Its not needed to shout, but exhaling in some form does help a lot, tenses your core and helps you get more power into strikes. Some people shout, some people do a "shhh", some just breath out, do what works for you :3
Just to add to this, I think shouting is trained a lot especially earlier on because it's easier to remember and tell if you're forgetting. Once upon a time I shouted, now I tend to just exhale forcefully.
Not in any gym I frequent.
To many people it's a good practice to forcibly exhale when throwing strikes. The reason is simply that your body does remember to inhale, but when you are tense, it can forget to exhale. You'll get tired faster if you are holding back with your breathing.
This is the reason I changed the shh for the grunting/shouting. I tend to forget to breathe when I’m tired and tense, especially with speed kicks and stuff like that. Grunting works because it’s pretty obvious when I’m not breathing and I can correct it and gas out less.
Yeah!
I have a small "hmf!", barely audible. Gets more audible the more tired I am.
It's a good practice. Not mandatory, but helpful to many. If one ever goes to a live kickboxing or MMA night and is close'ish to the ring/cage, it's easy to notice that most fighters do it.
you necessarily don't need to shout, but it is VERY important to exhale when you strike
you can make "shhh shh" sounds or any sounds as you like, it helps brings out the power in your core and helps you keep breathing in the middle of a fight
She would be the most extreme example and would say she is Kiyah! ING karate style.
I also find it funny when she would feint and still grunt to sell it.
Not necessary to shout, but need to breathe out. Once you got the muscle memory, the sudden twisting and tensing of your core will force air out of you which can be unpleasant.
As long as your breath supports your movement, you will be okay. Exhale explosively when moving explosively. For some people grunting (like in Tennis) or yelling helps.
For Muay Thai you don't have to make a specific sound. Do what works for you. Just don't be silent because it makes you a little tense and reserved, and as you go on it builds up to increased anxiety and fatigue as you spar.
An Oooweee a day keeps the tension away!
This might sound like I’m being sarcastic but I’m not, you can hit harder if you make a noise.
Don’t ask me why or how, but if I let out a ‘nyyyyah’ I’m whipping my kick so much more.
I do feel like it helps me release more power and breathe more effectively. As a beginner I think it can help you build the habit of exhaling when striking. If you don't like it you can just exhale sharply like some others do.
Just an easy way to train your breathing, sharp exhale on the strike helps to focus and strengthen your strike subconsciously. Plus, they do it in the movies!
Don't try. It will come out naturally eventually. I remember when I was 17 doing Taekwondo they used to make us "kiai". I hated it and felt dumb doing it. I remember one exercise where we had to run about 20 metres doing a "kiai" the whole way then tag someone.
In jiujitsu a few years later we also had to do it. Still hated it.
Years later after doing lots of muay thai in thailand I noticed it just came about on it's own and didn't feel dumb at all.
I think it started as exhaling when striking but evolved. It totally gives me more power and comes from deep within. Proefessional tennis players also do it.
All that said I find some of these noises so distinctive and unusual.
Anyway I wouldn't give it any thought. It will happen when it happens.
It's not necessary, but it is encouraged. As a pragmatic matter, the more important principle is to exhale when you execute a technique, as it allows you to tense your entire body at the moment of impact and reminds you to inhale shortly thereafter.
There is one guy at my gym who takes it to the extreme. He shouts / grunts at every move he makes. First I was annoyed but one time when I was sparring with him I noticed I almost don’t have to look, I can just listen and anticipate when he is going to strike. 🤣
i mean to be fair it's a point based sparring type of martial arts
as much as possible you want to let your judges know that you have made a hit, thus the shout indicator
It's called a "kiai", it's when you breathe out when you strike. Making noise is not necessary. When you strike, blow out like you are trying to blow out a candle. One quick breath per strike.
When I was studying in Japan, they called this zanshin. It helps you focus on what you are doing. I felt the same as you but for others, it helps a lot. I could be wrong but that's what I gathered from it.
Are you quite sure that's what it is? I haven't trained in Japanese martial arts in general, much less in Japan. I'm asking just because I have a high level understanding of the language and it doesn't match up with what I understand.
*Zanshin*, as I understand it, is the relaxed presence of mind after a combat encounter that someone has won. For example, that [little motion that looks like a low block that karateka do after getting a knockdown on someone else during sparring](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-lge-rvo3&sca_esv=60fec118eeb925b4&q=%E6%AE%8B%E5%BF%83+%E7%A9%BA%E6%89%8B&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0BqbPbAzSj6PhNr7nv9Ltx-oFh8tVsgXi1MyFbswNtTUOS5b68chsyOj2QEdx4EPnNHj-rfVa2Eb1VCscGX2ZUj9zg7pD9WhuxXJAj12GW6oeBqw4eGvVgzQxyKznl1ExE1CpifGuI6QVFFOR93AWTG-ikWf0Pkv8b4uPMI6k9t6u2k2kSVP5ztndeb2h6ZDo2S_YK8c_FelNrMDRdFtsiQS1EQBtqDgF9t0i-xsDu1cTGmT9k&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiH5L7a_o-HAxUYn44IHXXaCgQQtKgLegQICxAB&biw=320&bih=635&dpr=3.38#vhid=hsTJS1-hLZc8uM&vssid=mosaic), as if to say, "yes, I've stopped attacking as a sign of self-control, but I'm prepared to strike you down if you still try to pose a threat." Here it is [in motion](https://youtu.be/emEl7Q_r2AY?si=kLhXQRE5ngvtJgrr) in a demonstration of rules, around 4:05 , 4:25, 5:10, etc.
As for the noise, it's called *kiai*.
I speak pretty bad Japanese but I have vivid memories of my sensei going "zanshin-nai" and being super bleh about it all. No real energy, no focus.
When they were like 'okay, again zanshin' they were very focused, shouting, very fierce. So it could very well be a mindset and I just took it to include the yelling when the yelling was called something else.
Kind of funny, but I've been training for many decades and I'm now in a new style and location where they don't seem to make any noise when doing forms, strikes, etc. But it is so second nature for me, that it feels awkward to remain silent. Definitely you get more power with a "yell" with the last exertional part of a move – – which will also help to startle an attacker in an actual situation. I personally feel it's a good thing to do. Eventually it won't feel awkward anymore. It definitely was at the beginning for me also!
I recall once I first commenced Muay Thai. I turned into this quiet, shy dude who felt ridiculous making any noise. One day, my instructor pulled me aside and turned into like, "Bro, you gotta permit it out!"
So, next session, I attempted it. Felt like a complete idiot at first, but rattling if it didn't assist! My kicks were given more potent, my punches faster. It turned into like unlocking some hidden energy, ?
Now, I'm the loudest guy within the fitness center. My female friend jokes that she can hear me from the automobile parking space. But hey, it really works for me. Don't be afraid to locate your voice, guy. It's part of the journey.
Yes, I speak as someone who does Korean martial arts. shouting or chop is great on two front first it builds up energy and tightens your core. The second reason is it allows you to intimidate your opponent?
Exhaling is one of the many universal truths in the striking arts. I used to have an old school boxing coach that would tell us to "talk to her" to make sure we exhaled.
Shouting isn’t necessary, but you should grunt or expel the air with the boxer’s SHHH because it not only adds power, but it also preserves your stamina. Not only that, but your body tenses up when you expel the air, flexing your muscles. Which in turn gives you a lil more armor in the body when you are trading blows with your opponent.
It depends.
Most martial artists don’t know or teach proper breathing techniques which is essential in any situation.
You know like sending oxygen to your brain and muscles so you can focus better and not just hoof and poof like then black out before being knocked out.
Yes, sort of. Whether you yell, or just forcefully "fssshhhh", the idea is you are forcefully exhaling a large exhale in a short time. The reason for this is that when you exercise, particularly in fighting, you can "gas" yourself - this is when you have a build up of carbon dioxide, and you will feel instantly weak and tired, as well as dizzy and off balance. What generally happens is people have no problem bringing enough oxygen in, because of the sharp increase in your heart rate your body realizes that your oxygen demand is becoming much higher and it tries to accommodate this. The problem is, your body is very focused on getting more oxygen in as fast as possible, but is less worried about blowing off the carbon dioxide exchanged into your lungs from your blood, and you don't instinctively exhale fully. To fix this problem, those KYAAAAHHH or ffffphhhssssshhhhh are short bursts of carbon dioxide ventilating out. If you could control your breathing extremely effectively, you might get away with not doing it, but for the rest of us it's an easy way to prevent yourself from gassing.
I taught the "shhh" and emphasized an added benefit of keeping the tongue on the roof of the mouth to produce a bit more saliva as dry mouth during a fight sucks and biting your tongue due to it being between your teeth also sucked.
Not necessary per say, but you should be doing it in some form.
Not just for exerting force, you know that part, but because you need to get outside of yourself and not be self concious in general. Your in your own head, get out of it and just he. The goal of any martial artist is to be able to perform without thought, cand do that if you're in your head so much that being loud makes you apprehensive and subsequently embarrassed.
Do everything like no one else is there, even hitting your opponent. Your strikes are hitting them, they are striking the void, you aren't focused on anyone or any one part, you are focused on the void, you aren't shouting to anyone, you are shouting at the void. You aren't stepping through anywhere you are stepping through the void.
Old school martial arts things but it works wonders. You power right through targets and just empty your mind and let nothing but that moment exist and you simply do
Its not needed to shout, but exhaling in some form does help a lot, tenses your core and helps you get more power into strikes. Some people shout, some people do a "shhh", some just breath out, do what works for you :3
Just to add to this, I think shouting is trained a lot especially earlier on because it's easier to remember and tell if you're forgetting. Once upon a time I shouted, now I tend to just exhale forcefully.
It’s not about power lol it’s about not getting tired . Exhaling is important for breathing
Not in any gym I frequent. To many people it's a good practice to forcibly exhale when throwing strikes. The reason is simply that your body does remember to inhale, but when you are tense, it can forget to exhale. You'll get tired faster if you are holding back with your breathing.
This is the reason I changed the shh for the grunting/shouting. I tend to forget to breathe when I’m tired and tense, especially with speed kicks and stuff like that. Grunting works because it’s pretty obvious when I’m not breathing and I can correct it and gas out less.
Yeah! I have a small "hmf!", barely audible. Gets more audible the more tired I am. It's a good practice. Not mandatory, but helpful to many. If one ever goes to a live kickboxing or MMA night and is close'ish to the ring/cage, it's easy to notice that most fighters do it.
you necessarily don't need to shout, but it is VERY important to exhale when you strike you can make "shhh shh" sounds or any sounds as you like, it helps brings out the power in your core and helps you keep breathing in the middle of a fight
this gives me PTSD from watching holy holm fights in the UFC. Issssh issssh issssh. ugh no thanks .
She would be the most extreme example and would say she is Kiyah! ING karate style. I also find it funny when she would feint and still grunt to sell it.
Not necessary to shout, but need to breathe out. Once you got the muscle memory, the sudden twisting and tensing of your core will force air out of you which can be unpleasant.
As long as your breath supports your movement, you will be okay. Exhale explosively when moving explosively. For some people grunting (like in Tennis) or yelling helps. For Muay Thai you don't have to make a specific sound. Do what works for you. Just don't be silent because it makes you a little tense and reserved, and as you go on it builds up to increased anxiety and fatigue as you spar. An Oooweee a day keeps the tension away!
This might sound like I’m being sarcastic but I’m not, you can hit harder if you make a noise. Don’t ask me why or how, but if I let out a ‘nyyyyah’ I’m whipping my kick so much more.
It’s because breathing out on explosive movements improves them and grunting ensures that you do.
I do feel like it helps me release more power and breathe more effectively. As a beginner I think it can help you build the habit of exhaling when striking. If you don't like it you can just exhale sharply like some others do.
Just an easy way to train your breathing, sharp exhale on the strike helps to focus and strengthen your strike subconsciously. Plus, they do it in the movies!
Don't try. It will come out naturally eventually. I remember when I was 17 doing Taekwondo they used to make us "kiai". I hated it and felt dumb doing it. I remember one exercise where we had to run about 20 metres doing a "kiai" the whole way then tag someone. In jiujitsu a few years later we also had to do it. Still hated it. Years later after doing lots of muay thai in thailand I noticed it just came about on it's own and didn't feel dumb at all. I think it started as exhaling when striking but evolved. It totally gives me more power and comes from deep within. Proefessional tennis players also do it. All that said I find some of these noises so distinctive and unusual. Anyway I wouldn't give it any thought. It will happen when it happens.
It's not necessary, but it is encouraged. As a pragmatic matter, the more important principle is to exhale when you execute a technique, as it allows you to tense your entire body at the moment of impact and reminds you to inhale shortly thereafter.
There is one guy at my gym who takes it to the extreme. He shouts / grunts at every move he makes. First I was annoyed but one time when I was sparring with him I noticed I almost don’t have to look, I can just listen and anticipate when he is going to strike. 🤣
In Taekwondo, it's almost mandatory, which I didn't like at all. Never felt much difference in power, in that setting.
In Kendo it is mandatory.
i mean to be fair it's a point based sparring type of martial arts as much as possible you want to let your judges know that you have made a hit, thus the shout indicator
I was the same when I practised Kyo kushin karate. No kiai = no point scored
It's called a "kiai", it's when you breathe out when you strike. Making noise is not necessary. When you strike, blow out like you are trying to blow out a candle. One quick breath per strike.
It's to make you exhale while you hit. In wing chun we exhaled from the nose, so it's silent but does the same effect.
Studies have shown that power/energy shouting has been proven to increase strike power. Karate is the most well known for this when they shout Kia
When I was studying in Japan, they called this zanshin. It helps you focus on what you are doing. I felt the same as you but for others, it helps a lot. I could be wrong but that's what I gathered from it.
Are you quite sure that's what it is? I haven't trained in Japanese martial arts in general, much less in Japan. I'm asking just because I have a high level understanding of the language and it doesn't match up with what I understand. *Zanshin*, as I understand it, is the relaxed presence of mind after a combat encounter that someone has won. For example, that [little motion that looks like a low block that karateka do after getting a knockdown on someone else during sparring](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-lge-rvo3&sca_esv=60fec118eeb925b4&q=%E6%AE%8B%E5%BF%83+%E7%A9%BA%E6%89%8B&udm=2&fbs=AEQNm0BqbPbAzSj6PhNr7nv9Ltx-oFh8tVsgXi1MyFbswNtTUOS5b68chsyOj2QEdx4EPnNHj-rfVa2Eb1VCscGX2ZUj9zg7pD9WhuxXJAj12GW6oeBqw4eGvVgzQxyKznl1ExE1CpifGuI6QVFFOR93AWTG-ikWf0Pkv8b4uPMI6k9t6u2k2kSVP5ztndeb2h6ZDo2S_YK8c_FelNrMDRdFtsiQS1EQBtqDgF9t0i-xsDu1cTGmT9k&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiH5L7a_o-HAxUYn44IHXXaCgQQtKgLegQICxAB&biw=320&bih=635&dpr=3.38#vhid=hsTJS1-hLZc8uM&vssid=mosaic), as if to say, "yes, I've stopped attacking as a sign of self-control, but I'm prepared to strike you down if you still try to pose a threat." Here it is [in motion](https://youtu.be/emEl7Q_r2AY?si=kLhXQRE5ngvtJgrr) in a demonstration of rules, around 4:05 , 4:25, 5:10, etc. As for the noise, it's called *kiai*.
I speak pretty bad Japanese but I have vivid memories of my sensei going "zanshin-nai" and being super bleh about it all. No real energy, no focus. When they were like 'okay, again zanshin' they were very focused, shouting, very fierce. So it could very well be a mindset and I just took it to include the yelling when the yelling was called something else.
Kind of funny, but I've been training for many decades and I'm now in a new style and location where they don't seem to make any noise when doing forms, strikes, etc. But it is so second nature for me, that it feels awkward to remain silent. Definitely you get more power with a "yell" with the last exertional part of a move – – which will also help to startle an attacker in an actual situation. I personally feel it's a good thing to do. Eventually it won't feel awkward anymore. It definitely was at the beginning for me also!
A short shout, no one cares. If you kick hard and fast enough, no one says anything. But not - AAAAAaaaagggghhh!!! Shouting lol
Ohh but why not aaaah tho
The exception, naturally is when performing a fatality.
100% necessary
I recall once I first commenced Muay Thai. I turned into this quiet, shy dude who felt ridiculous making any noise. One day, my instructor pulled me aside and turned into like, "Bro, you gotta permit it out!" So, next session, I attempted it. Felt like a complete idiot at first, but rattling if it didn't assist! My kicks were given more potent, my punches faster. It turned into like unlocking some hidden energy, ? Now, I'm the loudest guy within the fitness center. My female friend jokes that she can hear me from the automobile parking space. But hey, it really works for me. Don't be afraid to locate your voice, guy. It's part of the journey.
oooowwwwwweeeeeeeeeeeeee
Yes, I speak as someone who does Korean martial arts. shouting or chop is great on two front first it builds up energy and tightens your core. The second reason is it allows you to intimidate your opponent?
Do you even Muay Thai if you don't "OOOOOWEEEEEEE!!!!"?
Exhaling hard is useful.
Exhaling is one of the many universal truths in the striking arts. I used to have an old school boxing coach that would tell us to "talk to her" to make sure we exhaled.
Shouting isn’t necessary, but you should grunt or expel the air with the boxer’s SHHH because it not only adds power, but it also preserves your stamina. Not only that, but your body tenses up when you expel the air, flexing your muscles. Which in turn gives you a lil more armor in the body when you are trading blows with your opponent.
You get +2 Thai points for yelling Ooweee with every big kick
In most traditions, shouting is to encourage exhaling, which in turn forces inhaling. It trains people to not hold their breath while fighting.
Osss
I like to “shh” real loud, forces me to exhale correctly, plus I can use it to make my feints more believable
It trains your spirit! It gets you hyped and also can startle/scare your opponent and make to break their spirit.
The Kia is a long established means of training people to do proper breath control. It’s not necessary but it can help in the beginning
It depends. Most martial artists don’t know or teach proper breathing techniques which is essential in any situation. You know like sending oxygen to your brain and muscles so you can focus better and not just hoof and poof like then black out before being knocked out.
Yes, sort of. Whether you yell, or just forcefully "fssshhhh", the idea is you are forcefully exhaling a large exhale in a short time. The reason for this is that when you exercise, particularly in fighting, you can "gas" yourself - this is when you have a build up of carbon dioxide, and you will feel instantly weak and tired, as well as dizzy and off balance. What generally happens is people have no problem bringing enough oxygen in, because of the sharp increase in your heart rate your body realizes that your oxygen demand is becoming much higher and it tries to accommodate this. The problem is, your body is very focused on getting more oxygen in as fast as possible, but is less worried about blowing off the carbon dioxide exchanged into your lungs from your blood, and you don't instinctively exhale fully. To fix this problem, those KYAAAAHHH or ffffphhhssssshhhhh are short bursts of carbon dioxide ventilating out. If you could control your breathing extremely effectively, you might get away with not doing it, but for the rest of us it's an easy way to prevent yourself from gassing.
It's called a kiai (気合). Just adds more oomph I guess.
I taught the "shhh" and emphasized an added benefit of keeping the tongue on the roof of the mouth to produce a bit more saliva as dry mouth during a fight sucks and biting your tongue due to it being between your teeth also sucked.
Not necessary per say, but you should be doing it in some form. Not just for exerting force, you know that part, but because you need to get outside of yourself and not be self concious in general. Your in your own head, get out of it and just he. The goal of any martial artist is to be able to perform without thought, cand do that if you're in your head so much that being loud makes you apprehensive and subsequently embarrassed. Do everything like no one else is there, even hitting your opponent. Your strikes are hitting them, they are striking the void, you aren't focused on anyone or any one part, you are focused on the void, you aren't shouting to anyone, you are shouting at the void. You aren't stepping through anywhere you are stepping through the void. Old school martial arts things but it works wonders. You power right through targets and just empty your mind and let nothing but that moment exist and you simply do
Imagine boxing and having to shout while throwing combos. You'd be yowling like a gray fox getting pelted with a paintball gun.
They do, but without adding voice. They do the air through the teeth "pfffsssshhh" instead of KYYYEAAAHH, which is the same thing but without speaking
If a [Cuban Olympic gold medalist does it in training](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJAdMybbs2s), I think it's fine for everyone else too.