How Many Stances Are There In Karate?
Tachikata is the Japanese word for stances.
Whether you are just a beginner or an experienced practitioner of Karate, you will deal with stances all the time.
I will mention several different stances that exist in Wado Kata and basic training in this article.
When you're done reading you'll know exactly:
- What direction your feet should point to.
- How long, short, wide or narrow you should stand.
- Which weight distribution to use for each stance.
- And more...
To make life a bit easier for you, I categorised the stances into four groups:
- 7 sideway stances — Heisoku, Musubi, Shizentai, Jigotai, Naihanchi, Shiko, Han Shiko Dachi.
- 10 Forward Stances — Hidari/Migi Shizentai, Hanmi Shizentai, Moto, Junzuki, Gyakuzuki, JZ Tsukkomi, GZ Tsukkomi Dachi.
- 5 Back Stances — Shomen, Hanmi, Mahani Neko Ashi, Kokutsu, Tsumasaki Dachi (Kushanku)
- 7 Additional Stances
Are you ready? Let's start!
7 Sideway Karate Stances
The first group are the sideway basic stances, where the feet point either inside, outside or straight forward.
Heisoku Dachi
Heels touching, feet closed. Keep your body straight and distribute your weight 50/50. This weight distribution applies to all stances of this category.
Musubi Dachi
Heels touching, feet opened in an angle of (about) 60 degrees. Some styles use a standard of 90 degrees.
Shizentai Dachi
One foot space between the heels, pretty much hip width. Feet point in an angle of 2x 30 = 60 degrees, similar to Musubi dachi.
Jigotai Dachi
One shin length between the heels. You could see this as a wider version of Shizentai. You'll find Jigotai in Kushanku and Bassai.
Naihanchi Dachi
One shin length plus one to one and a half fist between the heels. Feet should piont inside. Bend you knees slightly and make sure your knees don't collapse.
Shiko Dachi
One shin length plus one to one and a half fist between the heels. Feet point outside. Bend your legs should with the knee above the ankle.
Han Shiko Dachi
Han shiko dachi is similar to Shiko dachi, although the stance is slightly smaller. Use this stance in Chinto when you go from Morote Shuto Uke to Morote Haito Uke.
10 forward Karate Stances
The first group are the sideway basic stances, where the feet point either inside, outside or straight forward.
Hidari/Migi Shizentai (Shomen Shizentai)
This stance is used for practicing Tobikomizuki and Tobikomi-Nagashizuki. One foot is just in front of the other, roughly a fist length.
Hanmi Shizentai
Some instructors use Hanmi instead of Shomen shizentai for Tobikomi and Tobikomi-Nagashizuki. The stance is virtually the same, except for the position of the hip, which is angled or in other words: Hanmi.
Junzuki Dachi
Junzuki dachi is the stance which is used to practice Junzuki. The inside of the front foot should point straight forward (front knee bent), while the back foot points diagonally forward (back leg virtually stretched).
The weight distribution is formally 50/50. Especially for beginners 60/40 is OK too.
Moto Dachi
Moto dachi is equal to Junzuki dachi, but it is a shorter stance. This stance is from Shito Ryu and is found in Bassai (movement 2,3,4 and 5) and in Niseishi (movement 1 till 5).
Gyakuzuki Dachi
This stance is a bit shorter and wider than Junzuki dachi. That way, it's easier to keep balance in rotational techniques like Gyakuzuki. An essential difference is the direction of the front foot, which is slightly inside because the line of the heel has to point straight forward.
Junzuki No Tsukkomi Dachi
Junzuki no Tsukkomi dachi is a stance that is executed almost on a straight line. The inside of the front foot should point straight forward and the back foot completely to the side.
Gyakuzuki No Tsukkomi Dachi
This variation of Gyakuzuki uses a very wide stance (toes back foot aligned with heel front foot), with the weight more towards the front foot. The keypoint is to push the hip forward sufficiently and keep the body straight. The stance is primarily used to practise Gyakuzuki No Tsukkomi. You'll find variations of this stance in Pinan Yondan and Kushanku.
Nagashizuki Dachi
Nagashizuki dachi is virtually equal to Kokutsu dachi, with the essential difference that this stance has to be classified and a forward stance. Futhermore, it has to do with the level of the Karateka whether Kokutsu dachi and Nagashizuki dachi are equal to one another. For beginners, the back foot will point less to the outside (angle compared to hipjoint).
Yoko Seishan Dachi
There are two variations of Seishan dachi, there is Yoko seishan dachi, the sideway variation and Tate seishan dachi. With Yoko seishan dachi, both feet should point slightly inside (line of the heels straight forward) and both legs should be slightly bent. The weight distribution should be 50/50. The first half of Seishan is dominated by this stance.
Tate Seishan Dachi
Tate seishan dachi is best to be compared to Hanmi gamae, the stance that you take when you practice Keriwaza or Renrakuwaza. Seishan dachi however, is more narrow and the front foot should point inside. Due to the strict 50/50 approach, this stance has a different character.
THIS PAGE IS PART OF THE ONLINE COURSE:
"KEYS TO CRISP KATA"
Keys To Crisp Kata reveals full in-depth analysis of all 15 Wadokai Kata: move-by-move explanations, video walkthroughs, key points and seminar footage. You'll know exactly what to focus on and how to practise to take your skill to Japanese level. Kata applications included.
SPECIAL BONUS: The Stances Masterclass & The Advanced Lecture
5 back Stances
The third group are the backward leaning stances, where in general attention is paid to the position of the hip to determine whether the stance should be classified as Ma Mi (Shomen), Han Mi or Ma Han Mi.
Mami (Shomen) Neko Ashi Dachi
In Wado all Neko ashi dachi have the same weight distribution, 2/3 1/3. The biggest part of your weight is placed on the back leg. In case of Mami or Shomen neko ashi, your hip should piont straight forward and your back foot diagonally forward. Of course the heel of the front foot should be lifted off the ground.
Hanmi Neko Ashi Dachi
Hanmi neko ashi is de middle of Mami and Mahanmi neko ashi dachi. The back foot point exactly to the side and the hip is positioned at an angle, called Hanmi. Han = half, Mi = body.
Mahanmi Neko Ashi Dachi
Mahanmi is de extreme of all neko ashi dachi, as your hip has to be completely pointing to the side. The Kanji for "Ma" means true, real or complete. In other words, not virtually or almost to the side, but completely and fully to the side.
Kokutsu Dachi
Your back foot should point diagonally backwards and holds the most of your body weight. Make sure to lean backwards with your upper body. Your front foot should point slightly diagonally forward.
Tsumasaki Dachi
Tsumasaki means to stand on your toes and in Budo this suggests the use of the ball of the foot. In Kushanku for example, when you drop your body the most of your weight is supported by your back leg having your heel of the floor. The front foot does not have to be flat on the ground per se. There is a chance that the edge of your heel will rise naturally due to the nature of the movement.
7 additional stances
The fourth group are stances that are difficult to appoint to either of the other groups. They are stances that have characteristics that belong to different groups or variations of stances already mentioned. I have written the following down for you by heart.
Gyaku Neko Ashi Dachi
Gyaku neko ashi implies that it is the reverse of the regular Neko ashi. Hence, in this case the heel of the back foot should not touch the floor. The length of the stance however, is not equal to Neko ashi dachi. For Gyaku neko ashi, which is also called yosei ashi dachi, the back foot has to be close to the front foot. Think about Pinan Yondan and Chinto.
Other names are:
- Yosei Ashi Dachi
- Tsumasaki Dachi
Ippon Ashi Dachi
Ippon ashi dachi is a stance where all of your weight is supported by one leg. Your other leg is in the air, this can be with the knee actively raised, as in Kushanku Neko damashi or with the knee held lower where your ankle contacts the inside of your knee, as done in Chinto. The stance from Chinto is called Sagi ashi dachi.
Sagi Ashi Dachi
Crane stance from Chinto. Some styles wrap their foot around, but Wado does not. Only lightly touch the inside of your ankle to your leg so you are ready to kick.
Ryo Ashi Tsumasaki Dachi
Ryo ashi means both feet, so both feet should have the heels raised. After the jump from Pinan Godan for example, you should land on both ball of the feet. Another variation is found in Kushanku. If you drop your body after Neko damashi and rest on both hands lightly, both feet should touch the ground and have the heels raised.
Kosa Dachi
Kosa dachi is a stance that is not officially used in Wadokai Kata, although there are some instructors that use it. There are variations of Bassai and Wanshu for example, where the back foot crosses behind the front foot.
Heiko Dachi
Heiko means parallel, which implies that both feet should point in the same direction, using a 50/50 weight distribution. Although when explaining Kihon Kumite Seishan dachi is usually mentioned, Takashima sensei talked about Heiko dachi during his explanation of Kihon Kumite 3.