I’m new to this forum and to kung fu in general. It’s an art I’ve always admired but only recently been presented with an opportunity to learn it that I couldn’t turn down.
I’ve been training for the last two months, learning basic kicks and movements, and Wu Bu Quan. Last night I was asked to do Horse Stance for the first time. Boy was it a struggle! I’ve read the old thread on H.S, the arguments for an against it etc, my question is on how long a beginner should be able to hold it for, and how often you should practice to progress.
I started with 10 seconds last night, it seemed a struggle, then up to 30 secs, 45 secs and finally a minute which was agonising! My goal was for 90 seconds but my legs were like jelly at 60 seconds and I had to throw in the towel.
Hey Monkey King! Welcome to KFMF! Your horse riding stance can become a comfortable, ha ! destination by practicing both high and low stance.* Gradual development of muscle strength and nervous system acceptance for this posture. Ten minutes is good. If you are a Shaolin Monk you are going to hold for longer, Buddha be praised.
If it’s really that difficult for you then I suggest practicing hunyuan standing higher like this. Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Your knees should be over your feet but don’t let them pass your toes.
Start from 5~10 minutes and gradually increase it to 20~30 minutes. After you are comfortable with that then you can do your horse stance.
[QUOTE=xinyidizi;1227101]If it’s really that difficult for you then I suggest practicing hunyuan standing higher like this. Your feet should be shoulder width apart. Your knees should be over your feet but don’t let them pass your toes.
Start from 5~10 minutes and gradually increase it to 20~30 minutes. After you are comfortable with that then you can do your horse stance.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for this, I could use that as a warm up before trying the stance.
horse stance is the single most important exercise in almost all kung fu styles. it will create a root. the root is for balance, so your opponent won’t throw or knock you to the ground. and generate all your power for strikes, locks and throws.
you can start with 30 sec, work your way up to a few minutes. work on that for a while,then begin to gradually work up to ten minutes. eventually you want to do 20 to 40 min. it is hard work ,but will be well worth it. i learned the hard way just how important a good root is.
one more thing. a good way to keep your mind off your tired legs,is to practice your hand techniques while in your horse stance. i have been training iron hand lately,and smack the iron hand bag while doing horse stance. but you can simply throw reverse punches or block or others.
[QUOTE=Monkey King;1227103]10 minutes?!?! How many months of practice does it take to get to that? :eek:
Is it recommended to practice horse every day, or every two days?
I wasn’t aware there was a high and low version of the stance, I’m guessing the high stance isn’t as uncomfortable.[/QUOTE]
For you, it will take 10x as long.
One usually starts small though, as I have seen, Shaolin and wushu types tend to do the toilet bowl mabu, which damages the kness over time while the ‘yangsheng’ mabu version (slight bend of knees) slowly reintegrates core alignment to allow for longer standing over time (with reason, of course and your teachers’ intent)
[QUOTE=mawali;1227114]For you, it will take 10x as long.
One usually starts small though, as I have seen, Shaolin and wushu types tend to do the toilet bowl mabu, which damages the kness over time while the ‘yangsheng’ mabu version (slight bend of knees) slowly reintegrates core alignment to allow for longer standing over time (with reason, of course and your teachers’ intent)[/QUOTE]
It’s the lower style mabu that I’m being asked to practice. I’m determined to boost my time as much as possible before next Sunday’s class!
Do as your teacher says but my opinion is that higher hunyuan(shoulder width~3/2 shoulder width) is much better for beginners. It’s not about how low you can go, it’s about gradually creating a solid root in the shape of an arc. Doing it higher helps your hips to relax on all sides. Gradually you can increase the distance of your feet and go a bit lower but doing it too low before your hips are relaxed will cause it to open too much in the front and get tense at the back.
I personally prefer to practice it the way the guy in red(or pink:cool:) does. As you see it’s round like an arc and low enough which gives him flexibility and stability at the same time. The guy in white however is IMO stuck where he is.
It’s like the guy in white that I’m being asked to do. When I get home today I’ll practice horse for a while before going to the gym for some cardio to help loosen up.
You’ll get there if you keep practicing. I agree with those who said the guy in pink is doing it correctly. At first you’ll feel like you’re going to fall over backwards and your quads are going to blow out of your legs, but in time as you build your root it’ll all just click into place for you. I recommend also using wall sitting, lunges and squats to help build the muscles. In our system you can’t get a black belt unless you can do an hour of horse stance. At least we break it up into 30 mins of high, 15 mins of mid level and 15 mins of low horse. That’s including a 7 to 8 hour test. It’s a true gut buster.
[QUOTE=Monkey King;1227103]10 minutes?!?! How many months of practice does it take to get to that? :eek:
Is it recommended to practice horse every day, or every two days?
I wasn’t aware there was a high and low version of the stance, I’m guessing the high stance isn’t as uncomfortable.[/QUOTE]
Oh, ten minutes is not so long when you’ve been doing it for over 30 years. I did instruct a young practitioner many years ago to hold his palms out in front of his chest, facing each other at right angles while in a horse stance to help condition his wrists/nerves. I told him that if he did this, he would forget all about the pain, etc. in his hips/thighs,legs. He practiced that way from then on.
[QUOTE=xinyidizi;1227117]I personally prefer to practice it the way the guy in red(or pink:cool:) does. As you see it’s round like an arc and low enough which gives him flexibility and stability at the same time. The guy in white however is IMO stuck where he is.[/QUOTE]
I prefer the pink guy stance also. The low stance is very Hung Gar / turn to either side with “WAR PALM” strike.
