Today I was looking through my library, trying to figure out which martial arts books I haven’t read in a while. One of the books I looked through was “Watashi no Karate-jutsu” by notorious Karate pioneer/brawler/scholar, which happens to be one of my favorite books. It’s a great read, containing many gems, and the somwhat rugged personality of Motobu really shines through in some places. The book is seriously a must-read for Karate enthusiasts. But that’s not what I want to write about right now. What I want to write about is Karate’s obsession with ‘stances’, In Japanese known as tachi (or -dachi if preceeded by another word).
You see, when I flipped through Motobu’s book today, I noticed something really funny, that has got to do with stances. In a paragraph entitled “Collection of Sayings by Motobu Choki”, the following can be read: “#34. There are no stances such as neko-ashi-dachi, zenkutsu-dachi or kokutsu-dachi in my Karate. Neko-ashi is a form of “floating foot” which is considered very bad in Bujutsu. If one receives a body strike, one will be thrown off balance.
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Zenkutsu and kokutsu are unnatural, and prevent free leg movement.” Now, what do I find funny about this? Nothing in particular. But when you read a few pages further, when Motobu demonstrates some typical old Karate self-defense techniques, something interesting happens. He starts to use stances! Which he, just a few pages back, claimed he doesn’t.
Don’t believe me? Well, see for yourself: An escape from a rear bear hug, with a picture perfect zenkutsu-dachi. I even drew some red lines to make it clearer: If this isn’t a zenkutsu-dachi, then I don’t know what is! But wait, there’s more.
Look at this neko-ashi-dachi, that he apparently “never uses” because it “is considered very bad in Bujutsu” (Okay, so he doesn’t actually lift his front heel, like we do today in our modern form-orientated Sport Karate, but the weight is clearly centered above the back foot, which happens to be the purpose of neko-ashi-dachi) You thought that was all? I’ve actually got one more zenkutsu-dachi (a variation of the first one): And with some red lines: So what’s up with this? Was the great Motobu a lier?! Did he write that he “never uses stances”, only to secretly love them? I don’t think so. However, what I do believe is that Motobu often used several different stances (as indicated in the pictures above), but he made a simple mistake that everybody who practises Karate makes now and then.
He confused function with form. Form with function. And from that simple misunderstanding stems the never-ending debate on Karate and its stances. Modern desktop warriors battling on forums, keyboard fighters arguing on websites I mean, you only need a quick Google search to find the following: “ karate is a joke. Its useage of classical stances and lack of speed make it a very impractical ” – sidekicks 83 Or how about this: complex series of impractical stances and poses, are typical of traditional martial arts, and anyone practicing such crap would be killed if he fought a real -Defendu I could find so much more, but I wouldn’t want to give them more space on the internet even if they paid me. On the other hand when you think about it, maybe our precious Karate stances really are somewhat impractical.
I mean, maybe they are right? You could never execute a swift kick from shiko-dachi, right? Or how about trying to throw a big, hard, right hand knockout punch from neko-ashi-dachi? Good luck doing that! But here we go again: Acting foolish. Because now we are again, just like Motobu, confusing ourselves with the real purpose and use of the different stances. From the beginning, the function of the technique dictated how the form would look like.
Constructing some kind of form from a blueprint was never the goal. Today, it is the opposite. We are reverse-engineering everything based on stances that we don’t even understand to begin with.
We are trying to do things, but we are using the wrong tools. A house will never be stable if built on quicksand. So I figured, since Karate has this obsession with stances, and some uneducated people like to pick on that, how do other martial arts do?
I took a look. And here’s what I found: This is Western fencing. They call this move the “fente”.
Or simply “the lunge”. They do not care how many degrees the toes should point somewhere, or how wide or long the stance should be.
The point of the stance is to reach forward and stab the opponent. How the stance (form) then looks is up to you, as long as you reach your goal (function). We would call it a zenkutsu-dachi. And what do we have here? Two Thai boxers preparing to exhange vicious blows with each other. But look at the feet.
The stance they use is called Jod Muay, meaning “fighting stance”, focusing heavily on being light on the front foot (for quick kicks, checks, blocks, parries and knees) while remaining heavy on the back foot. In Karate, we would call it a typical neko-ashi-dachi.
For the purpose of Thai boxing, experience has shown it is the perfect stance. And here’s some regular modern Olympic boxing. Now, I didn’t find a good picture of it, but when two boxers are in an infighting exchange, using short, fast techniques like uppercuts, body blows, and hooks, guess what stance they are using? The short range boxing stance would be what we call sanchin-dachi.
Perfect for close quarter, core muscle-dominated fighting. But since I didn’t find a picture, you’ll simply have to believe me. And finally, the last martial art that I’m “borrowing” stances from: Wrestling.
Using the best stance for Wrestling means finding a good balance between stability and mobility. You must be able to withstand your opponents attempts at takedowns, while simultaneously being able to bring down the opponent.
There is even a saying that goes “Without a good stance, a wrestler doesn’t have a chance” The answer lies in what we Karate people refer to as kiba-dachi. ———————— So, what do we make of these four different “Karate ” stances that other martial arts use? Karate, being highly influenced by the Japanese systematical “everything-must-be-cut-to-pieces-and-fit-into-a-box” mindset, has 20-30 stances, neatly divided into several different categories. But in reality, nearly every other martial art has this plethora of stances too. They just don’t focus on the outside that much. They never cared about dividing everything into categories, divisions and fields. Other martial arts (often more modern ones) still have their original goal known to the practitioner – which happens to be beating an opponent.
And to do that, you only need a basic understanding of the underlying form. The stance, or kamae. From there you evolve, and your techniques will allow you to freely flow into different forms, depending on the situation. When it comes down to it, mastering how to control your bodyweight in different scenarios is all that you need. Accomplish that, and you’ll never have to think about stances again. Because that’s the whole point of stances anyway. “When one has reached maturity in the art, one will have a formless form.
It is like ice dissolving in water. When one has no form, one can be all forms; when one has no style, he can fit in with any style.” -Bruce Lee It is important to learn forms and stances, but it is equally important to forget them, once the meaning behind them has been absorbed. Or else you might never go beyond what Bruce Lee once called the “classical mess”. 'It is important to learn forms and stances, but it is equally important to forget them, once the meaning behind them has been absorbed.' True, it is important to 'forget it' once you understand it. The problem is that the meaning behind them (as well as all other techniques) is much more than what many artists ever learn.
For example, to say that stances are nothing more than learning proper weight distribution, is, in my understanding, a basic level understanding that one should learn on his/her first day in the dojo. Stances are tools to be used and like with any tool (weapon) in our respective martial arts, the stances have offensive as well as defensive applications.
They were not designed for stagnant use, but were (and are) meant to be fluid. The breaking down of and regimentalization of the footwork, though well intentioned I'm sure, eventually led to the stagnation of said stances within the kata & kihon. There is an esoteric side to martial postures that is grossly misunderstood and commonly overlooked in mainstream martial arts. Both static and fixed posturings have a range of positive and negative qualities divided into two categories of skill level: exoteric or biomechanical efficiency, and esoteric, (here meaning inner)dealing specifically with internal energy principles. Stances are never either/or, i.e. Functioning in one or the other dimension. Only the consciousness/ego of the user of stances fixes their relevance.
A man grossly superior in brute strength may never have need to activate any esoteric principles in his stances if his opponent is less organized than he. Sloppy technique prevails over sloppier technique. Some martial arts stances may seem stylized like the Neko Ashi Dachi particularly because the Asian masters reached a high level of understanding about such posture's energy receiving/energy sending qualities. This quality has become a lost art within an art. All movement is a form of acupressure both self-directed and 'other' directed. When evaluating the merits of various stances you must not look at the parts separate from the whole. Every stance generates multiple levels of pressure that prime the muscles for leveraging, convey one to or away from an opponent and ground strikes.
Stances affect the arms. Arms affect the stances. This is because the body functions as a one-piece unit, each part adding to or deleting from the primary objective. Each combat discipline 'packages' body posturing to best maximize the goal. In other words, there is a postural 'recipe' unique to various fighting arts. The better the package, the more bang for your effort.
A cat stance may appear over-stylized and unrealistic within some combat arenas, but for the highly skilled Okinawan master, it proves an extraordinary internal energy-receiving (recipe) posture. We see very clear evidence of this idea in the terminology Tori and Uke, receiver and sender, respectively.
As stated in an earlier post. This internal side to the traditional fighting arts is disappearing. An interesting debate.
Here is what karate has taught me after 30 years: one must begin somewhere and stances are as good a place to start as anywhere. Stances in and of themselves don't really help us much unless we come to understand that facilitate the work we are doing (or about to do). So I agree completely with the concept of fluidity mentioned above. But how many times have we watched novices practice techniques that are not done effectively because the stance they were using did not facilitate that work, either because the stance was not done correctly or it was the wrong stance for the required work. So in my opinion, It is necessary to teach stances but also necessary to teach what work they facilitate.
I hope this helps. Well, with all due respect, if your kiba dachi (lit. 'horse-riding stance') looks like that, then I would very much like to see the horses you're riding!;) All jokes aside though, Motobu has his weight to the front (away from the attacker) in the image, which is more akin to the zenkutsu (lit. 'front bent leg stance') as opposed to the 50/50 weight distribution of the kiba dachi (which would make no sense from a practical standpoint in the context of this self-defense sequence).
But thanks for chiming in! Well, I have to tell you, Jesse, that my Kiba Dashi does look like that and probably yours. It does is a Kiba Dachi. It is a perspective effect that fools you.
His left leg is NOT straight and is bend, the axis of the camera is just not too good. You can see that by the fact that the body is not aiming the correct direction for a zen Kutsu. Even more, the left foot is not aiming to the your supposed 'front', but is perpendicular to the leg, just perfect for a Kiba Dachi. It would be very interesting to know where this picture comes from and what was the original description.
Other point, going forward with a ZenKutsu, have you tried to strike groin with your left hand (as in the picture) when the opponent would be on your back/right side?!?! Just improbable and highly ineffective (no precision no power.). While if you are in kabi dachi, and your opponent is just in your back, a short step on your right would easily allow you to aim at your opponent's groin.
Much more logical! Tell me I am wrong and I quit your youtube channel ^^. I believe it begins with the Taiji Standing Position which allows the practitioner to 'feel' minute movements in the body. As the body adjusts and becomes a whole unit with the 'Dantien' its 'Steering Wheel', everything else (stances) becomes natural, round and fluid. And in time, becomes functional in application.This is purely Internal and the 'transitions' become invisible or illusionary. There are several levels (height) of Standing based on experience generally to strengthen the body particularly the 'Kua' region which is the essential driver of all the stances.Cheers!
Real fighting is a chaotic situation. Stances are to be learned in martial arts until mastered and then 'forgotten' in a real life fight. They should flow naturally and be used more or less 'by the book', depending on the fighting flow.
You are right, there are stances in every fight system, even if your trainer just says 'put your leg in front and stand sideways', it is a stance, just because it doesn't have a proper name on that fight system, it is a stance nonetheless. To be glued to the floor in front of your opponent on a street fight can be dangerous yes (if you're using fixed stances), the fighter must adapt his style according to the situation and not only on stances but attacking and defending as well (when using your arms / body). I think it's like throwing a punch - the more you free yourself, the better. You can deliver lighting speed attacks and classify all of them in Karate terms, just not in a very classical Karate stance perhaps, but the basis is there (kokutsu dachi, zenkutsu or fudo dashi, etc). I think eve Bruce Lee, although trying to discard his classical Wushu training, used techniques of Kung Fu all the time. He was a bit radical when speaking, almost discarding the classical martial arts knowledge, but his basis was strong in Kung Fu.
One can be careful and look beyond the fixed systems, beyond the stances and adapt accordingly and most importantly, learn from every experience and art out there, Karate (or any other martial art) shouldn't be a closed book.
Notice you can read the title as “It is not BUNK.I say Watson!” or equally “It is not Bunk.i Say Watson!” It’s all on context and interpretation. It’s a funny thing how one research topic open so many others to consider. When I began to consider what Itosu was describing in his 1908 letter, realizing how much of his dreams were being shared with his students efforts, especially in their initial attempts to describe Okinawan karate. The body of material we have today from the ongoing efforts of the translators of those early works is impressive, but there is much more yet to come and I believe we will find each new translation gives us something new to consider. So many of the discussions on the arts the past few decades could have been made easier and more productive if we had access to this wealth of information. No one book tells a full story, they were really the first attempt to communicate with a larger Japanese martial public, but together they tell quite a story.
In Itosu’s letter it seems remarkable he doesn’t mention kata at our distance on time. I think it is logical that Karate in general was so known on Okinawa (many festival demonstrations) that Karate and kata were likely synominous.
But when Itosu talked about how technique could be used he very much focused on direct (or oral) transmission from the instructor. They may have been tied to the kata usage or they may have been something else as Shiroma Shimpan dictates. On the other hand when his students wrote to explain and share what karate represented, they all turned to defining kata.
Each of Funakoshi’s works included Itosu’s kata. Mabuni Kenwa’s writings, in deference to Funakoshi sharing mainly the Itosu kata of his teachings, began sharing the Hiagonna kata. So did Hanashiro Chomo, who was among the oldest of those openly sharing karate tradition. Each sharing singularly tells one story, but as a group what they shared tells us much more about the older traditions. An example Hanshiro’s ‘Jion’ kata from Nakasone’s “Karate Do Taikan’.
He clearly demonstrates the strikes are towards the head (and you can find various Shorin groups still practicing the kata that way. On the other hand the Jion practiced by Shito-ryu and by Shotokan have dropped the strikes to the chest not the head. I think it makes a case that older striking tradition was to the head. Note how this ties into a comment by Motobu. From “Motobu Choki – Karate My Art” translated by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy Page 31 19. When punching to the face, one must thrust as if punching through to the back of the head.
Sure different tradition but still from the same small island, and as in the early 1920’s many instructors shared together for a few years the idea may have moved along. Pinan Kata Now many Itosu’s students kept Itosu’s Piana Kata traditions alive. Funakoshi maintained them as his ‘Pin-an’ kata, later to change the name to his ‘Heian’ kata. Motobu kept them, and they moved to many different groups till this day. Of course some like to maintain the myth that they are schoolboy kata, as if that is to be derogatory, but the truth is Itosu had something else in mind, which I feel is reflected in his students in different ways.
Here is one of the most interesting discussions on the Pinan kata. Notes on Chosen Chiniba’s Karate – ‘A Karate Odessey’ - an interview with Sensei Pat Nakata in ‘Classical Fighting Arts’ vol 2 No 14 Issue #37. Chibana Sensei taught there were at least three interpretations per movement.
Chibana Sensei also taught that there were meanings or applications when you moved from one technique to another. He corrected the transition and intermediate moves. “Chibana Sensei taught that there were three levels of teaching in the kata, especially the Pinan kata. The three levels for the Pinnan kata were as follows: The first level which was for elementary and intermediate school students, was basic punch, kick, strike and block. The second level for high school students with more dangerous interpretations. The third level went into very viscous applications and was reserved for older students.” Now that opens a question, what were those applications Chibana Sensei mentioned?
Were they direct movement use as in the kata, or did they follow Shinpan’s examples? I don’t know, but I’m sure they weren’t ‘bunkai’. The Earliest use of the term ‘Bunkai’. For one thing bunkai wasn’t an Okinawan term. I can make the case it was used to try and explain kata to the Japanese audience.
Long ago Joe Swift challenged me to translate several of Mabuni’s books from 1933 that were translated into French. In 1934’s ‘Karate Kempo – study of Seipai Kata’ the French edition has the chapter labeled “Applications (Bunkai) Du Kata Sepai” and when I translated it I chose not to include the term Bunkai. Much later when I saw Mario McKenna’s translation of “Seipai no Kenkyu” (note the title from the original Japanese was greatly modified for the French translation – appropriate for a translator to make everything fit into the new language scheme) called the Chapter “Analysis & Explanation of Seipai”.
Eventually I got around to comparing it to my French original and noticed he also hadn’t included the term ‘bunkai’, and being a friend I specifically asked him about what was in the original Japanese version. Mario McKenna has explained to me in ‘ Seipai no Kenkyu” published in 1934 Mabuni Kenwa originally uses the term ' bunkai setsumei' or ' breakdown/apart and explanation'. When Tokitsu Kengi translated that into French for his 1989 translation he chose to just use bunkai.
I don’t read or translate Japanese, but an independent discussion with a Japanese English instructor, Takedi Haji, visiting my town and staying in my house years ago found his explanation of bunkai the same. He explained in normal Japanese usage the term bunkai might be used to explain what an automobile mechanic did to fix the care, bunkai or take it apart. Mario then shows Mabuni used ‘ bunkai’ just to take apart a section of the kata and then provides an explanation ‘ setsumei’ or application.
Not a big deal, but important to understand how the specialized use of a term morphs into other usage as time passes. I might interpret this as taking apart the kata wasn’t the important part, but the application of the section was the goal.
The presentation of the kata From the Teramoto translation of Funakoshi’s 1925 “Karate Jutsu” the following kata are explained: Pin’an Shodan, Naihanchi Shodan, Koshokun, Pin’an Nidan, Pin’an Sandan, Pin’an Yodan, Pin’an Godan, Naihanchi Nidan, Naihanchi Sandan, Sehshan, Passai, Wanshu, Chinto, Jitte, Jion Outside of occasional explanation of how the technique is used when describing kata technique execution there is no specific information on how kata technique may be applied. From the Motobu Choki’s “Okinawan Kempo Karate-jutsu Kumite Hen” 1925 and “Watashi no Karate-jusu” 1933 the following kata is explained: Naifanchi Shodan. Motobu’s books show specific applications for attacks, many of which are found in Naifanchi. Special Note – As my research continues I just read Swift Charles Joseph’s translation of Motobu’s “Night Talking About Karate – Karate Ichiyu-Tan from 1934. In the article he describes he too trained with Itosu for 7 or 8 years when a child another Itosu link. Further information can be found in “Motobu Choki – Karate My Art” translated by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy Page 31 12. The position of the legs and hips in Naifuanchin no Kata is the basics of karate.
Twisting to the left or right from the Naifuanchin stance will give you the positioning used in a real confrontation. Twisting ones way of thinking about Naifuanchin left and right, the various meanings in each movement of the kata will also become clear. I’m not suggesting Motobu’s studies were in the Itosu lineage, but as there are so many parallel studies on Okinawa due to the focused size of Okinawa, there is merit in including his offerings. From Mabuni Kenwa’s “Kobu Jizai Goshin-jutsu Karate Kempo’ 1933 San Chin & Seinchin.
includes bunkai setsumei or demonstrated applications from some of the kata technique. It’s also most interesting that some of his examples follow the principles of Shiroma Shimpan, or extra techniques not found in the kata are inserted into the kata techniques used for the application. Allow me to illustrate this (selfishly borrowing an example from my translation – but please don’t trust me, trust Mario McKenna as the superior answer). “ When the opponent kicks to your stomach, you step back to the rear with your left foot and parry in harai tori, shown in bunkai diagram 9-1, then you catch his foot. And if in this position, the opponent attacks towards your face, and you parry with a high block, and catch his wrist with your left hand. Next you give him a left kick to the groin. ” This is most interesting because the paucity of description and diagrams requires you to actually work on these applications on the floor to understand the actual speed and body shifting involved to make these work.
Of course Mabuni wasn’t expecting his audience to work this out themselves, but using ones skills from our own studies and sweat equity you can learn his lesson. From Mabuni Kenwa’s “ ‘ Seipai no Kenkyu” 1934 Seipai. includes bunkai setsumei or demonstrated applications from some of the kata technique. Karate do Kyohan by Funakoshi Ginchin 1935 The kata are re-named but the descriptions are very close to the 1922-25 descriptions. The original version (found through the University of Hawaii sharing a.pdf for research use) does contain a section on applied karate techniques and karate throwing techniques. The applied karate techniques were eventually dropped in subsequent revisions of the work. These applications are showing kata techniques but as I don’t have a copy of the English translation I’m not sure if they’re not in the mold of Shiroma Shimpan’s applications, including non-kata additions.
Of course this was published before Nakasone’s 1938 text, but as both Funkaoshi and Shinpan were Itosu students the parallel isn’t suprising. Certainly an interesting topic. It shows an interesting depth of Funakoshi’s karate, and as best you can each technique is worth the time for floor study in depth, especially the takedowns demonstrated. From Nakasone Genwa’s “Karate-Do Taikan” 1938 McKenna Mario translation ‘An Overview of Karate-do’, the following kata are included. The 12 basic kata developed by the Association for the Promotion of Karate-Do. Shown with drawings and technique explanations. Side note these kata were never adopted by any group, but I have been recognized them from Taikyoku Shodan advanced study with Sutrisno Tristan.
Nicole in Moving Zen also described such practice, perhaps the methodology behind their development also is paralleled elsewhere. An Outline of the Kata Jion by Chomo Hanashiro Concluding the kata description Chomo explains the kata application. An Outline of the Aragaki-ha Kata Sochin by Kenwa Mabuni Concluding the kata description Mabuni goes into a very detailed explanation of the kata application. An Outline of Passai Kata (Matsumura-line) by Chosin Chibana Concluding the kata description Chibana goes into an explanation of the kata application.
Other works not translated into English at this time. I suggest you go to the Hawaii Karate Museum site at and under the link for ‘Rare Books’ check out what was published in the 1920’s and 1930’s. There is likely a wealth of material which can add to our understanding. I also recommend the articles by Swift Charles Joseph on the Hawaii Karate Museum site at select the Articles link and scroll down towards the bottom. Especially read the four sections of ‘ Wisdom of the Past: Tidbits on Kata Applications from Pre-War Karate Books’. Also read his translation of Motobu Choki’s “A Night Talking about Karate; Karate Ichiyu-Tan” Swift Sensei’s insight is very important in the choices of what he shared.
Perhaps because I’m fortunate to possess a copy I most heartily recommend among the most important will be Mutsu Mizuho’s “Karate Kenpo”, which includes descriptions of 20 kata and ½ of the book demonstrating the application of karate technique. Swift Sensei is working on a translation of this book, it will be a huge undertaking but when available another invaluable link. Mutsu was originally a student of Funakoshi Sensei and later traveled and trained on Okinawa to supplement his studies. Conclusion: This series of articles came about because of a very long term interest in trying to understand what Okinawan karate was before the modern age. It was by accident from my research into Itosu that I came to realize what a wealth of information we possess which tied to our own studies can be practiced and understood in greater depth. Many of the questions that roll around for years now can find very distinct answers.
Do blocks have a real purpose? Are the Pinan kata Schoolboy karate instead of the real stuff? Where did ‘bunkai’ come into the picture and is it the real transmission of karate knowledge? I trust I’ve given enough information that if one has these books on your shelf you start taking them down and getting to work. I realize this is a much larger topic than I can complete, but I know I have a much larger vision of our arts origins. All of Itosu’s students who shared this material broke the original code, this was to be kept private.
That’s OK because the only steadfast rule about Karate is there are NO RULES. Each transmission by itself is only a very small piece of a puzzle, but together they form a tapestry that I do not believe can easily be denied. We’re the audience they did not right for, an experienced group of martial artists who can choose to use our skills to understand what they shared, if we make such a choice. It is better to do so than just keep endless discussion rolling around, the facts are in our hands to offer true explanation. I do not believe one art, one school or one instructor is better than another.
If Karate’s history shows us anything true sweat equity in any vision will produce results, especially if others traditions decry our efforts. These instructors had a common source, but each made their own choices too, keeping much in common and each remaining unique.
Might my suggested study offer similar benefit. If I might I’d like to close this with a very personal lesson from Motobu Choki, should you try sneaking up on be from behind. Photo’s from Iwai Tsuko’s “Motobu CHoki & Ryukyu Karate 2000, page57 (read from right to left).
Description from “Motobu Choki – Karate My Art”, translated by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy, page 100. This represents how an attacker might seize you from behind unexpectedly 20. By lowering your center of gravity, twisting and stretching your arm down behind the back it’s possible to open a space large enough through which to grasp the opponent’s testicles. That’s all he wrote.
What comes next? For more information about please purchase and read: “Tales of Okinawa’s Great Masters” by Nagamine Shoshin – translated by Patrick McCarthy – Tuttle Publishing 2002 “Tanpenshu” by Funakoshi Ginchin – translated by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy – IRKRS 2005 “Ancient Okinawan Martial Arts – Koryu Uchinadi 2” translated by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy - Tuttle Publishing 1999 “Motobu Choki – Karate My Art”, translated by Patrick & Yuriko McCarthy – IRKKS 2002 translation of Motobu's 1932 book entitled Watashi no Karatejutsu.