Kiba-dachi 騎馬立ち
Horse-riding stance
The technique, and its job.
A wide, square, evenly weighted stance in which both knees are bent and pushed outward, as though sitting astride a horse. It builds the leg strength and hip opening the rest of the syllabus spends, and it is the stance of the entire Tekki series.
Application. Directly, it is a stance for fighting to the side and for close work where the feet cannot be repositioned. Indirectly — and more importantly — it is the conditioning that makes every other stance possible.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Weight distribution
- Even, fifty-fifty, and low. The weight sits down through the heels rather than forward on the balls of the feet.
- Feet
- About two shoulder-widths apart, both feet parallel and pointing forward. Feet turning outward is the commonest and most weakening fault.
- Knees
- Bent until the thighs approach horizontal, and pushed outward over the feet so the shins are close to vertical when seen from the front.
- Centre of gravity
- Hips tucked slightly under, lower back long rather than arched. The torso is upright and square.
- Movement
- Travelling is done with the crossing step — yoko-ashi — the feet passing in front of or behind one another without the height changing.
- Breathing
- Long, low breathing. Kiba-dachi is where breath control is trained because there is nothing else to hide behind.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- It develops what it costs. The stance is deliberately hard: the strength it demands is the strength it builds.
- Feet parallel is the whole stance. Turned-out feet convert it into a comfortable squat that trains nothing.
- Power in kiba-dachi is lateral. It is the platform for techniques delivered to the side, which is why Tekki lives in it.
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. It is easier, and the difference is hard to see from inside the stance.
The fix. Set the stance facing a mirror or a wall line. Shorten the width until the feet can be parallel, and widen as the hips open.
Why it happens. The stance is wider than the hip strength currently supports.
The fix. Actively push the knees out. A resistance band around the thighs makes the required effort obvious in one repetition.
Why it happens. Sitting back into the stance instead of down into it.
The fix. Tuck the pelvis and lengthen the lower back. The torso should be able to rise straight up out of the stance without first shifting forward.
Drills
- Simply holding the stance for increasing counts, which is how it has always been trained.
- Yoko-ashi travelling the length of the floor without the head changing height.
- Tekki Shodan performed slowly, watching only the stance.
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.
- Tekki Shodan Iron horse, first level
- Tekki Nidan Iron horse, second level
- Tekki Sandan Iron horse, third level
- Heian Nidan Peaceful mind, second level
- Heian Sandan Peaceful mind, third level
- Bassai Dai To storm a fortress, major
- Jitte Ten hands
- Kamae Guard, posture of readiness
- Zenkutsu-dachi Front stance
- Kokutsu-dachi Back 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
- Hachiji-dachi Open-leg stance, "figure eight" stance
The Japanese, explained.
- Kiba-dachi 騎馬立ち
- Horse-riding stance. A wide, square, evenly weighted stance with both feet parallel and the knees pushed outward.
- Kime 決め
- Focus, decision. The instant at which every part of the body arrives at once and the technique becomes solid — and the instant immediately after, when it relaxes again. Kime is a moment, not a state. Tension held after impact is tension that slows whatever comes next.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Kiba-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 →