A kiai used in martial arts is a loud vocal expression. This week’s question is, “Do kiais embarrass or liberate you?”

Kiai is a Japanese term that means “spirit yell” and is comprised of the symbols for ki which means spirit or life force energy (similar to chi in Chinese) and ai which means to harmonize. A kiai is an explosive shout meant to energize a strike and startle an attacker.

Your kiai

The mechanics of a kiai are essentially to yell as loudly as possible by pushing air from the diaphragm. It can have 1-2 syllables but should be short. Kiais can start with a consonant but don’t need to. I recently gave advice to a student about how to “find” your kiai. It should feel natural to you, so you should try many different sounds and see what works the best for you. 

We practice kiais in class from time to time, so some of you have had the opportunity to be either embarrassed or liberated by one in front of other people. Your kiai is largely a function of confidence. If you think your kiai will be bad, it will be. Most people are embarrassed by their kiai in the beginning. With time and practice, you will feel liberated. You may practice at home in the closet or in the car, but I don’t recommend yelling as loudly as you can if someone else is driving. I certainly encourage you to practice on your own, but there is not much point in having a great kiai if nobody else will hear it.

Kiai history

Many old stories mention the impact of a great martial artist’s kiai. Most of them essentially go like this:

A master swordsman has been challenged to a duel. As he meets the challenger in a field, he stares the other man down with his piercing gaze. In silent stillness, tension grows. Suddenly, the master lets out a great kiai. Birds and animals scatter and the ground practically shakes. The challenger is frozen in fear and becomes ill. He cannot fight in the face of such confidence and power. The duel is canceled.

While it is doubtful that any of us will be challenged to a duel, we may indeed be put in a self defense situation where a loud yell will startle an attacker and give us the chance to strike first or escape. Even more likely, we may find ourselves in an everyday situation where we need to focus the entirety of our being without allowing our self-consciousness to get in the way. When we practice kiais, that is essentially what we are doing. We allow all that emotional content, pure energy, to flow through us. We shape and direct it without impeding it, just like water through a hose with a spray nozzle. 

Liberating kiai

However we are able to express ourselves freely, we must let go of the fear of judgement by others. We must also be able to let go of self-judgement. When we practice being free of fear and embarrassment, we are better able to step into any moment as our most powerful selves.