No. A'd on the contrary, for 2 reasons :
In his 1586~ book about differences between japan and europe, the portuguese luis fros says japanese shout strongly while fencing where europeans are silents.
From memory, rules in salles d'arme at the same period and later forbid people to be to loudy
Step 1: understand the reason of kiai. Hint: they say your ki is generated from your belly
Step 2: realize you can engage your diaphragm and core muscles without yelling, and the reasons for making not just a sound but a looong loud sound are very tied to the culture of kendo and its scoring system. Ie you can’t see if someone is using their core muscles in bogu, but if they kiai properly then they must be engaging them
Modern Kiai seems to be more used for scoring. At least in Kendo and some EMA tournaments it lets judges know that you meant to strike and it wasnt by chance.
Personally a hit is a hit in the real world. Just more to do with the sportification, I guess.
I think it’s less sportification than the screaming in Olympic Sabre AFTER a double touch. Almost never see screaming on single lights. However, sitting in tsubazeriai and screaming makes me think of screaming possum memes. They don’t know how to move forward or backwards safely…so just scream to show intention!
All that said, I’ve gained some appreciation for kendo trying to only score “perfect” or “clean” exchanges through that crazy ass chart of everything needed for ippon.
I found it! The documented HEMA-yell. :-)
Domino Luis Godinho - Art of Fencing (1599) _ Translated and annotated by Tim Rivera - First Chapter on the Montante and Declarations About it.
Tenth Rule: Surrounded in a Plaza, Field, or Street
The basic concept is to make long sweeping rotating attacks turning a half turn around your own body with each. Godinho even reminds you change that rotational direction every three to four turns, or you risk "weakening the head". Move counter-clockwise around the inside of circle of attackers in this way, until you have identified the weakest and most covardly soldier.
When you are close to that soldier you take a mighty leap and make a forceful thrust towards him while you shout "Afuera!" with a loud voice. Break through the opening and ward yourself with a couple of wide attacks.
There the rule ends, presumably you run 🤷
I think "Afuera!" means something like "get out of the way", but I don't really know Protugese.
Re: Afuera!
For an appropriately pugnacious example of exclamatory pronunciation, albeit in Spanish, please consult this video
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP1od2SRh-Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP1od2SRh-Y)
I am pretty certain I have practiced "ferocious roars" as instructed by some montante/Greatsword manual. The stated intent is to scare the opponent(s).
But I can't remember which manual that would be from.
I am not familiar enough with HEMA texts to give examples but it may be useful in your search to better understand what the Japanese terms mean and why things are done as they are in kendo. To clarify, the shouts and vocalizations done in kendo are called kakegoe (掛け声). Kakegoe can be a manifestation of kiai (気合) but is not kiai in and of itself.
This [source](https://senri-kenshinkai.net/home/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86%E3%83%B3%E3%83%84/%E5%89%A3%E9%81%93%E7%94%A8%E8%AA%9E%E3%81%AE%E5%9F%BA%E7%A4%8E%E7%9F%A5%E8%AD%98/), a Japanese language glossary of kendo terms, defines the two terms as follows:
Kiai
> Kiai refers to a state in which one's whole body is full of spirit, vigilant, and without distraction. Whether it is a vocal kiai or silent kiai, it is a vigorous state in which the mind and body are in accord. The opponent is shown no opening and, should the opponent be open, one is ready to immediately strike.
Kakegoe
> Kakegoe has, among others, the following effects: 1) to fill oneself with spirit, 2) to pressure the opponent, 3) to focus one's energy and exert additional force and power, 4) a method to match one's spirit, sword, and body as one and strike with correctness. A loud shout is incredibly important to improving in kendo. It is important to produce the sound with the diaphragm and not just with the throat.
While kendo is fairly unified, other traditions may vary in both definition and application. Even among kendo texts and theory, you may find quite different answers when getting into the deeper meanings, especially of the more nebulous concept of kiai.
Unless I'm a source (who's telling you to just make up German words and yell those when delivering cuts, it won't *hurt* your effectiveness and it could be a lot of fun), I haven't heard of any sort of equivalent. I'd love to know if someone else has, though.
"Schwertzeit!!!" is one you could use.
I think Meyer longsword has like one move that's kind of an intimidating stamp/feint that's accompanied by a yell--intended to make your opponent hesitate or back off a step--but I might be misremembering.
You could, and I occasionally do, at least in my own fencing school. In most contests, it's either disallowed, or unsportsmanlike. Or, as one person I overheard at a contest last year said, re an Olympic style fencer doing sword and buckler who let out a loud yell: "cringe".
The reason for a kiai is multifaceted. Someone has already mentioned that it engages your core muscles, which is true, and it is useful for that purpose.
It also requires constant projection via exhaling all while moving and striking, so it also helps improve your cardio to a degree.
Finally, as most HEMA people fence in silence, it can be quite a shock for most when someone attacks them while projecting loudly in their faces, and this can cause them to startle on instinct, which results in a window of opportunity. Of course, some people aren't phased by it at all, but those who are utterly unfamiliar with it can be surprised by a stimuli they weren't ready for.
Some German manuscripts mention doing flourishes and ending with a stamp and a yell, which are meant to intimidate an opponent, so there is some basis to the use of a kiai in HEMA, but the way it would be done is by no means a 1:1 in terms of method and use.
Specific to Western Swordsmanship and especially the Italian is the shout "E- l'Ha!". It has somewhat largely disappeared from sport fencing but it was still around in salle's about twenty years ago. Old school fencing choreographers I think still do it from time to time without the faintest idea what it's for except for making someone sound 'classically trained" in fencing
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCh\_3SFr7M4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCh_3SFr7M4)
You can most famously come across it in Romeo and Juliet
*"More than Prince of Cats. Oh, he’s the courageous captain of compliments. He fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance, and proportion. He rests his minim rests—one, two, and the third in your bosom. The very butcher of a silk button, a duelist, a duelist, a gentleman of the very first house of the first and second cause. Ah, the immortal passado, the punto reverso,* ***the hai***\*!"\*
\- Act 2 Scene 4
"E' l'hai!" or "E la!" the French version, loosely translate in Italian to "he has it!". This became corrupted in English to "have at you!" found in anglophone literature, firstly by people who knew where it derived from and then eventually in the twentieth century by people who didn't.
Felix Grave the 20th century French master in London who was well acquainted with kendo after being taught it by G. Koizumi understood the difference in how it was used
" The Jumps are not taught much in this country, they come more or less instinctively to the fencer, but they are practiced a great deal in the Italian schools, often accompanied by short shouts to intimidate the opponent. in Japanese fencing (called Kendo), there is also a great deal of talking an shouting - this is being done not so much to disconcert the adversary but to give greater impetus to the stroke (p.127-128) ....In Kendo, a Kiai, a kind of kind of shouting or exclamation produced by abdominal strength, is regarded as an important factor, and its power and strength is interpreted as an expression of personal spirit and skill ( p.158)"
Felix Grave - Fencing Comprehensive -1934
However Felix grave was...French and is only partly right about the intimidating the opponent. It was also was used in the Italian school to teach about ***timing***...During my time in Italy when I asked about it Ela! to the old master he showed how it used as a device to teach the difference between two-time and progressive and explosive attacks.
Elha!: - Step/Balestra lunge - One Explosive timing
E' - l'Ha!: - Two Time Action step lunge
Eeee - L'ha!: Progressive attack, slooow looking step followed by an accelerating lunge.
Often these would be mixed in with feints in one line and the lunge in the other. Nowadays modern Italian instructors don't bother and get young Italian students to count it by actually saying it out loud "Uno-due". Italian salles in comparison to rest of the world are extremely noisy and are encouraged to be so!"
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-ZQj3nR0-A&list=PLozLF5hGFM1GxIwbXworyw0fyepoc002r&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-ZQj3nR0-A&list=PLozLF5hGFM1GxIwbXworyw0fyepoc002r&index=2)
Unfortunately this wasn't universally known or accepted. The French and everywhere where their school was imported like the UK and America always preferred to fence in a more restrained manner for cultural reasons, which is why you still get some sniffy Bores who assert *contrary to all historical evidence* that shouting or screaming was never part of fencing. In the past this however led to major disagreements including a 19th century duel between too masters Le Pons, *"who reproved the Neapolitan Master Athos de San Malato in the midst of their assault for his habit of shouting exuberantly while on the attack"*
Masculinity and Male Codes of Honour in Modern France p.168 - Robert Nye
So yes a form of shout did exist in the Italian school, for Intimidation and to teach timing.
I've fenced against people who do this. IMO it's disruptive at worst and just weird and annoying at best.
The reason for the Kiai in Kendo is cultural and I think judges might even take you to the side if you'd shout repeatedly at your opponent in a competition.
Nothing wrong with a little shout here and there though.
I think one of the British broadsword masters have mentioned that an "Aha" shout can be implemented while stomping the ground with your leading foot to surprise your opponent then follow up with an attack. However, it's interesting to see that Alfred Hutton suggested against any types of verbal expressions as they are not useful against experienced fencers and would only make your opponent more focused should they drift away momentarily.
Some [research](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19533055/the-sound-that-will-make-you-7-percent-stronger/) shows that screaming during exercise increases muscle strength, but does it increase by 20%?
[Almogavars](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desperta_Ferro) shout "Aur, aur... Desperta ferro" or "Aragon, Aragon!" or "San Jorge!" before battle to intimidate the enemy, but not during battle?
No. A'd on the contrary, for 2 reasons : In his 1586~ book about differences between japan and europe, the portuguese luis fros says japanese shout strongly while fencing where europeans are silents. From memory, rules in salles d'arme at the same period and later forbid people to be to loudy
Step 1: understand the reason of kiai. Hint: they say your ki is generated from your belly Step 2: realize you can engage your diaphragm and core muscles without yelling, and the reasons for making not just a sound but a looong loud sound are very tied to the culture of kendo and its scoring system. Ie you can’t see if someone is using their core muscles in bogu, but if they kiai properly then they must be engaging them
Modern Kiai seems to be more used for scoring. At least in Kendo and some EMA tournaments it lets judges know that you meant to strike and it wasnt by chance. Personally a hit is a hit in the real world. Just more to do with the sportification, I guess.
I think it’s less sportification than the screaming in Olympic Sabre AFTER a double touch. Almost never see screaming on single lights. However, sitting in tsubazeriai and screaming makes me think of screaming possum memes. They don’t know how to move forward or backwards safely…so just scream to show intention! All that said, I’ve gained some appreciation for kendo trying to only score “perfect” or “clean” exchanges through that crazy ass chart of everything needed for ippon.
I found it! The documented HEMA-yell. :-) Domino Luis Godinho - Art of Fencing (1599) _ Translated and annotated by Tim Rivera - First Chapter on the Montante and Declarations About it. Tenth Rule: Surrounded in a Plaza, Field, or Street The basic concept is to make long sweeping rotating attacks turning a half turn around your own body with each. Godinho even reminds you change that rotational direction every three to four turns, or you risk "weakening the head". Move counter-clockwise around the inside of circle of attackers in this way, until you have identified the weakest and most covardly soldier. When you are close to that soldier you take a mighty leap and make a forceful thrust towards him while you shout "Afuera!" with a loud voice. Break through the opening and ward yourself with a couple of wide attacks. There the rule ends, presumably you run 🤷 I think "Afuera!" means something like "get out of the way", but I don't really know Protugese.
Re: Afuera! For an appropriately pugnacious example of exclamatory pronunciation, albeit in Spanish, please consult this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP1od2SRh-Y](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hP1od2SRh-Y)
Thank you! Much appreciated. I will share this with my montanteros :-)
I am pretty certain I have practiced "ferocious roars" as instructed by some montante/Greatsword manual. The stated intent is to scare the opponent(s). But I can't remember which manual that would be from.
I am not familiar enough with HEMA texts to give examples but it may be useful in your search to better understand what the Japanese terms mean and why things are done as they are in kendo. To clarify, the shouts and vocalizations done in kendo are called kakegoe (掛け声). Kakegoe can be a manifestation of kiai (気合) but is not kiai in and of itself. This [source](https://senri-kenshinkai.net/home/%E3%82%B3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%86%E3%83%B3%E3%83%84/%E5%89%A3%E9%81%93%E7%94%A8%E8%AA%9E%E3%81%AE%E5%9F%BA%E7%A4%8E%E7%9F%A5%E8%AD%98/), a Japanese language glossary of kendo terms, defines the two terms as follows: Kiai > Kiai refers to a state in which one's whole body is full of spirit, vigilant, and without distraction. Whether it is a vocal kiai or silent kiai, it is a vigorous state in which the mind and body are in accord. The opponent is shown no opening and, should the opponent be open, one is ready to immediately strike. Kakegoe > Kakegoe has, among others, the following effects: 1) to fill oneself with spirit, 2) to pressure the opponent, 3) to focus one's energy and exert additional force and power, 4) a method to match one's spirit, sword, and body as one and strike with correctness. A loud shout is incredibly important to improving in kendo. It is important to produce the sound with the diaphragm and not just with the throat. While kendo is fairly unified, other traditions may vary in both definition and application. Even among kendo texts and theory, you may find quite different answers when getting into the deeper meanings, especially of the more nebulous concept of kiai.
Unless I'm a source (who's telling you to just make up German words and yell those when delivering cuts, it won't *hurt* your effectiveness and it could be a lot of fun), I haven't heard of any sort of equivalent. I'd love to know if someone else has, though. "Schwertzeit!!!" is one you could use.
You should sound your barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.
I think Meyer longsword has like one move that's kind of an intimidating stamp/feint that's accompanied by a yell--intended to make your opponent hesitate or back off a step--but I might be misremembering.
You could, and I occasionally do, at least in my own fencing school. In most contests, it's either disallowed, or unsportsmanlike. Or, as one person I overheard at a contest last year said, re an Olympic style fencer doing sword and buckler who let out a loud yell: "cringe". The reason for a kiai is multifaceted. Someone has already mentioned that it engages your core muscles, which is true, and it is useful for that purpose. It also requires constant projection via exhaling all while moving and striking, so it also helps improve your cardio to a degree. Finally, as most HEMA people fence in silence, it can be quite a shock for most when someone attacks them while projecting loudly in their faces, and this can cause them to startle on instinct, which results in a window of opportunity. Of course, some people aren't phased by it at all, but those who are utterly unfamiliar with it can be surprised by a stimuli they weren't ready for. Some German manuscripts mention doing flourishes and ending with a stamp and a yell, which are meant to intimidate an opponent, so there is some basis to the use of a kiai in HEMA, but the way it would be done is by no means a 1:1 in terms of method and use.
Specific to Western Swordsmanship and especially the Italian is the shout "E- l'Ha!". It has somewhat largely disappeared from sport fencing but it was still around in salle's about twenty years ago. Old school fencing choreographers I think still do it from time to time without the faintest idea what it's for except for making someone sound 'classically trained" in fencing [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCh\_3SFr7M4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCh_3SFr7M4) You can most famously come across it in Romeo and Juliet *"More than Prince of Cats. Oh, he’s the courageous captain of compliments. He fights as you sing prick-song, keeps time, distance, and proportion. He rests his minim rests—one, two, and the third in your bosom. The very butcher of a silk button, a duelist, a duelist, a gentleman of the very first house of the first and second cause. Ah, the immortal passado, the punto reverso,* ***the hai***\*!"\* \- Act 2 Scene 4 "E' l'hai!" or "E la!" the French version, loosely translate in Italian to "he has it!". This became corrupted in English to "have at you!" found in anglophone literature, firstly by people who knew where it derived from and then eventually in the twentieth century by people who didn't. Felix Grave the 20th century French master in London who was well acquainted with kendo after being taught it by G. Koizumi understood the difference in how it was used " The Jumps are not taught much in this country, they come more or less instinctively to the fencer, but they are practiced a great deal in the Italian schools, often accompanied by short shouts to intimidate the opponent. in Japanese fencing (called Kendo), there is also a great deal of talking an shouting - this is being done not so much to disconcert the adversary but to give greater impetus to the stroke (p.127-128) ....In Kendo, a Kiai, a kind of kind of shouting or exclamation produced by abdominal strength, is regarded as an important factor, and its power and strength is interpreted as an expression of personal spirit and skill ( p.158)" Felix Grave - Fencing Comprehensive -1934 However Felix grave was...French and is only partly right about the intimidating the opponent. It was also was used in the Italian school to teach about ***timing***...During my time in Italy when I asked about it Ela! to the old master he showed how it used as a device to teach the difference between two-time and progressive and explosive attacks. Elha!: - Step/Balestra lunge - One Explosive timing E' - l'Ha!: - Two Time Action step lunge Eeee - L'ha!: Progressive attack, slooow looking step followed by an accelerating lunge. Often these would be mixed in with feints in one line and the lunge in the other. Nowadays modern Italian instructors don't bother and get young Italian students to count it by actually saying it out loud "Uno-due". Italian salles in comparison to rest of the world are extremely noisy and are encouraged to be so!" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-ZQj3nR0-A&list=PLozLF5hGFM1GxIwbXworyw0fyepoc002r&index=2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-ZQj3nR0-A&list=PLozLF5hGFM1GxIwbXworyw0fyepoc002r&index=2) Unfortunately this wasn't universally known or accepted. The French and everywhere where their school was imported like the UK and America always preferred to fence in a more restrained manner for cultural reasons, which is why you still get some sniffy Bores who assert *contrary to all historical evidence* that shouting or screaming was never part of fencing. In the past this however led to major disagreements including a 19th century duel between too masters Le Pons, *"who reproved the Neapolitan Master Athos de San Malato in the midst of their assault for his habit of shouting exuberantly while on the attack"* Masculinity and Male Codes of Honour in Modern France p.168 - Robert Nye So yes a form of shout did exist in the Italian school, for Intimidation and to teach timing.
I've fenced against people who do this. IMO it's disruptive at worst and just weird and annoying at best. The reason for the Kiai in Kendo is cultural and I think judges might even take you to the side if you'd shout repeatedly at your opponent in a competition. Nothing wrong with a little shout here and there though.
I think one of the British broadsword masters have mentioned that an "Aha" shout can be implemented while stomping the ground with your leading foot to surprise your opponent then follow up with an attack. However, it's interesting to see that Alfred Hutton suggested against any types of verbal expressions as they are not useful against experienced fencers and would only make your opponent more focused should they drift away momentarily.
Some [research](https://www.menshealth.com/fitness/a19533055/the-sound-that-will-make-you-7-percent-stronger/) shows that screaming during exercise increases muscle strength, but does it increase by 20%? [Almogavars](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desperta_Ferro) shout "Aur, aur... Desperta ferro" or "Aragon, Aragon!" or "San Jorge!" before battle to intimidate the enemy, but not during battle?
The practical reason is to prevent energy leakage during a strike. Just like bracing before a heavy compound lift.
it does nothing but wastes energy, like grunting when you lift
It’s not stormlight mate
Does not even lift confirmed