10 stancesWeight, feet, kneesCommon errors and fixes
Dachi-waza 立ち技
The 10 stances.
Everything else in karate is built on top of these. A technique is only ever as good as what it is standing on.
Why stances first
The stance is the technique.
A reverse punch thrown from a stance whose back heel lifts transmits nothing: the drive from the floor escapes through the raised heel before it reaches the hip. A front-leg kick from a stance carrying weight on the front foot has to shift that weight first, which is the telegraph an opponent reads. Almost every fault worth correcting in the first years of practice is a stance fault wearing the costume of a hand technique.
That is why these are trained for their own sake, held for counts that feel unreasonable, and walked up and down a floor with no arm movement at all — so that nothing can hide behind an arm.
Side by side
How they differ.
The first sentence of each mechanical point, so the trade every stance makes is visible in one place. Follow a stance through for the whole description.
| Stance | Weight | Feet | Knees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zenkutsu-dachi Front stance | Roughly sixty per cent on the front leg, forty on the back. | About two shoulder-widths long and one shoulder-width wide. | Front knee bent until it is above the front foot — the shin close to vertical, the kneecap over the laces. |
| Kokutsu-dachi Back stance | About seventy per cent on the back leg. | The feet form an L: the back foot points to the side, the front foot forward, both heels on one line. | The back knee is bent deeply and pushed out over the back foot, not allowed to fall inward. |
| Kiba-dachi Horse-riding stance | Even, fifty-fifty, and low. | About two shoulder-widths apart, both feet parallel and pointing forward. | Bent until the thighs approach horizontal, and pushed outward over the feet so the shins are close to vertical when seen from the front. |
| Fudo-dachi Rooted stance, immovable stance | Even between the feet, low, and driven downward. | The length of a front stance, the width of a horse stance. | Both bent and both pushed outward, the tension between them being what roots the stance. |
| Neko-ashi-dachi Cat-foot stance | Ninety per cent or more on the back leg. | Short — the front foot is barely more than a foot-length ahead. | Back knee deeply bent and pushed out; front knee bent and drawn slightly inward, covering the groin. |
| Hangetsu-dachi Half-moon stance | Even or slightly forward, and the whole stance is under constant inward tension. | Shorter and narrower than zenkutsu-dachi, with both feet turned inward. | Both bent and squeezed toward each other, protecting the centre line. |
| Sanchin-dachi Hourglass stance | Even, low, and rooted downward. | Both turned inward, heels roughly on the corners of a small rectangle, one foot advanced by about its own length. | Bent and drawn inward under continuous tension. |
| Musubi-dachi Joined-feet stance, heels together with toes out | Even, upright, relaxed but not slack. | Heels touching, toes turned out roughly forty-five degrees. | Straight without being locked. |
| Heisoku-dachi Closed-feet stance | Even, upright. | Together and parallel, inner edges touching. | Straight, soft. |
| Hachiji-dachi Open-leg stance, "figure eight" stance | Even, settled, relaxed. | Shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly. | Straight but not locked; the legs are alive. |
In full
Each stance
前屈立ち Not settled
Zenkutsu-dachi
Front stance
The stance Shotokan is recognised by, and the one that teaches everything else.
4 common errors Read →
後屈立ち Not settled
Kokutsu-dachi
Back stance
The defensive counterpart to zenkutsu-dachi.
3 common errors Read →
騎馬立ち
Kiba-dachi
Horse-riding stance
A wide, square, evenly weighted stance in which both knees are bent and pushed outward, as though sitting astride a horse.
3 common errors Read →
不動立ち Not settled
Fudo-dachi
Rooted stance, immovable stance
A hybrid of the front stance and the horse stance: the length and forward orientation of zenkutsu-dachi with the even weighting and outward knee pressure of kiba-dachi.
2 common errors Read →
猫足立ち
Neko-ashi-dachi
Cat-foot stance
A short, high stance with almost all the weight on the rear leg and the front foot resting on the ball with the heel raised — the posture of a cat about to move.
2 common errors Read →
半月立ち
Hangetsu-dachi
Half-moon stance
A shorter, narrower front stance with both knees bent and squeezed inward, the feet turned in.
2 common errors Read →
三戦立ち Not settled
Sanchin-dachi
Hourglass stance
A short, rooted stance with the feet turned inward and the knees drawn together, one foot advanced by about a foot-length.
1 common errors Read →
結び立ち
Musubi-dachi
Joined-feet stance, heels together with toes out
Heels together, toes turned out about forty-five degrees, legs straight.
1 common errors Read →
閉足立ち
Heisoku-dachi
Closed-feet stance
Feet together and parallel, legs straight.
1 common errors Read →
八字立ち
Hachiji-dachi
Open-leg stance, "figure eight" stance
Feet about shoulder-width apart with the toes turned slightly out, legs straight, weight even.
2 common errors Read →