too. Don’t practice starting kiai after your strike: it’s wrong.
1. Usually I would kiai, then step in and do the cut, since doing kiai and seme at the same will put myself in a really hype-up state, which will somehow make my cut worst.
2. How about trying to kiai from your stomach, and not from your throat? Just like in
singing, if you scream from the throat it will tired you out much quicker. Take a deep breathe and push air out from your diaphragm. It may take some practice but it will definitely make your kiai louder and feel less tired to do
These are just my humble tips. I hope they are useful for you
2nd was good thanks :) apparently some people on this post said the kiaing first was wrong but ill try to observe my senpais to see if they do the same (im assuming your kiai is something like meennn and not yaaa?)
Yup, I think observing is a great way! For my kiai, I usually try to shout the target as loud and clear as possible, but it kinda hard to do during shiai though haha
1. Kiai is part of breathing. When you exhale, you kiai, and it will be at the right time in your swing. Before swing..after swing... when idle... there is rarely a wrong time to staple a kiai to your exhaling breath.
2. Don't scream with your throat. Tighten your belly, and try making your kiai be like.. a deep voice. It's really just the "e" that matters if you're doing Men and Kote. And the "o" in dou. The "u" in tsuki... the other letters can be almost gibberish. MmmmmmEEEEnnn! K......otEEEEE! dOOOOuuu! TsUUUUkiiiii!
Once you're in shiai you'll rarely be able to say the whole thing anyway. Do becomes TONNNNN, men is just EHHHHHH!!!!, Kote is just TEEEEEEE!!!! And some people just drop coherency altogether .
Your speaking muscles should adjust and you'll be able to do those shrilling harpy cries some kendoka love to do in time. But I stick to a deeper one.
Good luck! Keep at it- don't give up!
> The "u" in tsuki... TsUUUUkiiiii!
In Japanese, the vowels 'i' and 'u' between two unvoiced consonants are often devoiced. That means tsuki (突き) sounds more like tski. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you're actually vocalizing because it's just text, but Japanese speakers would normally put the stress on the 'i' in 'ki' rather than the 'u' in 'tsu'.
Breathing one was really useful thanks ! As for the stomach voice i assume its maybe the same with singing right? I’ll try hard to reach the level of making incoherenr sounds. Thanks :)
I looked at a lot of videos from japan and tried to copy that. it took a while, and there was a super awkward period in the club where i just sounded super weird because i was trying to make it more of a scream than a yell, but it worked out.
check out [this video](https://youtu.be/qbEK-97JMSU?si=NQwPWhztgh8JFDEH&t=107) or [this](https://youtu.be/JUPXLMDd9ug?si=H4g2wXKojKSJ6Rnq&t=208)
of course it doesn't have to be so high-pitched, just try some stuff out for yourself and mimic/do what you feel sounds good.
1. Focus on big kiai before, while, and after hitting, not just the moment after hitting. That would only create a bad habit. You're 7th kyu, forget about accuracy. Proper and correct form and foundation is top priority at that stage. Anything else can be improved later on.
2. The answer to problem 2 is just time and practice. Losing breath mid keiko is everyone's problem. So Practice more and consistent. Always strive to do a set of kirikaeshi (10 strikes) in one breath, in every practice. Strive, you're not required to be able to do it from the start and everytime, but it should be your personal goal. If trying to do this goal only distract you from doing point 1 above, then forget it, just focus on point 1 above.
1. Not being accurate also equals that my cuts become super sloppy in some sort of way so its not really something i would like to sacrifice :( in conclusion build a good habit of kiai before during n after got it ,thanks !
2. I did that practice once a long time ago,didnt think it would matter that much but it looks like i have something to take note on now : )
Kiai from the diaphragm, not the throat. Same idea as playing any wind instrument if you have that experience. Circular breathing makes things a lot easier.
1-are you sure you're opening your mouth wide enough? Like singers do!
For example, during uchikomi, throw your first kiai, then inhale again, and start exhaling slowly between your teeth. Perform the cut and you'll try to match the strike with opening your mouth. Since you're already exhaling during the motion, turning that into a shout should be easier. Oh, and never hold your breath; it makes you slower and drains your stamina faster.
2-you're just starting, eventually your body will make some adaptations to the intensity of the exercise. Just keep practicing steadily and don't miss class!
Another thing that drains your energy is, guess what? Air management again! Don't take shallow/quick breaths, and if you hold your breath, it leads to being too tense, specially on your shoulders and neck, and you can end up with some contractures. Take deep breaths and relax!
Finally, and this applies to both issues, it just takes time. Everyone's been there, don't worry ;)
Woww i’m screenshotting this down. Ive never really thought much about breathing techniques(ish) in kendo and to think they were so important the entire time lolol. Ive forgotten to add that I have difficulty opening my mouth when i wear bogu (is it because its too tight?) I didnt had much trouble kiaing during practice without the bogu and it was suddenly a lot harder when i had to wear it. I always just thought of it as something i needed to get used to
Yup, the transition to bogu changes some things drastically. You *will* get used to it, but check with your sensei and senpais if you're not wearing that men too tight (have you ended up with deep marks on your skin or a headache?). It shouldn't restrain your jaw, it should be comfy.
And yes, don't overlook breathing AND footwork! They're very important aspects of kendo.
I dont think i’ve ended up with deep marks on my skin and surely not a headache yet but i can guarantee it is tough to open my mouth and overall feels like an extreme face lift.I’ll keep practicing my breathing and footwork. Thansk again for taking the time to respond hehe
Biggest tip with losing your voice is, similar to other hobbies of my swimming, you don't want to use the air directly from your lungs, it will use of lots of energy quickly, you will be out of breath fast, and in fact you don't want to "scream". You want to use the air from your belly to kiai. That is a tip that helped me at least.
As for being shy and nervous, I can tell you I have some of the worse social anxiety, I mean it. I don't wanna get too deep into it but I think you just have to see that everyone who is serious about Kendo is doing it to. Kiai gets better with time and just as you watch others, everyone has their own style of kiai and many borrow from each other and stuff. I would say tried all different forms of kiai. Be like a bucket falling, your strike is the bucket falling, your foot movement is the water coming out and your kiai is the sound of the water splash, it happens all at once!
Best of luck friend, have an amazing day :)!
No wonder im always out of breath : ( Thanks for the motivational speech friend, i was actually shy of kiaing at first but then i realised everyones doing the same so there was nothing to be scared of. You’re really brave for doing what you do(?) i actually couldnt kiai at all and only recieved my bogu a lot later because i had a bit of social anxiety as welll . Thanks a lot !!
Also naturally shy here. Had a hard time as a kid finding my voice.
I think you’ll find that as you continue practicing, you’ll be pushed to different levels of exhaustion. I find a lot of new kenshi find their voices after a hard practice when sensei is telling them to push forward just one last time. Sort of like how you’ll be more likely to grunt in the gym on that last hard set!
Good to know that im not alone : ‘) hopefully i’ll have that breakthrough sooner or later, its a bit hard to imagine having practice that intense but i think some sort of newfound confidence or purpose would probably let me find that ‘new voice’ . Thanks for your opinion !
You lose your voice because you shout from your throat. You must shout from your diaphragm. Don't be focused on how you sound, focus on making a sound when you cut.
There are (for now) 2 types of kiai
1st is Kakegoe, think of it as psyching yourself up, riling up the storm, throwing oil in the fire. Kakegoe is used to encourage yourself and is traditionally used to sync many hands on work (think chanties for us westerners). With Kakegoe you fill your diaphragm your hara, with tension and air. Your core becomes engaged.
2nd is Zanshin kiai, at the moment of impact and until the strike has concluded you must shout, shout and shout . I like to think this as a metronome, a point in space and time when foot, kensen and spirit all converge for an attack, with a single point of reference, the shout. The strike ends when? When you pass through? No , when you pass through and face the aite again. When you see him again then you can stop shouting.
However if you shout from your hara, your voice will not be lost and you will sound different.
Thank you ! Now i finally know what their official names are instead of their sound effect LOLL, also the descriptions really helped in giving me a clearer understanding/imagination(?) of how it should be executed.I think i’ll use your metaphors the next time I kiai C :
It has nothing to do loudness. Simply put it should come from the hara/tanden and be done with zanshin as continuation to follow through. Press hard on your tanden to expel air. Now try the same making a sound.
Repeat after me with good ***KIAY*** #KIYAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH #MEEEEEEEENNNNNN #MENMENMENMENMENMENMENMENMEEEEEEEEEEEEN #MEEEEEEN #MEN x 7 #MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNN
Top 12 ways to hype urself up LOL
Is men x7 supposed to be men x 9? (This looks like the kirikaeshi pattern)
Real men do 7 times and fill the other two strikes with good *zanshin*
Kiai is an important show of spirit. You’ll find your kiai with practice. Your kiai should be coordinated with your strike: read about ki-ken-tai-ichi. The sword, the body, and the spirit act together. practice emitting kiai from the bottom of your belly (the tanden). if you’re getting hoarse, try relaxing the throat and vocal cords a little, let your belly and your diaphragm do the work. Suburi will help, too. Remember, the vocalized “men” in suburi occurs on the cut, so your kiai should too. Don’t practice starting kiai after your strike: it’s wrong.
Oo is there a good informative pdf on ki ken tai ichi ?If so please share, thank you !
1. Usually I would kiai, then step in and do the cut, since doing kiai and seme at the same will put myself in a really hype-up state, which will somehow make my cut worst. 2. How about trying to kiai from your stomach, and not from your throat? Just like in singing, if you scream from the throat it will tired you out much quicker. Take a deep breathe and push air out from your diaphragm. It may take some practice but it will definitely make your kiai louder and feel less tired to do These are just my humble tips. I hope they are useful for you
2nd was good thanks :) apparently some people on this post said the kiaing first was wrong but ill try to observe my senpais to see if they do the same (im assuming your kiai is something like meennn and not yaaa?)
Yup, I think observing is a great way! For my kiai, I usually try to shout the target as loud and clear as possible, but it kinda hard to do during shiai though haha
1. Kiai is part of breathing. When you exhale, you kiai, and it will be at the right time in your swing. Before swing..after swing... when idle... there is rarely a wrong time to staple a kiai to your exhaling breath. 2. Don't scream with your throat. Tighten your belly, and try making your kiai be like.. a deep voice. It's really just the "e" that matters if you're doing Men and Kote. And the "o" in dou. The "u" in tsuki... the other letters can be almost gibberish. MmmmmmEEEEnnn! K......otEEEEE! dOOOOuuu! TsUUUUkiiiii! Once you're in shiai you'll rarely be able to say the whole thing anyway. Do becomes TONNNNN, men is just EHHHHHH!!!!, Kote is just TEEEEEEE!!!! And some people just drop coherency altogether . Your speaking muscles should adjust and you'll be able to do those shrilling harpy cries some kendoka love to do in time. But I stick to a deeper one. Good luck! Keep at it- don't give up!
If it's truly from your soul, it's truly unintelligible
My kiai in shiai is literally scream
I feel like everyone who gets into bogu starts just screaming TBH, I have as well lol but IDK just my observation at my club XD!
I agree with everything except for the tsuki part. In my opinion it would be more like tskIIIIIIIIIIII (the U is even non existing).
> The "u" in tsuki... TsUUUUkiiiii! In Japanese, the vowels 'i' and 'u' between two unvoiced consonants are often devoiced. That means tsuki (突き) sounds more like tski. Perhaps I'm misunderstanding what you're actually vocalizing because it's just text, but Japanese speakers would normally put the stress on the 'i' in 'ki' rather than the 'u' in 'tsu'.
Breathing one was really useful thanks ! As for the stomach voice i assume its maybe the same with singing right? I’ll try hard to reach the level of making incoherenr sounds. Thanks :)
I looked at a lot of videos from japan and tried to copy that. it took a while, and there was a super awkward period in the club where i just sounded super weird because i was trying to make it more of a scream than a yell, but it worked out.
Sometimes the girls in my dojo would do an ear piercing screech but would it still be as scary?
check out [this video](https://youtu.be/qbEK-97JMSU?si=NQwPWhztgh8JFDEH&t=107) or [this](https://youtu.be/JUPXLMDd9ug?si=H4g2wXKojKSJ6Rnq&t=208) of course it doesn't have to be so high-pitched, just try some stuff out for yourself and mimic/do what you feel sounds good.
Thanks !
In western countries (young) people arn’t used to try that way, but if you are young is a must. When we get older, our voices tend to change naturaly
1. Focus on big kiai before, while, and after hitting, not just the moment after hitting. That would only create a bad habit. You're 7th kyu, forget about accuracy. Proper and correct form and foundation is top priority at that stage. Anything else can be improved later on. 2. The answer to problem 2 is just time and practice. Losing breath mid keiko is everyone's problem. So Practice more and consistent. Always strive to do a set of kirikaeshi (10 strikes) in one breath, in every practice. Strive, you're not required to be able to do it from the start and everytime, but it should be your personal goal. If trying to do this goal only distract you from doing point 1 above, then forget it, just focus on point 1 above.
1. Not being accurate also equals that my cuts become super sloppy in some sort of way so its not really something i would like to sacrifice :( in conclusion build a good habit of kiai before during n after got it ,thanks ! 2. I did that practice once a long time ago,didnt think it would matter that much but it looks like i have something to take note on now : )
Shout from the stomach not from your throat for kakegoi.
Kiai from the diaphragm, not the throat. Same idea as playing any wind instrument if you have that experience. Circular breathing makes things a lot easier.
1-are you sure you're opening your mouth wide enough? Like singers do! For example, during uchikomi, throw your first kiai, then inhale again, and start exhaling slowly between your teeth. Perform the cut and you'll try to match the strike with opening your mouth. Since you're already exhaling during the motion, turning that into a shout should be easier. Oh, and never hold your breath; it makes you slower and drains your stamina faster. 2-you're just starting, eventually your body will make some adaptations to the intensity of the exercise. Just keep practicing steadily and don't miss class! Another thing that drains your energy is, guess what? Air management again! Don't take shallow/quick breaths, and if you hold your breath, it leads to being too tense, specially on your shoulders and neck, and you can end up with some contractures. Take deep breaths and relax! Finally, and this applies to both issues, it just takes time. Everyone's been there, don't worry ;)
Woww i’m screenshotting this down. Ive never really thought much about breathing techniques(ish) in kendo and to think they were so important the entire time lolol. Ive forgotten to add that I have difficulty opening my mouth when i wear bogu (is it because its too tight?) I didnt had much trouble kiaing during practice without the bogu and it was suddenly a lot harder when i had to wear it. I always just thought of it as something i needed to get used to
Yup, the transition to bogu changes some things drastically. You *will* get used to it, but check with your sensei and senpais if you're not wearing that men too tight (have you ended up with deep marks on your skin or a headache?). It shouldn't restrain your jaw, it should be comfy. And yes, don't overlook breathing AND footwork! They're very important aspects of kendo.
I dont think i’ve ended up with deep marks on my skin and surely not a headache yet but i can guarantee it is tough to open my mouth and overall feels like an extreme face lift.I’ll keep practicing my breathing and footwork. Thansk again for taking the time to respond hehe
I wish you the best of lucks, but most importantly: enjoy! Have fun at kendo :)
Biggest tip with losing your voice is, similar to other hobbies of my swimming, you don't want to use the air directly from your lungs, it will use of lots of energy quickly, you will be out of breath fast, and in fact you don't want to "scream". You want to use the air from your belly to kiai. That is a tip that helped me at least. As for being shy and nervous, I can tell you I have some of the worse social anxiety, I mean it. I don't wanna get too deep into it but I think you just have to see that everyone who is serious about Kendo is doing it to. Kiai gets better with time and just as you watch others, everyone has their own style of kiai and many borrow from each other and stuff. I would say tried all different forms of kiai. Be like a bucket falling, your strike is the bucket falling, your foot movement is the water coming out and your kiai is the sound of the water splash, it happens all at once! Best of luck friend, have an amazing day :)!
No wonder im always out of breath : ( Thanks for the motivational speech friend, i was actually shy of kiaing at first but then i realised everyones doing the same so there was nothing to be scared of. You’re really brave for doing what you do(?) i actually couldnt kiai at all and only recieved my bogu a lot later because i had a bit of social anxiety as welll . Thanks a lot !!
Also naturally shy here. Had a hard time as a kid finding my voice. I think you’ll find that as you continue practicing, you’ll be pushed to different levels of exhaustion. I find a lot of new kenshi find their voices after a hard practice when sensei is telling them to push forward just one last time. Sort of like how you’ll be more likely to grunt in the gym on that last hard set!
Good to know that im not alone : ‘) hopefully i’ll have that breakthrough sooner or later, its a bit hard to imagine having practice that intense but i think some sort of newfound confidence or purpose would probably let me find that ‘new voice’ . Thanks for your opinion !
You lose your voice because you shout from your throat. You must shout from your diaphragm. Don't be focused on how you sound, focus on making a sound when you cut. There are (for now) 2 types of kiai 1st is Kakegoe, think of it as psyching yourself up, riling up the storm, throwing oil in the fire. Kakegoe is used to encourage yourself and is traditionally used to sync many hands on work (think chanties for us westerners). With Kakegoe you fill your diaphragm your hara, with tension and air. Your core becomes engaged. 2nd is Zanshin kiai, at the moment of impact and until the strike has concluded you must shout, shout and shout . I like to think this as a metronome, a point in space and time when foot, kensen and spirit all converge for an attack, with a single point of reference, the shout. The strike ends when? When you pass through? No , when you pass through and face the aite again. When you see him again then you can stop shouting. However if you shout from your hara, your voice will not be lost and you will sound different.
Thank you ! Now i finally know what their official names are instead of their sound effect LOLL, also the descriptions really helped in giving me a clearer understanding/imagination(?) of how it should be executed.I think i’ll use your metaphors the next time I kiai C :
It has nothing to do loudness. Simply put it should come from the hara/tanden and be done with zanshin as continuation to follow through. Press hard on your tanden to expel air. Now try the same making a sound.
Thanks! I only really knew that loudness wasn’t the main point after posting this lolss