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**larentont** · 09-04-2010, 04:16 PM

Remember when adults would tell us - when we were all children - to use our inside voices?

This is what I tell the kids' class - "now's your chance to yell as loud as you like, and your parents aren't here to tell you no!"

Two helpful drills for kiai:

1. From standing with feet at least shoulder width apart, toes pointed out a bit: raise your shinai over your head, come up onto your toes and breath in. When it gets to the top, your breath should be all the way in. Then swing very big and kiai like pronouncing the letter A (eh if you're Canadian), with the feeling of throwing your shinai away. As you are swinging, drop down into a partial squat, back straight, knees at no more than a 90 degree angle, heels on the floor. Remember to breath all the way in, but don't let much air out on the kiai. After the motion is stopped, release the rest of the air, and breathe in again as you come up for the next one. We call this by the confusing name "kiai exercise". The breathing and the motion and the fact that everyone knows they are doing this for kiai means that usually even beginners make a nice sound.

2. From one end of the dojo, swing men with a step and then follow through across the dojo with footwork, keeping the kiai from the initial men going all the way. Again, breathe in deep at the start but let out as little air as possible as you move across the dojo.

09-04-2010, 04:16 PM	#27
larentont Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 520 Senior Member	Remember when adults would tell us - when we were all children - to use our inside voices? This is what I tell the kids' class - "now's your chance to yell as loud as you like, and your parents aren't here to tell you no!" Two helpful drills for kiai: 1. From standing with feet at least shoulder width apart, toes pointed out a bit: raise your shinai over your head, come up onto your toes and breath in. When it gets to the top, your breath should be all the way in. Then swing very big and kiai like pronouncing the letter A (eh if you're Canadian), with the feeling of throwing your shinai away. As you are swinging, drop down into a partial squat, back straight, knees at no more than a 90 degree angle, heels on the floor. Remember to breath all the way in, but don't let much air out on the kiai. After the motion is stopped, release the rest of the air, and breathe in again as you come up for the next one. We call this by the confusing name "kiai exercise". The breathing and the motion and the fact that everyone knows they are doing this for kiai means that usually even beginners make a nice sound. 2. From one end of the dojo, swing men with a step and then follow through across the dojo with footwork, keeping the kiai from the initial men going all the way. Again, breathe in deep at the start but let out as little air as possible as you move across the dojo.
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