In Karate, Zenkutsu-Dachi is “front stance”. The length of the stance is exaggerated compared to the natural stance one would have in a street fight, the front knee is bent over the toes, and the back leg is straight.
There is quite a misconception from Karate outsiders and beginners, about the reason behind practicing with such an exaggerated lengthy stance; To a point that some discard the stance as completely useless!
From my perspective, the Zenkutsu-Dachi is “as good as it gets” to teach a beginner body/ muscles coordination to properly develop the force to throw a reverse punch; Exactly what a beginner needs! Allow me to explain how and why:
The most powerful punches start with how you make contact on the floor with your back leg. Even when the foot is flat on the floor, it is from the ball of the back foot that the initial push happens. From that floor push, one generates a force that gets amplified by the contraction of the back leg calf muscle, amplified in turn by the knee going from a bent position to a straighter one, then again from the contraction of the Hamstrings muscle located at the back of the same leg. From there, that force gets transferred to the upper back leg, then hips, which rotation activate the Abs (core) and the rotation of your torso, (while the “Hikité” [reverse motion of the other arm] help amplifying and stabilizing the entire motion). Then in turn, the force gets pushed to the muscles in your upper back and punching shoulder, to finally be pushed towards the front in your forearm, and exit through your 2 kentos (fist 2 big hand knuckles)!
It is the perfect synchronization of all these muscles intervening in the exact order described above that generate maximum reverse punching power. Mastering this technique requires a lot of repeated practice, which a beginner should get plenty of via Kihon (core basic exercises) in Zenkutsu Dachi. Luckily for us, forcing ourselves to do it in a Zenkutsu-Dachi stance makes it initially almost impossible for a beginner to put power in a reverse punch. So soon enough, one has to figure out a way to trigger more power, which leads to the muscle contraction sequence described above being gradually, and intuitively adopted through repeated practice, and with much less hours of practice compared to learning how to punch only from a higher more natural position!
No one said you have to be that low in a long Zenkutsu Dachi, when you defend yourself in a street fight, but practicing with an exaggerated stance forces muscle coordination. The dynamic one acquired then, is kept in muscle memory forever. It will "kick in" automatically whenever one throws a reverse punch standing in any more natural fighting stance.
This was just an example to show that, in Karate, things that seem “exaggerated” have a valid reason to be, unfortunately, not everyone bothers trying to fully understand it.
I hope this will be an eye opener for some of the sceptics…Karate is more than what you see!
Toronto, Alpha - KarateBoost blog
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