| Hector, one of the heroes of the Trojan war, had | | | | 1. Rally the troops. The Kiai is supposed to instill |
| such a fearsome war-cry it would drive whole armies | | | | courage and ferocity in a full-frontal assault.Projected |
| back, Medieval Irish warriors were known to instill | | | | into an opponent, the kiai can paralyze the mind |
| fear in even the toughest most disciplined English | | | | momentarily |
| troops. The druids used a low-droning sound to | | | | 2. a sudden un expected shriek causes the mind to |
| un-nerve the Roman legions in the battle field, and | | | | "look for" the origins of the sound- thereby |
| G.I.'s returning from the pacific after world war 2 tell | | | | distracting him/her for a moment thus creating an |
| of a paralyzing Battle-cry that the Japanese used | | | | opening |
| during bayonet charges. | | | | 3. the Kiai is a spontaneous expression of individual |
| Oriental B.S.? Martial-arts fantasy or just proper | | | | courage and ferocity, in essence the kiai should ( or is |
| psychology and physics applied at the right moment? | | | | supposed to ) psych you up. |
| In one form or another, The Kiai or spirit shout has | | | | 4. Conversely - when the opponent is expecting a |
| been touted to be an effective psychological weapon | | | | Kiai and it is not delivered - the effect is the same - |
| in the battle field or in one-on-one combat. Whether | | | | the mind is expecting the battle-cry and is occupied |
| you are a believer in this or not, the Kiai, when | | | | with the expectation - thus distracting the opponent |
| executed properly is supposed to achieve the | | | | again. |
| following: | | | | |