Stances - Revision history

YellowHatGuy at 04:41, 26 January 2021

2021-01-26T04:41:59Z

YellowHatGuy at 18:11, 11 February 2018

2018-02-11T18:11:57Z

YellowHatGuy at 20:15, 25 March 2017

2017-03-25T20:15:27Z

YellowHatGuy: Created page with "Before one can make a stand to stop violence, they must first know how to stand. ''The most fundamental skill needed to become a successful fighter is good posture.'' (It soun..."

2016-09-15T00:14:26Z

Created page with "Before one can make a stand to stop violence, they must first know how to stand. ''The most fundamental skill needed to become a successful fighter is good posture.'' (It soun..."

New page

Before one can make a stand to stop violence, they must first know how to stand. ''The most fundamental skill needed to become a successful fighter is good posture.'' (It sounds strange, but it’s true.) Untrained people will instinctively hit in a way that ''feels'' strong to them, but it is actually quite weak. A proper [[Karate|karate]] [[Punches|punch]] feels weak to the thrower -- but not to the receiver -- because proper a stance absorbs the recoil of the strike and redirects through the skeleton and into the ground -- not into the muscles.

Proper stances and good posture allow karate practitioners (karateka) to maintain their balance, enabling them to perform powerful [[Kicks|kicks]], and to resist various [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|reaps, sweeps, trips, throws, and takedowns]]. This stability is a result of a proper weight distribution, which is largely achieved by keeping the [[Center|center-of-mass]] low. In general, your legs should never feel comfortable, because a proper stance is 2” (5 cm) lower than what feels comfortable.

Low stances are often criticized as being “immobile,” but that is a slanderous lie. The mobility of a stance is a function of the area it encloses; if mobility becomes a problem, it is not because the center is too low; it is because the stance is too wide, or too long. Maintaining a high center-of-mass, or bouncing about, gives the opponent the leverage they need to execute takedowns. Additionally, people who bounce around have no foundation, making it impossible to add the bone-crushing power of their legs into each of their techniques.

Before delving into specifics, there are a few general principles that all karate stances share:
*Carry your bodyweight ''exclusively'' on the [[Koshi|balls of the feet]], and ''never'' upon the heels. To do this, you must learn to walk in a cat-like “toe-heel” fashion, instead of the normal “heel-toe.”
*The knees and toes must always point in the same direction. This prevents tweaking the knee joint, and allows you to exploit the full range-of-motion of the major muscles.
*The feet stick to the floor like suction cups, with the toes clawing at the ground like tiny, weird little fingers.
*To remain perfectly stable in a three-dimensional space, you need three legs. However, it is unlikely that you have more than two. For this reason, each stance has directions where it is inherently weak, and can be toppled. While this cannot be fixed, it can be mitigated by continuously re-positioning yourself into a safer stance or angle each time the opponent moves.

Our lessons will utilize the following stances:

*[[Attention stance]]
*[[Ready stance]]
*[[Front stance]]
*[[Back stance]]
*[[Fighting stance]]
*[[Cat stance]]
*[[Seiza]]
*[[Horse stance]]
*[[Crane stance]]
*[[Hook stance]]
*[[Sanchin dachi]]
*[[Full-side-facing]]
*[[Low-level fighting stance]]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Before you can make a stand to stop violence, you must first know how to stand. '''The most fundamental skill needed to become a successful fighter is good posture.''' (It sounds strange, but it’s true.) Untrained people will instinctively hit in a way that ''feels'' strong to them, but it is actually quite weak. A proper [[Karate|karate]] [[Punches|punch]] feels weak to the thrower -- but not to the receiver -- because proper a stance absorbs the recoil of the strike and redirects through the skeleton and into the ground -- not into the muscles.
+Before you can make a stand to stop violence, you must first know how to stand. '''The most fundamental fighting skill is good posture.''' (It sounds strange, but it’s true.) Untrained people will instinctively hit in a way that ''feels'' strong to them, but it is actually quite weak. A proper [[Karate|karate]] [[Punches|punch]] feels weak to its thrower -- but not to its receiver -- because proper a stance absorbs the strike's recoil and redirects through the skeleton and into the ground -- not into the muscles.
-Proper stances and good posture allow karate practitioners (karateka) to maintain their balance, enabling them to perform powerful [[Kicks|kicks]], and to resist various [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|reaps, sweeps, trips, throws, and takedowns]]. This stability is a result of keeping the [[Center|center-of-mass]] low. In general, your legs should never feel comfortable, because a proper stance is 2” (5 cm) lower than what feels comfortable.
+Proper stances and good posture allow karate practitioners (karateka) to maintain their balance, enabling them to perform powerful [[Punches|punches]], [[Kicks|kicks]], and [[Strikes|strikes]] while resisting various [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|reaps, sweeps, trips, throws, and takedowns]]. This stability is a result of keeping the [[Center|center-of-mass]] low. In general, your legs should never feel comfortable, because a proper stance is 2” (5 cm) lower than what feels comfortable.
-Low stances are often criticized as being “immobile,” but that is a slanderous lie. The mobility of a stance is a function of the area it encloses; if mobility becomes a problem, it is not because the center is too low; it is because the stance is too wide, or too long. Maintaining a high center-of-mass, or bouncing about, grants an opponent the leverage they need to execute [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|takedowns]]. Additionally, people who bounce around have no foundation, making it impossible to add the bone-crushing power of their legs into each of their techniques.
+Low stances are often criticized as being “immobile,” but this is a slanderous lie. A stance's mobility is a function of the area it encloses, so if mobility is impacted, it is not because the center is too low; it is because the stance is too wide, or too long. Maintaining a high center-of-mass, or bouncing about, grants an opponent the leverage they need to execute [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|takedowns]]. Additionally, bouncing people have no foundation, and cannot add the power of their legs into their techniques.
 Before delving into specifics, there are a few general principles that all karate stances share:
-*'''Carry your bodyweight ''exclusively'' on the [[Koshi|balls of the feet]], and ''never'' upon the heels.''' To do this, you must learn to walk in a cat-like “toe-heel” fashion, instead of the conventional “heel-toe” way.
+*'''Carry your bodyweight ''exclusively'' on your [[Koshi|balls of the feet]], and ''never'' upon your heels.''' This requires walk in a cat-like “toe-heel” fashion, instead of the conventional “heel-toe” way. (Pretend you're wearing pumps.)
-*'''The knees and toes must always point in the same direction.''' This prevents tweaking the knee joint, and allows you to exploit the full range-of-motion of the major muscles.
+*'''The knees and toes must always point in the same direction.''' This prevents knee injuries, and allows you to exploit the full range-of-motion of all your major muscles.
 *'''The feet stick to the floor like suction cups''', with the toes clawing at the ground like weird little fingers.
 *'''Each stance has directions from where it is inherently weak, and can be toppled.''' Remaining perfectly stable in a three-dimensional space requires three legs. However, it is unlikely that you have more than two. While this cannot be fixed, it can  be mitigated by re-positioning yourself into a safer stance or angle each time the opponent moves.

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	*[[Low-level fighting stance]]		*[[Low-level fighting stance]]
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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Before one can make a stand to stop violence, they must first know how to stand. ''The most fundamental skill needed to become a successful fighter is good posture.'' (It sounds strange, but it’s true.) Untrained people will instinctively hit in a way that ''feels'' strong to them, but it is actually quite weak. A proper [[Karate|karate]] [[Punches|punch]] feels weak to the thrower -- but not to the receiver -- because proper a stance absorbs the recoil of the strike and redirects through the skeleton and into the ground -- not into the muscles.
+Before you can make a stand to stop violence, you must first know how to stand. '''The most fundamental skill needed to become a successful fighter is good posture.''' (It sounds strange, but it’s true.) Untrained people will instinctively hit in a way that ''feels'' strong to them, but it is actually quite weak. A proper [[Karate|karate]] [[Punches|punch]] feels weak to the thrower -- but not to the receiver -- because proper a stance absorbs the recoil of the strike and redirects through the skeleton and into the ground -- not into the muscles.
-Proper stances and good posture allow karate practitioners (karateka) to maintain their balance, enabling them to perform powerful [[Kicks|kicks]], and to resist various [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|reaps, sweeps, trips, throws, and takedowns]]. This stability is a result of a proper weight distribution, which is largely achieved by keeping the [[Center|center-of-mass]] low. In general, your legs should never feel comfortable, because a proper stance is 2” (5 cm) lower than what feels comfortable.
+Proper stances and good posture allow karate practitioners (karateka) to maintain their balance, enabling them to perform powerful [[Kicks|kicks]], and to resist various [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|reaps, sweeps, trips, throws, and takedowns]]. This stability is a result of keeping the [[Center|center-of-mass]] low. In general, your legs should never feel comfortable, because a proper stance is 2” (5 cm) lower than what feels comfortable.
-Low stances are often criticized as being “immobile,” but that is a slanderous lie. The mobility of a stance is a function of the area it encloses; if mobility becomes a problem, it is not because the center is too low; it is because the stance is too wide, or too long. Maintaining a high center-of-mass, or bouncing about, gives the opponent the leverage they need to execute takedowns. Additionally, people who bounce around have no foundation, making it impossible to add the bone-crushing power of their legs into each of their techniques.
+Low stances are often criticized as being “immobile,” but that is a slanderous lie. The mobility of a stance is a function of the area it encloses; if mobility becomes a problem, it is not because the center is too low; it is because the stance is too wide, or too long. Maintaining a high center-of-mass, or bouncing about, grants an opponent the leverage they need to execute [[Manipulations_and_Takedowns|takedowns]]. Additionally, people who bounce around have no foundation, making it impossible to add the bone-crushing power of their legs into each of their techniques.
 Before delving into specifics, there are a few general principles that all karate stances share:
-*Carry your bodyweight ''exclusively'' on the [[Koshi|balls of the feet]], and ''never'' upon the heels. To do this, you must learn to walk in a cat-like “toe-heel” fashion, instead of the normal “heel-toe.”
+*'''Carry your bodyweight ''exclusively'' on the [[Koshi|balls of the feet]], and ''never'' upon the heels.''' To do this, you must learn to walk in a cat-like “toe-heel” fashion, instead of the conventional “heel-toe” way.
-*The knees and toes must always point in the same direction. This prevents tweaking the knee joint, and allows you to exploit the full range-of-motion of the major muscles.
+*'''The knees and toes must always point in the same direction.''' This prevents tweaking the knee joint, and allows you to exploit the full range-of-motion of the major muscles.
-*The feet stick to the floor like suction cups, with the toes clawing at the ground like tiny, weird little fingers.
+*'''The feet stick to the floor like suction cups''', with the toes clawing at the ground like weird little fingers.
-*To remain perfectly stable in a three-dimensional space, you need three legs. However, it is unlikely that you have more than two. For this reason, each stance has directions where it is inherently weak, and can be toppled. While this cannot be fixed, it can  be mitigated by continuously re-positioning yourself into a safer stance or angle each time the opponent moves.
+*'''Each stance has directions from where it is inherently weak, and can be toppled.''' Remaining perfectly stable in a three-dimensional space requires three legs. However, it is unlikely that you have more than two. While this cannot be fixed, it can  be mitigated by re-positioning yourself into a safer stance or angle each time the opponent moves.
 Our lessons will utilize the following stances:
 *[[Attention stance]]
 *[[Ready stance]]