Kiai

Kiai
Korean name
Hangul기합
Hanja氣合
Transcriptions
Revised Romanizationgihap
McCune–Reischauerkihap
Japanese name
Kanji気合
Hiraganaきあい
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburnkiai

In Japanese martial arts a kiai (Japanese: 気合, /ˈk/) is a short shout uttered when performing an assault.

Traditional Japanese dojo generally uses single syllables beginning with a vowel. The practice has become a part of Asian martial arts in popular culture, especially in martial arts films, in writing often rendered in variants such as Hi-yah!, Aiyah!, Eeee-yah! or Hyah!.[citation needed] A kiai is usually not the word "kiai" itself.