Horse stance

Horse stance is one of the three main stances in Chinese Boxing, along with front stance and back stance. 

When performing horse stance you should start with your feet about 2 shoulder widths apart then sit by bending the knees. The knees must stay in line with the feet to avoid injury, bending until the thighs are parallel to the floor. You should have a 50% weight distribution on each leg; the torso must remain upright with the hands off the legs, its best to have them in fists on the waist or with the arms out stretched in tiger hand form.

Horse stance posture

Horse stance foot position

It’s very important not to allow the knees to collapse in putting stress on the knee joint. The feet must point forward, do not allow them to turn out to the sides.


  

Back stance

Back stance is one of the three main stances in Chinese Boxing along with Front stance and Horse stance.

When performing back stance your back leg should be bent with the foot pointing at a 90° angle to the front foot, about 70% of your weight should be on the back leg. The front leg should also be bent; the front foot should be pointing forward with about 30% of your weight on the front leg. The hips should be pulled around so when viewed from the front the upper torso is facing to the side. This turns all of the vital points (groin, solar plexus and throat) to the side making them harder to attack. The body must be upright, don’t lean as this will result in the stance being unstable. The length of the back stance should be about 2 shoulder widths

Back stance foot position

It is very important that you don’t allow the knees to collapse in, as this weakens the stance and could result in an injury (look after you knees). Never let the front knee be straightened in back stance as it could be stamped on by an opponent.

When moving forward in back stance push from the back leg driving the hips forward and bring the knees together staying the same height, (don’t bounce up and down) at the same twist the hips so they now face forwards, then step forward at the same time turn the hips back to the opposite side landing with the feet at a 90° to each other landing in back stance. When moving back push from the front leg driving the weight back over the back leg before stepping back bringing the knees together with the hips facing forwards then step back into back stance.

Back stance should be practised as low as possible to promote strength and flexibility. All blocks, strikes and kicks can be performed from back stance.

Forward stance

Forward stance (Gong Bu) is one of the three main stances in Chinese Boxing, along with horse stance and Back stance.

When performing forward stance the front leg should be bent to a 90 degree angle with the foot pointing forward, the front knee must be in line with the foot so when you look down at your front foot the knee just covers the big toe. Do not allow your knee to fall to the side; (this will put side pressure on the knee joint which could result in injury) the shin should be vertical when viewed from the front and side, the thigh parallel when viewed from the side.  the back leg should be straight but not locked out with the foot pointing to the side at about 45 degrees, the feet should be about one shoulder width apart and about twice as long as it is wide.

The back must be upright with the hips turned to face forward the weight distribution should be about 70% on the front leg and 30% on the back leg.

This stance should be practiced as low as possible to promote strength and flexibility.

Remember to relax the hip joint so that the hips and shoulders turn to face forward (if you had a head light on your belly button it should point straight ahead), do not lean forward, and keep the torso upright.

All blocks and strikes can be used with this stance.

When moving backwards or forwards in forward stance try to keep at the same height, don’t bounce up and down. If moving forward push off from the back leg driving the hips forward, bring the back leg in to the front leg so that the knees are together, remember stay the same height, then step out forward while keeping the weight back until the foot is placed in position then transfer body forward turning the hips so you end up in forward stance with the hips square. To go backwards push from the front leg to transfer your weight over the back leg so you can step back bringing the knees together, then step back, once your foot is in position turn the hips forward.

Basics

Basic in the dictionary means, forming an essential starting point or foundation.

In the martial arts basics (or perhaps a better word would be fundamentals) form the foundation on which to build your art. If you don’t master the basics you will not progress far in your chosen art. Think of the foundation of a building , if it is not strong enough the building will fall down , if the foundations are very strong you can build a skyscraper on them .The same applies to martial arts, mastering the basic techniques will enable you to learn the more advanced techniques to a greater understanding. If the basics are weak all other techniques will also be weak as there is no foundation.

Basic techniques would include:

     ·         Stances

     ·     Blocks

     ·         Kicks  

     ·         Punches

     ·         Correct use of the waist and hips

     ·         Posture

Plus many others, I will go into more detail on each point in later posts.