Karate stances

[Newbie]

Thank you, everybody for taking time to clarify and give your opinions

[Hawkmoon]

KATA!

It teaches stances in full kihon basics and how to move from one to another.

Its clunky, its slow its hard.

Exactly the way it is meant to be, exactly what it is meant to do!

Karate comes in three parts, kata, kihon kumate, these all support each other.

Kihon (basics) - formal stance. The long way to do it. (a good thing!)

Kata (form) - teaches you how to move from one 'formal' stance to another.

Kumate - allows you to put it all together.

In real world combat situation you would not step into a full Kiba dachi with a Jun Tsuki!

The stance become shorter the punch almost flicks out, all for the need for for speed and ease of movement, its more natural!

[GojuRyu Bahrain]

Hi Newbie,

Before I answer, I would like to emphasize that the stances in Karate (in combination with the final arm postures) mark only the end points of a given situation, similarly to the typical photos in Karate books. The actual Karate happens in the movement before. With this said, to your question:

You are interested in the best stance for individual techniques, e.g., kick, punch or block. As you imply correctly, some stances might support a certain technique better than others. However, I would suggest to consider a wider scope: What is the best stance for which situation? Or, which forces are involved in a situation?

A situation could be defined as: attack, evasion, controlling=wrestling, throw, countering a throw etc... The stance will depend on the situation and also on the distance (long range vs. short range situations).

For each situation, the individual technique then depends only on the distance and the target (knee, groin, throat, kidneys...).

To choose the right stance, the involved forces should be considered:

- Evade an incoming force (regardless of the technique): no stance - instead, I would suggest quick and agile movement as tallgeese already mentioned.

- Generate forward force: Zenkutsu Dachi! In other words, use Zenkutsu Dachi for all ranged attacks, regardless if Oi Zucki, Guyaku Zuki, Mae- or Mawashi-Geri, or pushing.

- Generate sideways force, e.g., if you want to unbalance an opponent when you are already at his side or behind him: Shiko/Kiba Dachi! (that's why so many Kata show foot sweeps in Shiko/Kiba Dachi).

- Lift something heavy (opponent or keg of beer): Shiko/Kiba Dachi!

- Generate downward force, e.g., to control a thrown opponent: Narrow Shiko Dachi or deep Zenkutsu Dachi!

- Create distance, e.g., to get out of the way and kick: Neko Ashi Dachi!

- When you are close and/or neutrally balanced: Sanchi Dachi! (When you are close to an opponent you need to protect your groin, which Sanchin Dachi does splendidly).

This list is far from complete; there are many specialized concepts for generating power in different styles, but I hope I could make my thoughts understandable...

Also, apologies for the length of my post...its a wide topic...

Edited June 27, 2013 by GojuRyu Bahrain

[GojuRyu Bahrain]

Maybe my previous post was too long and too theoretical... Here is a simple partner exercise to learn the right stance for most Karate situations (I use this as a warm-up game every class): "Push & Pull".

(Actually, it's simple standup wrestling).

Two partner hold a firm Judo grip on each other. Both have the goal to control their partner's movement. Only Karate stances are allowed. Whoever moves his/her opponent to a wall wins (padded walls only!). reset and continue immediately! Start with low intensity pushing, then increase intensity, then include pushing & pulling. Experiment with Zenkutsu Dachi, Shiku Dachi/Kiba Dach, Sanchi Dachi, Neko Ashi Dachi.

This exercise teaches intuitively which stance is best when, plus weak and strong angles and distances (respective to a moving partner).

[brickshooter]

Maybe my previous post was too long and too theoretical... Here is a simple partner exercise to learn the right stance for most Karate situations (I use this as a warm-up game every class): "Push & Pull".

(Actually, it's simple standup wrestling).

Two partner hold a firm Judo grip on each other. Both have the goal to control their partner's movement. Only Karate stances are allowed. Whoever moves his/her opponent to a wall wins (padded walls only!). reset and continue immediately! Start with low intensity pushing, then increase intensity, then include pushing & pulling. Experiment with Zenkutsu Dachi, Shiku Dachi/Kiba Dach, Sanchi Dachi, Neko Ashi Dachi.

This exercise teaches intuitively which stance is best when, plus weak and strong angles and distances (respective to a moving partner).

This excercise will explain it better than any written explanation from any of us.

[lowereastside]

My 3 cents - Stances whether - Karate - kung Fu - Boxing should be natural - 2nd nature. Yes- in the beginning we learn the pose - the structure etc.... advanced people should learn to move without thinking of this stance or this hand technique.....

[Kusotare]

Stances..?

See Newton's Law.

K.

[bushido_man96]

Maybe my previous post was too long and too theoretical... Here is a simple partner exercise to learn the right stance for most Karate situations (I use this as a warm-up game every class): "Push & Pull".

(Actually, it's simple standup wrestling).

Two partner hold a firm Judo grip on each other. Both have the goal to control their partner's movement. Only Karate stances are allowed. Whoever moves his/her opponent to a wall wins (padded walls only!). reset and continue immediately! Start with low intensity pushing, then increase intensity, then include pushing & pulling. Experiment with Zenkutsu Dachi, Shiku Dachi/Kiba Dach, Sanchi Dachi, Neko Ashi Dachi.

This exercise teaches intuitively which stance is best when, plus weak and strong angles and distances (respective to a moving partner).

This excercise will explain it better than any written explanation from any of us.

Yes, very nice. I like this idea.

[CredoTe]

...

A natural posture, honed to efficiency is money when it's on.

Great advice... Yes! Karate / MA or any style learned for self-defense should be based on natural movements.

Yes, the transfer of power; from the ground, through the legs, into the hips and spine. The whole physical process is rooted in the stance.

Yes! This is the meaning of Gamaku! Great advice

Stances are everything, however, without posture, stances are invalid. The 4 postures of most karate [front facing, side facing, half-front facing, reverse half-front facing] not only speak about defense, but offense as well.

I teach my students to not only ask what stances are the best for what attack/defense, but to also ask which posture should compliment the stance and vise versa.

Beyond asking your instructor, self-discovering makes us accountable for our training as well.

Hang in there!!

Yay! Tanden! In any stance, we mustn't break our Tanden... keeping Tanden is crucial...