horse stance

[taiji fajin]

A low horse stance (90 degrees at the knees, weight centered, or at least that's what is being referred to here as horse stance) can be done in several different ways. As SevenStar and other people have said, putting the knees over the toes, or having the toes pointed forward, puts strain on the knees. Both of these problems can be "solved" by rotating the toes outward some (though this may lead to patella femoral pain syndrome). However, this causes you to either be in a stance that is either in horrible balance (the weight is shifted too far to the rear of the base of support and it is easy to knock a person backwards), or to lose "central equilibrium." By central equilibrium here, I am not talking about the weight being centered left and right between the feet. Rather, the whole body being linked as one unit. The upper and lower halves of the body are "split" and now acting independently. Yes, they can work on the same action, the legs can push up as the body pushes up, and this will have a cumulative effect, but it is not the same as the whole body working as one unit.

 

Along with that, many directions are no longer available to be used. As I originally said that no one has responded to (my apologies if I overlooked a response to this) you lose the ability to absorb perturbation or release energy in the downward direction. Also, you lose a large amount of your ability to rotate the waist. Being able to rotate the waist has many, many applications in martial arts.

 

Does this mean low stances should never be used? NO. I use them in several places, and others in this thread have even given specific techniques to use them with. However, it does point out both medical problems and martial limitations to an excessively low horse stance. The horse stance becomes something that should be done with extreme care (to avoid medical problems) and one that should be done rarely for techniques / in a fight (as it takes away from many options and cuts away certain abilities) and with a specific goal in mind (as there are only a few general motions to be used from it).

 

None of these cover the training of horse stance for long periods, ie, holding it while doing punches or some other activity, not moving your feet or raising your body for 5, 10, 30 minutes, or however long you can hold it. While I agree there are advantages to coming in and out of a low stance (which can train you to be comfortable in it, if done correctly [slowly?]), holding it for long periods does little more than increase brute strength. That leaves us back where we started. If the goal is to increase brute strength, there are better ways to do it, that are less risky on the body and more effective.

[writerlady04]

thank you for the advice, i will keep that in mind.

[PhnxShnx]

Regarding knee trouble with the horse stance:

 

I've had knee trouble since i was 12 (about 13 years ago). I could never bend down, kneel without kneepads, walk up stairs without some discomfort, etc..

 

About a year after i started training, i would still have sharp pains in my knees if i ever did a good horse stance, or a back stance for too long..

 

that is, UNTIL i started trying to hold the horse stance as long as possible. within days the pain was gone, my kicks are better, and i haven't had knee trouble since.

 

I have to say, the horse stance cured my knees.

 

My doctor explains it like this: By strengthening your leg muscles, the muscles lift the knee cap slightly, so there is less rubbing in the joint.

 

I noticed improvement in all areas (katas, drills, just plain moving) and I noticed it immediately. 5 mins a day.

[taiji fajin]

While I'm very happy that this helped your knees out, it sounds like a special case of how your legs (knees) were, if they were hurting since you were 12. Keep up the good work with it, and hopefully they'll last a long time (make sure your instructor goes over it so you're not doing things like sticking your knees over your toes).