Hachiji-dachi 八字立ち
Open-leg stance, "figure eight" stance
The technique, and its job.
Feet about shoulder-width apart with the toes turned slightly out, legs straight, weight even. It is the ready position — yoi — from which kihon begins and to which it returns, and the shape the character 八 gives it its name.
Application. The starting and finishing position of formal practice, and the everyday posture from which a technique can begin without a preparatory movement.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Weight distribution
- Even, settled, relaxed.
- Feet
- Shoulder-width apart, toes turned out slightly.
- Knees
- Straight but not locked; the legs are alive.
- Centre of gravity
- Hips square, spine vertical, shoulders down, hands in front of the thighs.
- Breathing
- Settled and low. Yoi is where the breath is gathered before work begins.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- Readiness is not tension. A ready stance held rigid is slower than one held relaxed.
- It is neutral by design — committed to no direction, therefore available to all of them.
Common errors, and how to fix them.
Naming a fault teaches nobody. Each one below carries why it happens and what corrects it.
Why it happens. Confusing alertness with effort.
The fix. Drop the shoulders and let the arms hang with the elbows slightly bent. Alertness lives in the eyes and the breath.
Why it happens. No reference point.
The fix. Shoulder-width, measured against the shoulders, every time.
Drills
- Entering yoi from shizen-tai and settling the breath before every kihon sequence.
Where it appears.
Kihon is the vocabulary, kata is the literature, kumite is the conversation. Every link below was written down deliberately; none of it was inferred from a name matching.
- Heian Shodan Peaceful mind, first level
- Heian Nidan Peaceful mind, second level
- Heian Sandan Peaceful mind, third level
- Heian Yondan Peaceful mind, fourth level
- Heian Godan Peaceful mind, fifth level
- Kamae Guard, posture of readiness
- Zenkutsu-dachi Front stance
- Kokutsu-dachi Back stance
- Kiba-dachi Horse-riding stance
- Fudo-dachi Rooted stance, immovable stance
- Neko-ashi-dachi Cat-foot stance
- Hangetsu-dachi Half-moon stance
- Sanchin-dachi Hourglass stance
- Musubi-dachi Joined-feet stance, heels together with toes out
- Heisoku-dachi Closed-feet stance
The Japanese, explained.
- Hachiji-dachi 八字立ち
- Open-leg stance. Feet about shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly out. The ready position from which kihon begins.
- Yoi 用意
- Ready. The command to take the ready position, and the settled, alert state it names.
- Shizentai 自然体
- Natural posture. Standing naturally and at ease, but not slackly — the posture from which anything is still possible.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Hachiji-dachi. MMAKF has not filmed this technique, and the discovery pass did not find an external recording specific enough to attribute to it without guessing.
Nothing is shown here rather than a search link dressed up as a demonstration. What has been found, checked and registered is listed in full on the source register.
The video source register →