From: snorthc@nswc.navy.mil (Stephen Northcutt)
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts
Subject: spooky kiaiissssss
Date: 10 Sep 92 12:15:52 GMT
Organization: NAVAL SURFACE WARFARE CENTER

Kihaps knocking birds down and freezing opponents is all well and
good, but I think the best come from a 11 - 13 yr old male whose
voice is changing.... starting with a bass  "manly" kihap and
changing in mid utterence to soprano, often a very effective
technique BTW while their opponent is doubled over with laughter
they can whop em a good un :-)

Anyone ever spar Jimmy Rhee?  He had a hilarious, kihap, a high pitched
whooop sound, he used to spend a lot of time adjusting the timing so
that you would think the sound would just precede the blow, and then
use it as a fake... technique not particularly recommended, I'm a
dummy and I never fell for it.

This isn't a kihap, but MAs in styles that allow face punches, I
have never failed to score using that old Ali trick, where you
slap the gloves together at your opponent's chest level, which
makes a great WHAP sound, they look down, then you bounce the
right glove off into their face.  I even done this to some
folk multiple times in a match and pulled it off, doggendest
thing!

Kihap is critical for tournament fighters, especially if the corner
judges seem to be falling asleep when you are scoring, when you see
you have a big opening coming, KIHAP in a big way so that they see
you making the point :-)

Kihap as a weapon, yes I did try this once, I was at the ATT training
center in New Jersey a long while back, walking by the pond with
a comely classmate, and one of those permanant resident geese, broke off
from the pack and charged us, wings back, head out (I figured he was
a TKDer since he lead with his head :-)  I waited till he was about
six feet away and primed for the peck and I let go a serious KIHAP,
stopped him in his tracks, he was trembling all over, and he ran
back with his feathers tucked between his legs.  I've never been
able to watch a goose and keep a straight face since :-)

Those in throwing/grappling styles might well be advised to not
practice kihaps, I have this BAD habit of kihapiing when I hit the
ground and haven't bit my tongue off.....yet.  Has anyone been
tought to keep the tongue stuck to the roof of the mouth when
being thrown? 

Kihaps also distinguish the well traveled well schooled MA from
the novice.  The white belt at our school only know simple
grunt style kihaps, but after you have spent a couple years on
my demonstration team and have some deep color in your belt you
are expected to be able to make a wide range of animal sounds,
all the standard MA video kihaps and all of the sound effects from
the BATMAN TV series.

In a situation of self defense (as we say at my school :-) kihap is
very important, of course you need to use street kihaps, instead
of aiyaa you need: HELP-MA, Call-ah NINEEEE-11, Poh-leeeece and so forth.
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Stephen Northcutt (snorthc@relay.nswc.navy.mil)     Networks Program Manager
Newsgroups: rec.martial-arts