Stabbing the
Opponent with the Kihap Sound
“Why are there so many who practice Taekwondo yet so few of
superior ability?”
“Because so few conquer themselves.”
When
you fight with your opponent you should raise your tide and oppress his one,
not only with direct attack and defense but with explosive Kihap[1].
The importance of Kihap sound can be ignored in many cases, but it too has its
correct Do. The Kihap sound in Taekwondo should not be merely the vibration of
the vocal chords. It should be as an explosion of your spirit giving expression
to your tide. It should be able to ring heaven and earth and to penetrate deep
into the opponent’s mind shaking and scattering the root of his spirit.
The
Kihap sound should not stand alone, separated from your Taekwondo motion. It
ought to be an element harmonized with your movements with simplicity. This is
why the sound should also not merely be a sound arising from the vibration of
your vocal chords but an explosion of accumulated spirit from the vibration of
your entirety. For this reason, there can be no good Kihap sound without good
spirit. And the spirit cannot lack the self-confidence of victory over your
opponent nor lack the training to attain it. A tiger’s roar can drown a wolf’s
howl because the tiger’s life, which preys on large animals, differs from that
of a wolf, which preys on only small ones.
Kihap
is simple yet varied, so it is somewhat difficult to distinctively comprehend
its unseen functions. However, we can categorize the sounds into three types:
that which precedes a movement, that which proceeds with a movement, and that
which follows a movement. There also exist differences among a single sound
according to whether the vibration comes from the stomach, the throat, or the
entire body. In addition to these distinctions, one can also distinguish the
cut sound from the lasting one. With this in mind, we must also remember that
even the Kihap sound is not separated and distinct yet interrelated with the
entire process of Taekwondo in a change.
As
mentioned above, the change of Kihap sound is complex without substance, yet it
is simple to a Taekwondo-Een. The Kihap sound that follows TAEKWONDO is simply
a properly made sound to help subdue the opponent; i.e. one which makes up for
your own deficiencies. It therefore should explode spontaneously from within
you, bursting forth without conscious control. Enlightened Taekwondo can
capably subdue the opponent only with the Kihap sound before each attack and
defense.
Your
will changes the world. Essentially, the subject is not separated from its
object. At times the possibility of object can fill up some defect of the
subject, which is the entirety. The Kihap sound is neither the entirety nor a
part of Taekwondo.
[1] In its literal translation, “Kihap”
means a gathering or concentration of Ki, or inner energy. But in actuality, it
refers to a yell or shout as an expression of inner energy, particularly in the
martial arts.
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