Spirited shout

In kumdo, gihap (기합, kihap) is the spirited shout that expresses the practitioner's energy and fighting spirit at the moment of a strike. It is the "gi" element of gigeomche ilchi, the unity of spirit, sword and body.

Kihap (기합, Revised Romanization gihap; hanja 氣合) is the spirited shout a practitioner makes when performing a technique. In kumdo, Korean sources use the word mainly for fighting spirit and momentum (gise, 기세), which is expressed through the voice.

Meaning of the word. Ki (기) is energy and hap (합) means to join, harmonize or amplify. The Japanese equivalent of the concept is 気合 (kiai), according to an encyclopedia source. Some taekwondo sources say the shout is a result of gathering and focusing energy rather than the thing itself. Those sources are about taekwondo, not kumdo.

In kumdo.

A Korean source says a loud gihap is essential to seize the initiative (gison, 기선) from the opponent.
It is linked to the way of exhaling: breathing out through the shout helps prevent breathlessness.
A Korean source gives three functions outside the strike itself: regulating breathing, focusing the mind and intimidating the opponent.
On a strike the target name is called out as well, for example meori (머리, head).

Gigeomche ilchi (기검체 일치). This is the unity of gi (spirit, expressed in the shout), geom (the sword, meaning the bamboo sword, jukdo, 죽도) and che (the body, including the stamping step, balgureum, 발구름). For a strike to count as valid (yuhyo gyeokja, 유효격자), the gihap, the jukdo and the body must act at the same instant.

A Korean dictionary entry treats striking without a gihap, or without an upright body, as lacking this unity. A beginner-oriented Korean source warns that, if loud shouting is not practiced from the basics, striking without gihap can become a habit.

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