Shaolin 5 Animals

[WLMantisKid]

Heh you don't know horse stance pain untill you hold correct 7* horse stance or correct cat horse stance for about 30 seconds Normal horse stance no longer bothers me ... it's every OTHER horse stance that gets to me

 

[7starmantis]

Yeah, we go through all 8 basic stances stopping and holding each one for a minute. That REALLY hurts!

7sm

 

[WLMantisKid]

I dont think that would bother me quite as much as what we normally do in a class.

We hold our arms straight out parallel with our palms perpendicular to the floor. You dont feel your horse stances during that.

 

[7starmantis]

Oh yeah, the old shoulder trick! That ones tough, but its good for adding time to horse stance since you aren't focusing on the horse stance. My sifu's idea is that if your in the advanced class then at any moment during class you should be able to drop into 5 minutes of horse stance either with arms out like you discribed, arms in front using the weighted pipe to strengthen the forearms or using the weighted polls across the knees. The worst is after an hour of class when you've been working really hard then he says, ok Say Ping Ma (horse stance)!!

So I feel your pain, oh do I ever feel it!!

7sm

 

[WLMantisKid]

oh yeah man, fun stuff that is. After doing the horse stances forwards and backwards on both sides, you realize your elbows are beant and you cant even force them back up anymore. And after that - it's time for all the forms! Arms like limp noodles trying to do emphasis on 8 chain punch.

 

[Josephk]

what directions do your feet point in the kung fu horse stance? because in the karate i do, we use two stances which i think are similar to your stance. in shotokan we do kiba dachi, with the feet pointing as straight forward as possible, and in goju ryu we do shiko dachi, with the feet pointing out at 45 degree angles, is that the same as your horse stance?

 

[WLMantisKid]

Our Say Ping Ma (riding horse stance) is always with feet pointing forward and parallel.

 

[RHD]

what directions do your feet point in the kung fu horse stance? because in the karate i do, we use two stances which i think are similar to your stance. in shotokan we do kiba dachi, with the feet pointing as straight forward as possible, and in goju ryu we do shiko dachi, with the feet pointing out at 45 degree angles, is that the same as your horse stance?

In good CMA you'll neve see a horse stance with the toes pointing outward.

One of the fundemental differences between Japanese, Okinawan, and Chinese martial arts is the stance work. Chinese martial arts sink into thier stances a lot more than Japanese of Okinawan. When I say sinking, I don't mean that this is measured in terms if height alone. Chinese sink down into their stances when they do a movement, this drop, however slight it may be, is an essential part of generating power. There is no concept of keeping your head at the same height throughout a form. Also, in CMA ther is some degree of forward tilt in the pelvis. This is extremely uncomfortable with the toes pointing outward, creating tension in the lower back. In addition, I really don't advocate the toes outward horse stance as it readily exposes the extremely sensitve pressure points/nerves on the inside of the legs and puts undue pressure on the knees.
Mike