[WhiliaStelt]

Practising Jodo I can say I never had that much of the usual trouble some of the beginners have, with kiai. I dont feel embaressed and never do halfbaked kiai either. The thing is I used to have this low, growly, grungy type of kiai in jodo and when I started kendo, but this week I noticed a quite remarkable change in my kiai. Somehow it went gradually higher in pitch; at first I thought it was just a onetime, heat of the moment expression but it started happenening more often.

Last lesson I was practising with someone who has a strong kiai aswell, and it came to my attention that for every attack I start to sound like a cheap Bruce Lee rip-off . It's not as bad as some of the really highpitch windowbreaking, scared mob screaming kinda sounds but it's a heck of a change my kiai went through and it happened very unconsciously. It's up to the point that some of the students actually turn their heads when I do kiai.
I wonder if it's 'normal' for a kiai to change this way or is it just some natural form of kiai evolution?

[QWNPdpr5]

i had the same problem as you. after i started getting comfortable with the dojo, the people, and even the practice, my kiai started to become high pitched. as you described it, "bruce lee" kiai.

later on, you might be able to control this as you get used to it again.

~taganahan

[UBJ3kvP1]

yupe.. i have same thing happening.. don't know why. i have/had tkd gihap (kiai) before.. deep.. loud.. coming from just below the belly button.. now i'm screeching like a banshee. it's not something i think about.. it just comes out that way and i have no clue what happened.

pete

[Poll Pitt]

This happens to me, and i think it probably happens to everyone at one point in their kendo career. But you can allways find out what your "real" kiai is when you get one of those nice "mushin" ippons. Then it comes our realy natural and strong(atleast this is what I have experienced).

[dXI9XFOA]

well personally my kiai went from a deep jooooo, to a high pitched rather strong, and loud, but still rather high pithced and short HYA!

[Jon Woodgate]

I had this too, a year or so into training. When you spend some time just doing kiai without regard for conserving breath, after a while it does seem to jump up an octave unintentionally sometimes. I suppose this is common? Maybe a sign it's starting to come from the right place?
Mine is changing again recently. Watching/listening to my keiko on video I think it's developed too much "personal expression" in it without me realising. I don't mean there's anything wrong with that, it's just I think my kiai isn't nearly as effective as it could be. I'm not sure about it, so I'm trying to go back to the very basics again. Just "yah" just "men", working on the quality of the voice but this time trying to do it with less effort if I can. Maybe the kiai should feel just like normal breathing...?
Anyway, I wanna tear it apart and start from the beginning again. (Sorry 'bout the waffle.)

[Xqjfxmfk]

I've been told that it is good to have a highpitched kiai because it makes you lighter and therefore faster. It makes sense to a certain degree. But I don't think "high" necessarily equals "good", and that all women have to do the "iiiiii" - kiai.

My kiai has also changed, and gone up an octave (or two) but I try to make a rich squeal and not just a mildly annyoing "iiii". An really angry Bruce Lee is the goal.

[GetsTan]

I allways felt that a bruce lee kiai is a good kiai, no matter how cheezy

[johnbeller]

im noticing this kiai change right now.

[Toninvell]

This happened to me right after my first tournament. Weird.

[shenacatro]

Yup...I tried changing it lower...but I almost lost my voice. So it will sound like I'm being murdered forever. Because that's just what comes out. meh.

[otheloComRole]

My kiai changes when I transform into an Auto-bot. Think "Hai-ya" done by the voice machine of Stephen Hawking.

[AdipexAdipex]

Mortal Kombat always had the best Kiai

[dodadaxia]

puberty.....

[11Pecepebra]

I have actually played around with my kiai consciously (sp?) and it varies alot. When I feel relaxed and at ease it is relatively deep (alto deep) and when I get frustrated or mad (or just want to irritate my opponent as much as possible) I go for the highest pitch I can find. If I've been ill recently I have also found that the high pitches can sometimes actually be easier on my throat, as weird as it may sound.

Actually, the sound of a woman screaming is the sound that the human ear picks up best (although screaming babies are more stressing) so it might be a good idea for us female kendoka to actually use those high pitch tones.

[lapInsalm]

I'm just working on finding a yell that doesn't mess with my voice too much. Gotta keep in shape for chorus too.

I wonder how someone would take to a fortisimo "singing" of men instead of a yell. Hahaha.