Upon watching Professor John Bishop’s Kajukenbo Concepts videos on Youtube I decided to try one of his ideas. Kiai drill. Person sits in horse stance while others come up, one at a time, and strike the individual in the stomach. (Basically the Kiss of the Dragon which is done to those testing for black belt) The purpose is for the individual being hit to work on their kiai (a short yell used before or during a strike or technique) and it helps to improve their ability to take a hit. There are 3 reasons to kiai:
#1 A loud kiai could startle your opponent and momentarily give you the advantage.
#2 Good kiai should pull the strength from within to increase the power in a punch or kick (the power of the chi) it also increases the ablility to take a strike
#3 Most important – well timed kiai allow for proper breathing to supply your body with adequate oxygen. When you can’t breath…nothing else matters.
I was rather excited to try it out and used the birthday of a 19 year old as an excuse to do it. I went first to demonstrate. There was no need to encourage the students since they were thrilled to get a free, unencumbered shot at the instructor. Nobody held back.
Once my turn was over I got to have fun helping the others work on their kiai ability. I didn’t hold back much myself. Most had to take a few breaks to catch their breath from strikes that were more intense than they were used to. The drill worked out very well and was a good experience for all. Nobody tried to by the silent one and just breathe out when they were hit. I think they could see that wasn’t going to be enough to see them through the ordeal, hence no one ended up dropping to their knees in pain.
They now have learned that they can take a solid hit to the stomach and keep going provided they tighten up their stomach muscles and kiai correctly.
