Neko Ashi Dachi - Weight Distribution and Applications

[Freddy]

koktsu dachi 70/30

Neko ashi dachi next to 100% on back leg

[DokterVet]

100% on back leg. Good for front leg snap kicks, 0 mobility.

[Highler]

I haven't really looked at using this stance in sparring yet as i have enough difficulty moving through this stance in the katas.

For example, in pinan shodan (heian nidan) when you do 3 shuto ukes before the spearhand i always seem to end up in standard stance as all my weight comes through to the front foot when i step in and don't know how to control the weight when moving forward from one cat stance to the next

Back to the drawing board!

[neko_shojo]

I use about an 80/20 in my kata, and 60/40 for sparring, but I find it raher impractical for sparring as it is a rather unbalenced stance if you aren't properly focused. I tend to prefer a shortened front stance for sparring.

[swdw]

Our school is 60/40

However I dont like the stance at all and feel its impractical as a fighting stance.

Cat stance is meant to be a transitional stance, not a permanent fighting stance.The idea is to "coil the spring" on the supporting leg, and moving in with power and speed. So this also means that body position is extremely important when utilizing this stance.

Using the principles in Tai sabaki, and staying in just outside the line of force of your opponent can result in a "flowing counter" that can easily destroy your opponents balance. But this slao requires the 90/10 weight distribution.

I'll add another comment here. Some older texts differentiate between the 90/10 and 60/40 split and do not consider them the same stance. It would be worth investigating both distributions and the best way to use them. In fact the 60/40 split is the direct ancestor of the longer backstance found in some styles.

Last, the back posture is extrememly important. Over balancing backwards with your upper body makes you vulnerable. leaning forward, does not transfer the weight correctly, and heaven forbid you should have a straight lower back. The physiological problems with this are numerous and it steals power from the supporting leg.

[TopGun]

In my art (American Kenpo) we use a weight distribution of 10% front and 90% rear.

[Conqueror]

Forgive me for bringing up older topics, but I just registered and am finding some very interesting threads a few pages back...

For me weighting of the neko is technique-specific. If, for example, I want to throw a hard gyaku-zuki from neko, I will weight my front foot more heavily, especially during the technique. However, heavy hand techniques benefit from weighting the opposite foot, so striking downward with the "frontside" hand would benefit from more heavily weighting the back leg.

If you simply asked me to stand there in a neko, it would be maybe 75/25 to the rear. My heel is also close to the ground, rarely over an inch off the floor.

[jion]

I'm not 100% certain if it's 90/10 or 75/25, but I know the weight distribution is definitely on the back leg.

More importantly is the tension. The hip (pelvis) must be forward, the abs tense, and the inner parts to the thighs as hard as you can get them (similar tension to tsuru ashi dachi) Often you move from kokutsu dachi to neko ashi dachi, so the emphasis should be the hip pulling the front leg back, moving the weight more onto the back leg (even more than kokutso dachi) and the tension holding it all in together.

Once you understand this, it's not a matter of percentage, imho.

hope it helps!

[pers]

Our school is 60/40

However I dont like the stance at all and feel its impractical as a fighting stance.

Cat stance is meant to be a transitional stance, not a permanent fighting stance.The idea is to "coil the spring" on the supporting leg, and moving in with power and speed. So this also means that body position is extremely important when utilizing this stance.

Using the principles in Tai sabaki, and staying in just outside the line of force of your opponent can result in a "flowing counter" that can easily destroy your opponents balance. But this slao requires the 90/10 weight distribution.

I'll add another comment here. Some older texts differentiate between the 90/10 and 60/40 split and do not consider them the same stance. It would be worth investigating both distributions and the best way to use them. In fact the 60/40 split is the direct ancestor of the longer backstance found in some styles.

Last, the back posture is extrememly important. Over balancing backwards with your upper body makes you vulnerable. leaning forward, does not transfer the weight correctly, and heaven forbid you should have a straight lower back. The physiological problems with this are numerous and it steals power from the supporting leg.

You are spot on with this post , in fact all stances should be treated the same ,especially the cat stance . One should always have a posture to be able to move freely in any direction he wants ,Cat stance in basic form and in kata can improve the wiethg distribution and one can find his own range by practice acoarding to his body type.

but that is exactly what basic training or kihon should do to prepare the karateka for the free form,

training in cat stance in basics and in kata should prepare the student for that instance one second that is needed to be in it .

[unknownstyle]

we're never really taught stances other than one that are used in katas, our stance for our sparring purely depends on you