Horse stance, why is it so important...

[Killer Miller]

Kiba-dachi is more of a practice tool based on how you normally train - anotherwise punching when in stance. Practical use of it is another story - but yet very useful in its application.

 

Stance:

 

1. Two shoulder widths wide.

 

2. Knees bent over the front toe - Note: this does not mean past the toe as many see to misunderstand this. It means over the front toe as in on top of and not past. This is critical to kiba-dachi. This distributes the weight over the center of the feet so you have good stability forward and aft.

 

3. Heavy outside tension of the knees. This allows good grip of the floor and the coil/spring effect when needing to move quickly from side-to-side.

 

4. Feet exactly straight ahead and flat to the floor - not off in an angle.

 

Use:

 

1. Punching/blocking in close with no time to change stance. Basically drop and punch/block.

 

2. Blocking to the side - outside forearm block for example.

 

3. Blocking/punching low or to the ground punching.

 

4. Stepping side-to-side kicking - snap or thrust kick.

 

5. Quick side-to-side movement via stepping or shifting.

 

6. Sweeping when in close to the opponent. Typically a quick sweep and returning quickly to your stance for another action.

 

7. Etc...

 

Kiba-dachi is critical and must be practiced continually for effective application.

 

- Killer -

[Sauzin]

You see, I understand people who use it primarily as a training tool, but I’ve always been a believer in the philosophy you train how you fight. I use horse stances primarily when fighting in close and personal when I need a good semi-deep stance that can go any direction I need it to. Unless I was knocking someone through a wall or had a guy wrapped up I probably wouldn’t punch in it and if I did it would likely be to the side though it’s nice to have either option. This really isn’t a stance I would want to assume until I was fully engaged with an opponent.

 

But my main point is that when you get in close you need to be able to take a push from whatever direction the opponent may choose to apply. With the back up straight and perpendicular you just can’t stay up when grappling. Look at sumo wrestlers. You won’t see straight backs there unless the guy is about to fall over. The knees need to be bent at an angle that allows them to take a lot of weight, like that of your opponent. I am not suggesting that a person employ a higher stance, though the stance I use is a bit higher then some. I am simply suggesting that having an extremely wide stance with a perpendicular back may not lend itself well to what I see as the best uses for this stance.

[Sridhar]

http://www.shitoryu.org/skills/stances/images/shikof.jpg

 

this in case of shito ryu

 

this is known as

shikodachi

or

straddle leg stance

[June1]

This is kind of a funny/dumb story, but it shows you how effective the horse stance really is.

 

I was in the subway today on my way to my dojo. It was insanely packed (people were squished against the doors) because today is the Santa Claus Parade in my city. I happened to be in the middle of the chaos, with no bars to hang onto. Whenever the subway came to a stop, people were tossed from side to side, slamming into those next to them. Terrified that that would be me, I remembered reading about how stable and strong the horse stance is. So what did I do? That's right! I got into a horse stance (but not too low, didn't want to look too silly). It worked perfectly. I was able to absorb the shock of sudden stops and I wasn't thrown off-balance once.

 

Just wanted to share!

[P.A.L]

this picture shows shiko dachi only not a kiba dachi.

 

in the case of subway i would try sanchin dachi.

[SevenStar]

Use:

 

1. Punching/blocking in close with no time to change stance. Basically drop and punch/block.

 

2. Blocking to the side - outside forearm block for example.

 

3. Blocking/punching low or to the ground punching.

 

4. Stepping side-to-side kicking - snap or thrust kick.

 

5. Quick side-to-side movement via stepping or shifting.

 

6. Sweeping when in close to the opponent. Typically a quick sweep and returning quickly to your stance for another action.

 

7. Etc...

 

Kiba-dachi is critical and must be practiced continually for effective application.

 

- Killer -

 

I wouldn't use a horse stance for any of those reasons...