Interesting set of questions and thoughts here... I hope you'll forgive an interloper from other Japanese traditions here...
When I began my practice in 1966, kiai's were generally thrown in on the last rep of each drill. They were also firmly entrenched in kata, usually two in each, at specific places within the routine. These places seem to be accepted as part of the style's kata, as much as a punch or block, sometimes found across different styles. We all know the purposes of the kiai, but as I delve deeper into kata, questions come to mind.
I wouldn't personally suggest that "we all know the purposes of the kiai", as, in my experience, there is a wide range of understandings of the concept, stemming from greater or lesser development or appreciation of the concepts involved...
Aside that they generally occur during a strong attack move, why are they in the kata at all? Were they always a part of kata, as taught by Matsumura or Higaonna, or something added in later, perhaps to conform to some notion of ferocity to impress the public? If later on, when? Why do they exist in all the kata I know? Was it found necessary to put them in all?
In a number of lines of karate, the comment is sometimes made "without kiai, there is no karate"... so asking why it's in one of the most fundamental and important training methodologies (kata), I feel, is a bit redundant. They're there because they're important to the concept of karate. As a result, I would suggest that they were always there... were they always as they are now, well, that's another question... and I'd suggest they probably weren't... but that's just part of the natural development of a martial art over time. What I will say absolutely definitively is that they were not put there as any kind of "show", or to demonstrate "ferocity".... that's a complete misunderstanding of what kiai are in the first place, as well as some major cultural gaps.
So, in order:
- Because they're vital to karate.
- Always there, just maybe not in exactly the same placement/form... then again the kata you do aren't exactly as was laid out by previous generations either.
- Nothing to do with "ferocity" or "a show".
- Perhaps altered later, for reasons the teacher themselves found important.
- They're there as they're an integral part of karate.
- Yes. It is absolutely necessary. Without them, you've missed a major part of the kata.
These days when practicing alone, I often omit kiais. If the "ki" in kiai means spirit, is that not an internal and personal thing? If so, why should the time and place of it in kata be determined by some outside authority or convention? Shouldn't I be free to determine my own spirit at the time and place of my choosing as the feeling explodes spontaneously from within me?
Hmm... while the "ki" can be rendered to mean "spirit", it's really not the same thing as you're potentially thinking... I've seen people translate "kiai" as "spirited shout" before (hell, I've used the term to get across some concepts), but that's both not literal, and not accurate. I would suggest that in incorporates some "internal" aspect, but it is not anything like this idea of a "personal" thing, and therefore not subject to external reasoning and dictates... if that's your thing, honestly, then go make up your own art... whether a "new" form of karate, or something else entirely... because you're now wilfully not doing the art you're purporting to.
So, really, no... you are not free to choose when such things occur. You are not free to "determine" anything of the kind. Once you start down that idea, you're moving further and further from the art you claim to practice. That in and of itself is not a problem, provided you're happy not doing your own system anymore.
Reviewing my post, I see there were more questions than I realized. Perhaps too many for something as common and accepted as a simple kiai. But, as I have learned from my long study of karate, there is significance to everything.
Ha, believe me, we've hardly scratched the surface... and to be honest, while this is a bit further than most go in their thinking and questioning, it's still quite a long way from what kiai even begins to mean...
Give folks a little latitude to kiai anytime they want and in no time, you have this:
Guy is very athletic, and I'd kill to be able to move as quickly and precisely. But his kiai'ing seems a little excessive.
Yeah.... that not only wasn't anything to do with ki-ai, it wasn't anything to do with, well, martial arts. It's a gymnastic routine... a flamboyant, showy one, that you may describe as "martial themed"... but in no way even close to anything resembling anything I'd recognise as martial arts... honestly, the ki-ai is the least of it...
I don't have a problem with his kiai. If anything he may have been a little mellow in some places. He performed an excellent, elite level routine; most people don't appreciate what it takes to get emotionally up, and stay up, to perform at that level.
From an athletic level, sure... but the very idea of "get emotionally up, and stay up" is the exact opposite of what a martial art teaches... this is the guy with the swords in Raiders... the emotionally-driven fool who charges into the enemy machine guns to get mown down senselessly... this is, simply, the equivalent of a dead man, martially speaking.
I played college football and still remember how loud some guys would get during a game. No, it was not formally known as a kiai but the intent was much the same. My point is there is a very natural element to kiai (kihap) in the everyday, real world. I am sure we have all made the very loud 'grunt' when picking up something heavy. That is akin to the formal kiai.
Honestly, all of that is almost precisely what kiai is not.
In kata or poomsae it is used to help on mental focus.
That's much closer.
In a way, yeah... or, really, it can be. It can also be other things...
Something I tell new students (well, all students) is that kihap literally means 'expulsion of air'.
The problem is that it, quite literally, doesn't. At all.
It take a very forceful expulsion to perform an effective kiai.
Actually, I'd argue that it really doesn't. And the more forced it is, the less of an actual kiai it is.
Using the mental target helps 'feeling' the movement and makes it tangible and understandable.
Do I kihap every time I practice a form? No. It falls into the learning phase and conservation of energy for me. But when it is on and I want to practice/perform full stroke, then yes kiai/kihap is it's own element with it's own purpose and meaning.
Okay.
I cannot say whether they have always been an integral part of kata. For me it does not matter because I know they have a lot of function for me now.
Cool. Good to hear!
