ramymensa Posted February 8, 2003 Posted February 8, 2003 There's ONLY ONE Shotokan style Karate styles ... there are more, but shotokan is only one, as only one is Gojo ryu, Wado ryu, TKD and so on The way you are taught may be different and the organisation your dojo is affiliated could be one of many, but the katas and so on are the same You should ask your instructor more thongs about your style. He should have told in the first training session. You must know the history of the style, where did the name come from and so on ... and yes lower stances exist. If you perform a kata in a walking position, then it's completelly wrong. Low stances are good for dtability and conditioning. Of course you get some nice problems with your knees if you are not doing the stances correct, but that's the fun World Shotokan Karate
Kirves Posted February 8, 2003 Posted February 8, 2003 Nowadays there are several distinct Shotokan organizations because not everyone feels the same way about it.
G95champ Posted February 8, 2003 Posted February 8, 2003 Shotokan is as G. Funakoshi describes it in his books. Reguardless of org. or school. We all do things differantly. Thus no 2 people have the "same style". However Funaksohi builds his style named Shotokan arround Low Stances, Hip Movement, and Kata. (General George S. Patton Jr.) "It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory."
G95champ Posted February 8, 2003 Posted February 8, 2003 Let me add. I don't any Shotokan teacher evan Funakoshi who said you should fight in that low stance in real life. The low stance is to build muscle not a techinque. If you learn to move low you move faster high. This is why kata is done low. Everyone outside of Shotokan wants to look at us and say how can you fight in that low stance. Well we don't. We train in it. So don't get hung up on the low stance... Its a training tool more than anything. Just like a punching bag.... Again I stress when in doubt about what Shotokan is read Funakoshi he is the founder and did a nice job expressing his views in all of his books. (General George S. Patton Jr.) "It's the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that ensures victory."
Borisyth Posted February 9, 2003 Posted February 9, 2003 I agree. But what no one seems to be remembering is that a standard low stance, apart from horse stance, is the product of the Japanization of karate. It is part of the "art" to add a samurai flavour. Japanese karate was initially introduced as a form of exercise, too, I am told.
Kirves Posted February 9, 2003 Posted February 9, 2003 It is part of the "art" to add a samurai flavour. What do you mean with this? I have studied some koryu bujutsu stuff an read a lot about them. They use very high stances, like those in aikido, never deep ones.
Windsurfer Posted March 29, 2003 Posted March 29, 2003 Stances (high/low/etc) this is an age old question. Everyone who mentioned creating muscle strength and flexibility is correct. One could make a study of "masters" only to find that many of them were looking for health benefits from their system or style. Name a sporting activity that can be performed without the use of legs... OK, the proper use of legs is fundamental. They need to be in "good shape". So do whatever is necessary to attein them. "Modern" stances are the product of the "rules of the game". Study the rules and much of the form will emerge. A serious study of stance is fundamental. A style may have only 7 stances each representing a best case scenario for one particular event. How many variations are there between a backstance and a forward stance? Each 1/8" means a slightly different way of contracting muscles... effecting your techniques effectiveness. The question is not: low vs. high or beginner vs. advanced stances. It's related to the concept of effectiveness. Your mind/body or hands/feet or shoulders/knees or wrists/angles etc working together. What is a good stance? What is a better stance? What is the concept of "pressure" to the floor? how is it done? Can you explain these from experience or only by repeating what someone has taught you, like a parrot? Keep training...
fireka Posted March 30, 2003 Posted March 30, 2003 i dont know how to qoute on here, but somebody said that in the dojo kun it said master high stances first then low. i may be mistaken, but this is the dojo kun one. seek perfection of character one. defend the path of truth one. strive to excell one. be courteous one. refrain from violence "i could dance like that!.......if i felt like it...." -Master Betty
hobbitbob Posted March 30, 2003 Posted March 30, 2003 Interesting that this thread surfaced now. I was playing on line today and found a video clip taken during someone's sandan test of a young lady doing Gojushiho-Sho,and her stances are so low that she can barely do the renzokuzuki, mae-geri, gyaku-zuki combination toward the begining. Rather than retract her mae-geri she sort of falls forward, due to being so immobile. I find the whole thing interesting (and have been guilty of teh same thing myself in teh past) considering that now that I'm practiicing adn Okinawan style I find myself consciously trying NOT to haev really low stances. There have always been Starkadders at Cold Comfort Farm!
SaiFightsMS Posted March 30, 2003 Posted March 30, 2003 The technique one is going to execute should be taken into account when one goes into a stance and the depth of the stance should be adjusted accordingly.
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