In our class, the benefits of yelling/shouting, i.e. Kihap, in sparring are sometimes pointed out. If yelling is so beneficial, why MMA fighters don't yell often? Or do they?
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1forums.sherdog.com/threads/why-no-karate-kiai-in-mma.2231409 – Steve Weigand Apr 4 at 21:40
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1I suspect an additional factor is that the standard yell you hear in class that people recognize is also more about synchronizing a group movement. – Macaco Branco Apr 5 at 12:07
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1I definitely see fighters of all strikes kiai. It may not be as stylized as the synchronized yell found in karate/TKD/etc, but it's definitely common to brace and exhale when executing technique. – Dave Liepmann Apr 6 at 12:26
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As per the provided link, there's a number of factors going on.
- First of all, a kiai is as much about a forceful exhalation and a focus of purpose as it is actually yelling. Many of the fighters do just that grunting or exhaling on a heavy strike.
- One of the other purposes of a kiai is to startle the opponent. In the Octagon, most fighters are prepared for battle, so to speak, so there are less likely to startle if someone yells.
- There is also the cultural difference that many people get into MMA from boxing, which doesn't tend to do the yelling thing.
- The kiai is often done on a single decisive strike, something that a TMA like Karate tends to emphasize whereas MMA tends to focus on multiple successive blows.
- Lastly, the traditional kiai in martial arts, especially during forms, is often used as much to synchronize movements (or to indicate such precision) as to actually generate power to attack.
answered Apr 5 at 23:58
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2As a shotokan karate practitioner, I'd like to say we've never used kiai in group katas to synchronise. If you have to use kiai to synchronise, you're not synchronised at all. I also think that the actual movements are better indicator of precision than kiai. – GChuf Apr 16 at 13:28
