Monday, June 1, 2009

The Importance of Stances - - Chief Instructor's Blog June 2009

The stance of any art form is the foundation for all the techniques. Stances provide a means of establishing proper posture, body alignment, body shifting, and breathing. Without a solid stance, techniques lack sufficient force and energy. A solid stance is the key to all effective techniques. Each stance has its own advantages or disadvantages and each should be practiced to discover and learn the best use of each for each circumstance.

The Han Moo Kwan Association Tae Kwon Do art form employs eight basic stances practiced and demonstrated in its basics and lower level hyung and three advanced stances that are introduced in the advanced hyung. Refer to the Han Moo Kwan Association website (http://www.hanmookwan.org/basics.htm) for more details on each of these stances including benefits and key attributes. (This section of the website was updated April 2009 to include more information on key attributes and benefits of each stance, so if you have not reviewed it recently, please do so).

At the beginning of learning an art form, stances exist at the start and finish of a technique and there is usually not much of a stance during the transition. With more practice, there is some semblance of a solid stance between the start and finish. Eventually as you transition from the start to finish there are dozens of stances. The ultimate goal is you are ALWAYS in stance (mentally, regardless of your position of your body and/or your feet).

In Gichin Funakoshi’s The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate: The Spiritual Legacy of the Master [1], his 17th principle explores this concept. (Kamae is Japanese for posture and refers to posture of entire body including mental posture, or attitude [2])

He states “All of this suggests that the idea that “in karate there is no kamae; but in one’s mind there is kamae” is a waystation on the road to deeper understanding; a person’s understanding is not genuine until he or she further explores the concept attaining the realization that in karate there is no kamae; but in one’s mind there is kamae”. When practitioners reach this state of understanding, they no longer need to prepare mentally or plan for their opponent’s attack or their own response.”

If one is always in stance, one can not be unbalanced and is prepared to defend oneself if required, without shifting or moving – you are just ready. This is the ultimate goal – to ALWAYS be in a stance and ALWAYS be ready. This is aligned with Mr. Kim’s philosophy. When asked “what if you’re attacked when you weren’t ready”, his reply was so simple and profound, “You’re always ready.”

Regards,
Kelly

“A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind.” ~ Morihei Ueshiba (1883-1969 , founder of Aikido

“Make your fighting stance your everyday stance, make your everyday stance your fighting stance." ~ Miyamoto Musashi (1584-1645), legendary Japanese samurai and author of The Book of Five Rings

“When you practice the stances of karate, be sure to keep your back straight, lower your shoulders, put strength in your legs, stand firmly, and drop your energy into your lower abdomen.” ~ Anko Itosu (1830–1915), Okinawan Karate Master, from his letter 10 Precepts of Karate written in 1908

References
1. The Twenty Guiding Principles of Karate: The Spiritual Legacy of the Master by Gichin Funakoshi
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamae
3. Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi

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