Kung fu forward stance
The foundation of kung fu lies in its strong, stable stances. Every punch, block and movement leads to its own stance. The martial artist not only roots himself with stances, but also discovers correct body posture and points of relaxation. Regular stance training enables progress to advanced forms. The best way to learn is to enroll in a martial arts academy.
Instructions
1. Keep the back straight with legs spread about two shoulder lengths apart for the horse stance. Bend and angle the knees so the position resembles a person riding a horse or sitting on an invisible chair. The lower the body is to the ground, the better. A martial artist practices this stance with a penny placed on his knee. While trying to balance the penny, he does punching drills. In the early days of Shaolin training, students held this stance as long as it took to burn three incense sticks (three hours).
2. Lunge forward with 60 percent of the body weight placed on a bent front leg to do the forward stance (also known as bow and arrow). The back leg should be straight. The waist faces forward, body square, while the knee and feet turn in. For a perfect forward stance, the front leg remains parallel to the floor.
3. Shift most of the body weight (90 percent) to a slightly bent rear leg to do the cat stance. The body should sink straight down. The front leg is also bent; toes brush the floor. This stance---spine straight, backside tucked in, thighs parallel to the floor---frees the front leg for a kick.
4. Plant one foot on the floor and lift the other leg to do the crane stance. The raised leg should be higher than the waist and bent, foot turned inward. Arms extend outward to resemble the wings of a crane. This one-legged stance requires balance and a strong foundation.
5. Take a step forward and cross one leg in front of the other, thus creating a 90 degree angle to do the cross (also known as scissor) stance. At the same time, squat down and turn the waist. The ball of the raised back foot touches the ground while the front foot remains flat.
Tags: forward stance, also known, body weight, martial artist, this stance