The Role Of Stance trainning....

[Adventure427]

I got a few ideas from my post entitled "Stances in real fights?" ....but they were clearly geared towards a different topic so i hope this thread is cool with everyone and isn't too much of a repeat...

The Question: What do each of you feel the role of stance trainning is? Reason i ask is because i like to practice the stances, and just want to know why i'm doing it. I've heard of lots of reasons to. It's just been years, looking for a refresher. Also any tips on doing it?

I recently was able to hold the horse stance for 9minutes (whew) I can probably go even longer now as that was a couple to a few weeks ago. Thanks for comments in advance everyone

[zhangxihuan]

i think stance training mainly has to do with building leg strength and endurance, as well as agility. The stronger your legs are the better/faster/stronger your kicks will be. It also is a good discipline to allow you to accept more pain.

[X_plosion]

i think stance training mainly has to do with building leg strength and endurance, as well as agility. The stronger your legs are the better/faster/stronger your kicks will be. It also is a good discipline to allow you to accept more pain.

Second the motion.

Many beginners who come in from a sedentary lifestyle often don't have the joint strength in their knees that is necessary for strenuous training. Thus, there's often a need for time to build up the strength via standing in the stances for progressively longer time periods, then learning how to move in them and to smoothly shift from one stance to another. It also helps the student understand body movement mechanics.

[dougadam]

I have been training for over 30 years, and I still do horse stance.

[Adventure427]

How do you feel it helps you dougadam? What do you feel it gives you that you would not otherwise have? I like the old stories like the 1000pound horse stance, and holding it for as long as an incense burns....and all the great stories, but i really wonder what the practical benefits are (hence why im posting this). I appretiate the comments so far

[ling hou]

We use words like Mao bu, Ma bu, Gong bu and on and on and on with the BU.
I think that the word "Bu" was translated wrong.

Bu [bu4] pace; step i.e. march step, goose step [zheng4 bu4]; learn to walk [xue2 bu4]

So based on the way that bu is used (in Chinese) it has nothing to do with holding a stance for a long period of time to prove that you can hold it. When I was in China I asked many people about holding stances for significant amount of time. Everyone informed me that if you could hold a Bu for 30 seconds to a min then that was long enough. The real question was can you move from bu to bu indefinitely with perfect form?

The stories of holding a stance for long period of time were a weed out process. These practices were used to see if the potential student was willing to do what was asked. Because knowledge is kept very guarded in China, even today, people continually test your character. Chinese are constantly examining your dedication, resolve and what type of person you are.

I kind of look at it like swimming, I cannot float but I can swim (being too negative buoyant). Well, floating is good, but not if you are trying to move in the water. Stances are great to build some muscle and develop some endurance, but learning to move and transition from place to place is much more important.

Also, traditionally stances were done much closer than they are done now (with some exceptions). Ma bu (horse stance) was traditionally done at shoulder width. The reason that most people cannot do a level Ma Bu (thighs parallel to the floor, at shoulder width) is not lack of strength but lack of flexibility in the hips. Try doing a wall sit, you can hold it but take away the wall and it becomes very hard because of the balance issue.

The exceptions are styles like Hong Jia (hung gar) which has its roots after Xiaolin (shaolin) with the Red Boat Society. They would practice in the hulls of rocking junks, making their stances wider for greater stability.

Kurt Yungeberg
www.meridiangatekungfu.com