Question about the Horse Stance

[Samurai Shotokan]

My question why is this stance so unversal?? Because almost every Martial art to a degree uses this stance Wrestlers(Greco Roman) Sumo,varous Kung Fu and Karate syles

Even though this stance is varied differently from style to stlye but in essance there the same stance

[shadow113]

well the horse stance provides a good center of balance. If your off balance while fighting someone you'll get knocked over easily or maybe even trip yourself. Every martial art does use it to a degree yes, because its very helpful for balance and in some styles easier to attack some one or block. Wrestling teaches you alot about balance in ways and I suggest for anyone who wants to learn about balance, ground fighting, and especially holds, to take up wrestling.

[Shorin Ryuu]

In my opinion, the very low horse stance is pretty much useless for punching and blocking. It is useful for two main things: training muscles and for shifting weight downwards while throwing or grappling. Even then, my style doesn't really do it like the way "horse stance" is most commonly done or perceived (not that it is a "rare" way of doing it...many styles do it the way mine does, there are just so many more that do not).

[BLueDevil]

We use ours mostly train in balance and strengthen our legs. Its a pain to hold the horse stance for extended periods.

[elbows_and_knees]

all stances are quite common among all styles, actually. The thing is that not all styles even perform stance training - like thai boxing, for example. But, you see the stances when and how they are supposed to be used - in transition. you aren't supposed to just hold a stance; it is part of your footwork - how you move from one technique to the next and how you perform a vertain technique.

look at your foot position when you are doing a shoulder throw (ippon seionage) for example - it's basically a horse stance. look at yuor foot position when you do tai otoshi - it's a forward stance. a boxer throws a straight right - for all practical purposes, he is now in a forward (bow and arrow) stance. There are some mechanical differences, but it is the same thing.

[Samurai Shotokan]

Thanks for your replies guys.I guess learning stances is like learning to walk before you can run.

[znra251]

on the topic of horse stance i've studdied karate for 10 years, i've been involved in kickboxing for nearly seven and trained a lot in mauy thai.

what i've come across is not so much a stance for fighting in but an ideal, idealy if attacked from the side horse stance provides great stability and allows for the generation of power.

obviously most situations are less than ideal, but mastering a good horse stance enables one to use a poorer stance with some effectiveness. few people realise the similarity between the position a good boxing/kickboxing uppercut lands in. the uppercut will land with the body pivoted, legs still slightly bent and side on (obviously it can be done twisted the opposite way)

although on the surface not to similar, the bending of both knees, side on body and posture (as little hunched as possible) have similarities.

Because the uppercut , ura zuki, is very underused in karate we often fail to see this application, ie explosive upwards punching with the body and knees working together with the hips.

check out early footage of mike tyson's career to see some amazing uppercuts and the importance of the bend, the knees generate far more upwards power than the trunk can, which when combined with the hips create the devestating punches tyson used so effectively.

also worth checking out is the series of katas in karate known as tekki or naihanchi. https://www.karateonline.org this site has good videos of these kata, illustrating the knee position.

think about its potential for explosive up down movement and the horse stance takes on a new and aggressive position.

gary[/url]

[elbows_and_knees]

I dunno... I've thought about that before, and I'm not sure it applies here. Sure, it's a similar stance you are in, but horse stance training is static... just like any other isometrice exercise, it only builds endurance in the position you are holding. So, The depth you hold your horse is where you benefit - it doesn't teach you how to explode afterward. This is why you won't see boxers doing stance training.

[stonecrusher69]

the other things that come from horse stance training is a firm root and internal forse training.Also a low horse lowers your center of gravity making it hard for someone to push you over.

[White Warlock]

Agree with e&k. It has the 'potential,' but it is not practiced with that in mind. Stances, as a whole, are transitional endpoints. When in action, we switch between stances. If we develop our awareness of each particular 'ideal' position for said stances, our transitions will be cleaner, and our endpoints will be more precise. But still, these static studies do not present the kinesthetics associated with generating power. This comes with training in action, in motion, in application of techniques.

The habit of the untrained, when changing elevations on an attack or defense, is to bend at the waist while keeping their legs locked. Stances help to train a practitioner in keeping their knees bent and their back relatively straight. Of course, there's more... but i believe that is the most important lesson.