Horse Stance Training

[tenchi]

As a beginner I dont know how long one should practice stance training ever day. Someone suggest hold it for 10 minutes a day. Does anyone else have any idea and like to hear what kind of time you devote to stances as well as forms.

[nospam]

First off, ask your teacher. Second, practise as much as you like. Make sure you have certain goals for practising besides just running through patterns so you don't forget them. Take certain lines from your patterns or various moves and practise blending them into attacks using a heavy bag at first, then with a training partner.

I personally do not believe in static stance training except on the odd occasion. I see it being more important to incorporate stance work as you train your patterns and two-person drills. Ask yourself what it is you want to train or get out of a particular workout. Practise is one thing, training is a different thing. Both should lead to enhanced understanding through the setting of specific goals.

Train hard and smart.

[Water Dragon]

If you can physically hold a horse stance for 10 minutes, you are either superman or not doing it correctly. I can barely make it 3 myself.

Although there are many styles, they all depend on the strong beating the weak and the slow falling to the quick. These are not related to the power that must be learned -- Taiji Classics

[Quan]

Tang shou,
sorry to dispell water dragons statment but you don't have to be superman to hold a ten min horse stance. altho that is a good goal for a beginning student. the trick to getting stronger is to never let yourself set in your horse stance for less time than you did the time before. so start with 1 or 2 min what ever you can do, then every night set as long as you can. try to up the time by say 30 seconds a week. when you can set for five min (remember to curl your hips under and keep your back strait) start mixing in other stances, right bow ,left bow, crane, twisting horse. in this way you will learn to move, as well as grow stronger
good luck and train hard
Quan

[tenchi]

ah ok thanks all I don't have a teacher yet so no one to ask

[TZU TSE XI ZHIAO]

TRY FOR THE 10 MINUTES ITS GOOD PRACTISE FOR WHEN YOU DO FIND A TEACHER.

[fiercest tiger]

all my student do 30 min static plus mobiliy and 2 man drill. they start at 15 min for level 1 grade which is beginners they have to do 30 min plus the rest of that level of course.

when i was practising with my sifu before he passed away i had to do 1hr a day because i was late 1 hr because of my job at that time.

he stressed stances, he did 2 years of stances before he was taught the forms. now thats stance work! you could not mov my sifu, he had roots to the core of the earth.

as he would say to me "your as strong as your horse". isnt that the truth!!! :D

peace

bakmeimonk@hotmail.com

[Water Dragon]

Well guys,
I’m either missing something here or am a lot weaker than I thought. The way I was taught to do it is basically like this:
Step 1. Choose your width. I currently hold shoulder width 1 ½ Shoulder width and then double shoulder. But don’t sink yet.
Step 2. Tuck the pelvis in tightly, suspend the head and maintain the vertical line through the whole exercise. Basically, I should be able to place my whole back flat against a wall throughout the whole time I’m standing.
Step 3. Sink as close as I can to parallel without allowing my back to deviate from a 90 degree angle at all.
Step 4. Reach out with my arms (imagining that I’m holding a huge ball)
Step 5. Grimace in pain and tremble.

If I allow myself to bend forward at the waist, I can go deeper and hold it longer, but that’s cheating as it was explained to me. Are you guys actually doing it that long holding it the same way?

Although there are many styles, they all depend on the strong beating the weak and the slow falling to the quick. These are not related to the power that must be learned -- Taiji Classics

[danny from miami]

i can only hold a good horse stance as described by water dragon for about three minutes ..hows that for now?

[premier]

We have probably been through this one in earlier threads, but I'll ask you again..

We're martial arts practisioners and we need powerful legs and the horse stance is supposed to help us to reach that goal. but there's different kinds of power: explosive power and endurance for example. the power we need to kick powerful kicks and move fast is explosive power. Horse stance on the other hand developes the endurance of the legs.

the endurance and explosiveness depends on the slow and fast twiches in your muscles. slow twitches means endurance and fast twitches explosive power. and the there's no middle road on this. it's either fast or slow twitches. if you develope explosiveness you loose endurance. and if you develope endurance you loose explosiveness.

so. what's the deal with horse stance training? it can't improve your kicking power or footwork. why not do squats, kick the heavybag and do footwork exercises instead?

[mantis108]

May be you forgot...

6) Relax and breath

Just kidding. :D

Mantis108

Contraria Sunt Complementa

[Water Dragon]

Danny, I forgot one thing: Keep your feet parallel, both pointing straight ahead. Feel that burn :eek:

This brings to an observation for Premier. My experience has been that a horse stance does hardly anything for strength. For that I recommend 1 20 rep set of Deadlifts every 10 days. I'm currently up to 250 for the reps and weigh 165.

But, Horse stance does a couple of things IMO. First, it provides a hell of a stretch in all the major joints, esp kua and ankles.
Second, it helps the body memorize a feeling so that your body naturally assumes it in fighting. No, it won't be the stance you hold in training but similar.
Third, It emphasises and puts a major concentration on the lower bell, which is one of the 3 seats of power in CMA. Actually it emphasises the other 2 (butt to head and arms and back) if done correctly.

Although there are many styles, they all depend on the strong beating the weak and the slow falling to the quick. These are not related to the power that must be learned -- Taiji Classics

[Water Dragon]

Mantis 108: LMFAO!!!!

Although there are many styles, they all depend on the strong beating the weak and the slow falling to the quick. These are not related to the power that must be learned -- Taiji Classics

[premier]

ok. I was trying to say that wouldn't too much horse stance training be counterproductive for the desired type of power in the legs?

[Wah Ren Jie]

There are a few more elements to horse training that weren't mentioned Premier. The horse stance trains balance, rooting and chi circulation. Not to mention just training you will, considering the amount of pain you have to endure to hold the stance for prolonged periods. It also strengthens and increases the flexibility of your tendons and ligaments. To increase power and speed of kicking, we just practice our kicks separately. Both methods of training are necessary. Peace.

"I'll kick you square in the nuts!!!" -Eric Cartman