cat stance

[karate-dragon]

Help please - a student asked me today why the cat stance is called a cat stance? Anyone know the origins of the stance, where it got it's name,etc.?

 

[MrE2Me2]

Hello Karate-Dragon,

The stance looks a bit like a cat in a fighting pose.
The user may spring in several different directions.

One could also kick without having to shift their weight.
(Rather like a cat using its paw to strike out with.)

Before I could use it even at a basic level, I had to practice with it for a while.
Not only moving into and out of it, but also attacking and defending while in it (effectively).

Few things look sillier than kicking out of a cat and falling over.
Or trying to spring out of this stance and staggering instead.

I finally saw a documentary on how cats move.
Then I was a little clearer on the strength necessary for me to use a cat stance.

Regards, MrE2Me2

 

[karate-dragon]

Thanks for the help. Didn't know if it went back to someone like Gogen Yamagushi "the Cat", but found out on the internet that his nickname was the cat because he A. supposedly killed a tiger with his bare hands and B. liked to fight from the cat stance.

 

[MrE2Me2]

Hello Karate-Dragon,

About the man who made “The Cat Stance” so famous.

When I looked up Gogen Yamaguchi on Wiki, I found this.

“Gogen” was a nickname from his teacher and it means “Rough”.
Apparently, as a young man, he considered the hard parts of Goju to be of the most importance.

Later, he was called “The Cat”.
“Known throughout the world as the 'cat' because of his grace and speed in movement and because of his favorite fighting stance which is called neko ashi dachi (cat stance).”

His teachers name was Mr. Chojun Myagi.
Here is more info from the same source.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gogen_Yamaguchi

Also there is this:

[FONT=&quot]"The Cat" is Yamaguchi's nickname. There are several reasons given for this, such as his long hair, which resembles a lion's mane, his movements which resemble those of a cat, or his use of the cat stance in sparring. Yamaguchi himself explained it to interviewer Rolland Gaillac, of the French magazine "Karate" (April 1977 edition), in the following words: "Even today, young man, if you were to face me in combat, I would be able to determine in a second the strength of your Ki. Immediately I would know if you were a good opponent. It is this quality, and no other, which has given me the name of The Cat."[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I found one person who says The Cat killed a tiger in combat.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]But I found this to be more interesting.[/FONT]

The Cat himself gives an exciting account of his pitch battle with bandits in WW2.
It starts, [FONT=&quot]"With my guns empty, I resorted to Goju school of karate for my defence. I adjusted myself with breathing and was ready to fight.”[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]From here (about half way down the page):[/FONT]
http://www.dragon-tsunami.org/Dtimes/Pages/articlej.htm

Regards, MrE2Me2