Develop your Kiai - To Win More Battles (american martial art techniques)
December 30th, 2007
KIAI
Hector, one of the heroes of the Trojan war, had such a fearsome war-cry it would drive whole armies back, Medieval Irish warriors were known to instill fear in even the toughest most disciplined English troops. The druids used a low-droning sound to un-nerve the Roman legions in the battle field, and G.I.’s returning from the pacific after world war 2 tell of a paralyzing Batlle-cry that the Japanese used during bayonet charges.
Oriental B.S.? Martial-arts fantasy or just proper psychology and physics applied at the right moment?
In one form or another, The Kiai or spirit shout has been touted to be an effective psychological weapon in the battle field or in one-on-one combat. Whether you are a believer in this or not, the Kiai, when executed properly is supposed to achieve the following:
1. Rally the troops. The Kiai is supposed to instill courage and ferocity in a full-frontal assault.Projected into an opponent, the kiai can paralyze the mind momentarily
2. a sudden un expected shriek causes the mind to look for the origins of the sound- thereby distracting him/her for a moment thus creating an opening
3. the Kiai is a spontaneous expression of individual courage and ferocity, in essence the kiai should ( or is supposed to ) psych you up.
4. Conversely - when the opponent is expecting a Kiai and it is not delivered - the effect is the same - the mind is expecting the battle-cry and is occupied with the expectation - thus distracting the opponent again.
As an ancient flowery Japanese text commands your kiai should fill your lungs and explode from your hara , it should reverberate like a thousand samurai storming into battle
Franz von Muhlfeld
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Interview with Tito ortiz
MMAToday: How are you doing?
TO: Great! I just got back from a month of vacation and I am feeling good.
MMAToday: Have you returned to training since your last fight?
TO: Just started training again lightly about a week ago getting ready to get all the way into it
MMAToday: How much training time do you plan to put in before your next fight?
TO: About 2 full months
MMAToday: What brought you into competing in MMA?
TO: I was in wrestling in high school and college, started as Tank Abbots training partner. I started really getting into the UFC when they started having weight classes since I competed at 199 so 205 was a natural fit for me. Just the love of competition. I fought my first fight for free because I was still in college and would lose my scholarship if I was paid.
MMAToday: What training and experience did you have that made you know you would be successful at it?
TO: Just wrestling, growing up with older brothers who used to beat me up a lot, and I started training boxing in my garage in high school
MMAToday: What fighters early in your career did you admire and maybe try to model your training and fighting style after?
TO: Royce Gracie, Ken Shamrock and Tank, tried to take lessons from what they had done and been successful at and incorporate it all. Guys like Frank Shamrock knew the whole game and his cardio was awesome. I didnt try to be like anyone else really but learn from them and take that and add it all up to make the perfect fighter.
MMAToday: Are there any fighters you look up to now?
TO: Not anyone now currently, but I look at people who put it all together like Ali, Bruce Lee 30 years ago. GSP and BJ are great fighters. I cant respect anyone in my weight class anymore because I get caught up in watching them and being in awe instead of stomping on them, which is what I need to be do doing.
MMAToday: One fight that is noted as making a big difference early in your training and career was against Frank Shamrock, how did that fight affect you?
TO: I trained with Frank after the loss for a couple weeks, got to see what it took to be a top contender. I lost to Frank because of conditioning. Frank helped teach me about heart rate and rest. I learned about recovery times. After only fighting for almost 2 years and training with Frank I was able to go at it with Wanderlei Silva for 5 full rounds at full speed.
MMAToday: How was it the first time you won a UFC Championship? How did you feel afterwards?
TO: When I first won it was amazing but I had another goal and that was to keep the belt. Dont get me wrong I slept with that belt for the first month after I got it, but I wanted to keep it. I wanted to keep it longer than anyone ever had and break the record for it, and be dominant and I did that.
MMAToday: What fight or fights for you are the most memorable of your career?
TO: Theres a few. First beating Silva for the title and my first fight with Ken. The other two fights with Ken just made it more memorable. I really took it to heart the first time against him, that I was good when I beat Ken and was dominant.
MMAToday: Which fight brought you the most satisfaction and which brought you the most disappointment?
TO: Satisfaction: The first fight with Ken, I came off a knee surgery and ACL injury and was dominant after 6 months being healthy. Second against Vladimir Matyushenko and dominated, that was the best shape I have ever been in.
Disappointment: Losing the title to Randy, that hurt the worst, I wasnt right for almost two months after. I had to find the motivation to keep going forward.
The second fight with Chuck this past December, I felt I let my fans down and I was in the best shape and brought my A game.
MMAToday: This past year was a busy one for you, after a year long layoff, with 4 fights. Are you planning on taking it a little slower this year?
TO: I am trying for 3 fights this year, I like being in the octagon. When I wasnt there it was about the money and paying bills, now its not about the money. I am having fun, and Im fighting to get my title back. I keep working and getting better and trying to be a better fighter. I would like to fight Chuck, I will fight him 5 or 6 times however many times it takes. Im confident now that I stood with him, and Im confident I can fix the mistakes I made. First thing I think of is who I have to fight to get back to the top and be in contention. I will crush anyone in the LHW division. I only lost to the top guys in the game Randy Couture, Frank Shamrock and Chuck Liddell. I still have a bright future ahead and my body feels good. I have no injuries my knee is great and my back is great.
MMAToday: What can we expect from you in 2007?
TO: More movies? My heart is really in fighting right now and Im in fighting mode. I want to keep going with Punishment Athletic. Im a business man then a fighter and then actor man but fighter first and foremost now. My next fight is in May against Keith Jardine.
MMAToday: Where do you see yourself in the UFC title picture at Light Heavyweight?
TO: Im in the top 3. I will fight any of them, I fought Liddell and made some mistakes but that wont happen again. He has been dominant and done what he has done, so have I and I will do it again.
MMAToday: What motivates you to continue fighting and training after an almost 10 year professional career of fighting?
TO: My fans and the drive to be the best. Its a mixture of both.
MMAToday: Who are your favorite fighters to watch?
TO: GSP #1. He has a hard work ethic and is very exciting, what he did to Matt Hughes was impressive. Brandon Vera is exciting and hits hard, hes a good wrestler and has good Jiu-jitsu.
MMAToday: Are there any fighters you want to fight that you havent had a chance to yet?
TO: Shogun Rua would be an awesome fight, Id love to fight him, Wanderlei just lost and Id love to fight him again. Dan Henderson would be great. Ill fight anyone and make it exciting for the fans. I just want to keep people buying pay per views and keep the fans entertained, me and chuck did it right and broke records for pay per view buys.
MMAToday: You have done a small bit of acting in recent years, is something you are looking to pursue?
TO: I was just on CBS Numbers in a small part last week. , I did a MadTV episode that will be airing in April or May. I have to make the right choices and I want to stay away from the fight movies and go more into action films.
MMAToday: Is there anything you would change in the UFC currently to make it safer rules wise for the fighter? Or any changes you would make?
TO: Everything is good; sometimes the referees need to be a little more knowledgeable in a championship fight. The fight with Liddell, the referee (Mario Yamasaki) was never in a huge fight. Big John knows what its like to be in those fights. He should have let us fight; Ill take a lot of damage, but dont stop the fight when Im getting hit in the arms. Let the fight go if Im defending those shots, a lot of them were hitting my forearms.
MMAToday: Can you request a referee for a fight?
TO: Athletic Commissions assign the refs, and they changed it to Yamasaki at the weigh-ins.
MMAToday: What do you think of the recent explosion of MMAs popularity over the last 2 years? Is it beneficial for everyone? The fans, the fighters and the promoters alike?
TO: I think its better for the fighters. As it gets bigger guys will be paid more. Making 2 grand a fight is BS, comes down to the fighters. You have to have more respect for yourself and not let them walk all over you. You have to hold out and demand more money. I think I was the first guy to really hold out; I was willing to hold out for what I believed in. But its a catch 22, if you sign the contract for making less money everyone bitches that you dont make enough, but they bitch if you ask for more. We top fighters are making good money, but its not about the money anymore for me, I just want to fight, I love to compete.
MMAToday: Any chance you would leave UFC?
TO: I really dont want to, I started here and I plan on finishing here. I hope they would promote me more. I dont see going anywhere else but you never know what happens, but my heart sticks with the UFC till they start treating me bad. I and Dana are having good feelings right now though.
MMAToday: Would you consider leaving to fight Silva and Shogun?
TO: I could make that decision but I worked hard to be where I am but I would go if they set it up, I think it just comes down to Ill fight any of them. Ill stomp anyone at 205, Im in the top 3 in the world and Ill beat Shogun, Henderson and Silva if I get the chance.
MMAToday: How did the TUF appearance change anything for you?
TO: The misconceptions people had of me. Im two separate people, I have a cocky attitude in the octagon but, but Im a caring person outside. It was a chance for my fans to see another side of me. You have to have charisma to be successful in the ring. When Im in the ring I know the angles I need to take like Muhammad Ali and Hulk Hogan, you have to be cocky and brash and thats how you attract the fans. My team did great and went 9-3; it was nice to know I had even a small part in that.
MMAToday: Would training young fighters be a goal after your fighting career is over?
TO: Maybe not but maybe, maybe do my own TV show, I love training and helping out with guys. I loved training kids when I was in college helping training at the local high school.
MMAToday: Is there anyone currently training with you that we should be on the lookout for?
TO: Not yet, after my fight Ive had a few guys trying to get a hold of me for training but Im picky, you need to be a hard worker and have the right attitude to train with us. Like Melvin Guillard, hes training with us, hes a hard worker and is rising fast. But we need a HW for Team Punishment, a big like around 6-3 to 6-5 around 265 pounds preferably a wrestler. We work hard and theres no one that trains like we do at Team Punishment.
MMAToday: You have been involved in numerous charities over the years, anyone you are working with now in particular?
TO: Doing motivational speaking at high schools and speaking to the Marines. Im going to the Armed Forces Day top speak in front of the Marines that just came back from and some that are going out to Iraq on May 19th in Banning, California from 11am -1pm . Im looking to work with inner city kids and training camps with them, nothing etched in stone yet but I really want to help kids.
Brian Robertson is owner and webmaster of www.mmatoday.com
Martial Arts and Self-Defense Wisdom: Stretch Before A Fight, Not During A Fight
One of the funniest, yet not-so-bright, things that I have ever heard of someone doing during a fight was actually done by one of my former students. Even though the incident that I am about to relate to you happened several years ago, it still makes me laugh every time I think about it. Even now as I type this article, I have a smile on my face and a chuckle in my belly.
I was first made aware of this particular incident on a Monday night as my intermediate adult class was arriving for their first class after the weekend. Larry (the name has been changed to protect the guilty) along with his friend and fellow classmate Joe, had just arrived at the dojo and went immediately to the change room in order to change and get ready for class. As they walked to the change room, I noticed that Larry seemed to be in an awfully big hurry and was actually looking away from me, while keeping his head down so that I couldn?t see his face. Although I thought this behavior was a bit peculiar, I really didn?t give it much thought at the time.
I spent the next 15 minutes or so with my beginning adult class as I finished teaching them their particular lesson for the day. After dismissing them for the evening, I had one of my senior students begin warming-up the next class. Which just so happened to be the one that Larry and Joe were in. The stretching period lasted about 20 minutes and as soon as it was completed, I took over the class.
Now have you ever been in a situation where you see something and then immediately do a double take because you can?t believe what you have just seen? Well, that very thing happened to me. As I called the class to attention, I looked at Larry and saw what had to be the biggest black eye I had ever seen. Now I must admit that I was rather awe struck at the time and just stared at Larry for several seconds. Finally, it occurred to me what I was seeing so I asked him what had happened. Larry?s only response to my question was to put his head down and look at the ground. While this is going on, I hear a couple of snickers coming from the back row of students. Since I was unable to determine who was laughing, I asked the entire class what was so funny. Joe, who ended up being the one laughing, informed me that I should ask Larry and then started outright laughing.
Well, I must admit that by this time my curiosity was sorely peaked. Therefore, I had one of my senior black belts take over the class while Larry and I went to my office. Once inside the office, Larry told me how he had acquired his black eye. Now I am generally not one to laugh at someone else?s misfortune and pride myself on being a fairly understanding and somewhat compassionate person. This however, was not one of those times. As a matter of fact, I was laughing so hard that I actually had tears running down my cheeks.
Now before I get into the actual events behind Larry?s black eye, you may want to stop reading this for a moment and go get a box of tissue paper. Because if you have any sense of humor at all, you are going to be laughing pretty hard in the next few moments as you continue to read this story.
Okay, now that you are back with the tissues, let?s get started.
Apparently the whole incident started the previous Saturday evening when Joe and Larry went to a local watering hole to have a few drinks with their wives. The evening started smoothly with no problems, that is until the local tough guys showed up with more liquor in their bodies, than brains in their head. As it turned out, the same could and would also be said of Larry.
The basic premise of the fight was that supposedly one of the local tough guys had made some kind of inappropriate comment towards Larry?s wife. Larry responded verbally and the tough guy challenged Larry to a fight. Larry agreed and he and Joe went outside with the loud mouth instigator and a couple of his friends.
Once out in the parking lot, Larry and his antagonist started to square off when Larry held up his hands and told the guy to wait a minute that he had to stretch first. When speaking with Joe later that night, he told me that he just stood there dumbfounded as Larry proceeded to sit down in the parking lot and stretch his legs. Now according to Joe, everyone stood there for almost a minute in shear disbelief that this was actually happening. Of course the first person to snap out of it was Larry?s opponent. Joe said that it seemed like he was watching it in slow motion when the guy take a couple of steps towards Larry as he drew back his right leg and proceeded to kick Larry right in the face with what would best be described as a punters kick.
Fortunately for Larry, he seen the kick at the last moment and was able to turn his head enough that the kick didn?t land flush against his face and ended up glancing off of his cheek bone after initially making impact. Larry then proceeded to get up off of the ground and put a major hurting on his opponent. Even though his face and eye hurt considerably, Larry told me that his self-esteem was hurt far worse for pulling such a foolish stunt. I told Larry that although it was a foolish thing to do, at least he had not gotten seriously hurt and that hopefully he learned a valuable lesson from this incident.
After several minutes of me trying to regain my composure, Larry and I began to pick apart the entire incident to try and discern all the various mistakes that were made and how he could avoid them in the future. The following mistakes are those that Larry and I both felt were made before and during this particular altercation.
1. Going to that particular bar, which was known as a roughneck bar, and where there was always trouble of some sort happening.
2. Drinking excessively in the first place. Whether in that bar or any other.
3. Allowing a verbal altercation to elevate into an actual fight.
4. Telling his opponent to hold on a minute, and then actually sitting down on the ground and stretching his legs.
When I asked Larry what had possessed him to sit down and stretch his legs, he told me that he wanted to be warmed-up and stretched out before getting into the actual fight. I informed Larry that the ?actual fight? started long before he went outside and that he was never going to get into a real fight when he was at his best. It always seems that every fight happens when you are either drinking (the vast majority of the time), tired, or distracted by something or someone else. Therefore, he needed to learn how best to avoid a possible confrontation, and when not able to avoid it, how to best use the actual situation and his surroundings to his advantage, not his opponents. And finally, never stop what you are doing in order to, nor expect your opponent to give you the opportunity to, sit down and stretch.
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