Detailed oriented Kata practice is part of daily Karate training. Among all the details practiced, stances (Dachi) will be the focus of this article.
“Zenkutsu Dachi, Neko-Ashi Dachi, Kiba/Shiko Dachi, Sanchin Dachi, Kokutsu Dachi”…, these are some of the many stances used, some across Karate styles, others only in certain styles. But beyond the general idea behind each stance (weight on forward, back or both legs, …etc), have we gone too far with how precisely done these stances need to be? Some instructors almost spend more time measuring student’s stances, than checking the robustness of it!
You might not be aware of it, but stances, the way we know them today, are only the product of more recent #Karate in an effort to further unify and codify this martial art. All #Katas (Karate and Kobudo alike) used to be done in more natural stances, and the emphasis was only made on the stability & weight distribution on the legs. This makes total sense because no two Karate-ka have the same morphology / flexibility. Even though this codification initially made sense from a global standpoint; I believe that the unfortunate result has actually been devastating for Karate. It makes everything harder for beginners, and though it can make a kata look prettier, these stances are less practical in relation to a real confrontation, thus making it harder to relate a Kata move to real life confrontation.
Kata competition aside, Is it time to go back to old style stances in Karate? I let you decide for yourself…
To help you decide, here’s a video of O Sensei Yasuharu Makishi, a student of O Sensei Shoshin Nagamine (Matsubayashi style), executing the Kata “Chatan Yara Kushanku” in the 1960’s
Toronto, Sensei Alpha - KarateBoost blog
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