As mentioned in other blogs, stances are the foundation of the art form. All of the Han Moo Kwan basics stances and the additional stances have benefits. Continuing to refine and practice the Cat Stance will probably have the biggest impact in improving your overall martial arts techniques.
The benefits we discuss when introducing the Cat Stance include:
·
It is a very
mobile stance to move toward and away from an opponent.
·
It allows fast
kicks since there is no weight is on the front foot (you are not required to
shift weight prior to the kick).
·
Removing the
weight from the front foot also protects the knee from injury (a kick to the
front leg simply shifts it out of position instead of causing damage).
And because of these benefits above we use Cat Stance as our main fighting stance.
Cat Stance is obvious in many of our techniques: cat stance itself, jumps kicks, and many techniques within the forms.
So, just based on the above benefits, you may ask how this stance can improve other techniques. The reality is the cat stance is in many more techniques then the obvious. Some examples are below:
· In performing a static
front kick, when you pick up your kicking leg, you are actually in a cat stance
(just maybe not as deep as your basic cat stance).
· The same is true
of your static side kick – when you pick up your rear leg, you should be in cat
stance – the same when you retract your kick before setting your leg back
down.
· When performing side
medium block in reverse, the transition is actually a cat stance
· Many of the transitions
in our forms are a cat stance. For example,
when performing a 270 degree turn from an attack stance to another attack
stance, over time you will actually transition to a cat stance.
Almost
any time you are one legged you should be actually in a cat stance. Almost any time you have little to no weight
on one leg during transitions you should be in cat stance even if only for a brief
moment in time. A solid and effective
cat stance will improve your balance and improve your transitions in forms.
But
probably more important is that (1) an effective cat stance will allow you to
shift from a natural to a Cat Stance subtly so you do not telegraph your move and
(2) perform forceful forward strikes without relying on a body slant or lean,
developing a much stronger presence.
Both of these can make all the difference in staying safe in a self-defense
scenario.
As you
get more and more comfortable in cat stance and once you reach an advanced
level, you should strive to stay in a subtle cat stance while performing self-defense. This will also challenge you to stay grounded
and powerful while on one leg and readily have that leg available to deliver a
kick or sweep without the opponent ever noticing.
I challenge
all of you to look for other opportunities during martial arts practice and in
your everyday life to find ways to practice and improve your cat stance. It will make all the difference.
Regards,
Kelly
“We don't rise to the level of our
expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” ~
Archilochus (c. 680 – c. 645 BC), Greek
poet and soldier
