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Vi has invented a mode driven input style:
rather than hitting hard-to-hit modifier-key combinations (like ctrl-alt-x), the idea is to have different modes, where you can have different key bindings:
for example, in vi you have (mainly) the insert and command modes: in insert mode you can type as you would expect it, in command mode you can comfortably issue often used commands for text editing, by just hitting one key at a time. I.e. "move Cursor one word right" is simply 'w', "change word under cursor is 'cw'.

This is a very ergonomic way of controlling things without using the mouse often: you can have more shortcuts and they are accessed without finger breaking and leaving the 10-finger-system. Many applications have an optional vi-mode: readline(bash), less, info, man, kate, even emacs, many more.

In combination with the new tiling features in 4.5. this would be very productive and ergonomic:
For example I'd hit windowskey for getting into 'KDE-command-mode'. In command mode, I can then have easy-to-hit single key bindings for selecting windows by fuzzy finding the titles, tiling them in a cool way, pack left/right, maximize, kill, etc.
When I'm done with commanding windows, I can have another easy to hit binding (like 'i') to go back into 'KDE-normal-mode' and everything is normal again, for actually using the windows.

My idea is NOT to implement a vi mode for KDE for now, but to implement the possibility to configure it for yourself.

Exactly that is not the case because KDE's key grabber does not support modes.

I think it would be a fairly general approach, the modes could also be used in different ways; no as-is functionality will get broken; I suppose it's not very hard to do.

Then I would have all the usability of KDE AND the professional and nerdy tiling window managers without loosing any choices.

I'd love this soooo much, I will help implementing it/implement it myself: please kwin maintainers think about it, it's not only for nerdy touch typist vim fanatics. It could help everyone who does not know or cannot install and set up a tiling window manager.

Every program that wants the user to write more than four consecutive characters should allow the user to enter it vi style.