Neko-ashi-dachi 猫足立ち
Cat-foot stance
The technique, and its job.
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. It is the most mobile of the classical stances and the one from which a front-leg kick arrives with no preparation at all.
Application. Receiving at close range with the option to kick immediately, and moving out of range fast. Its logic — weight back, front leg free, no telegraph — is the logic of the modern kumite guard, even though the classical shape is rarely seen in a match.
Mechanics
What each part of the body does, in the order it does it.
- Weight distribution
- Ninety per cent or more on the back leg. The front foot carries almost nothing and can be lifted without any weight shift.
- Feet
- Short — the front foot is barely more than a foot-length ahead. Front heel raised, ball of the foot touching. Back foot turned out about forty-five degrees.
- Knees
- Back knee deeply bent and pushed out; front knee bent and drawn slightly inward, covering the groin.
- Centre of gravity
- Hips half-facing and low. The body is coiled rather than settled.
- Movement
- Moves by pushing off the back leg. The front foot leads and the back foot follows without the height changing.
What survives when the name is forgotten.
- The front leg is a weapon held at the ready, not a support. Any weight on it is a kick given away.
- Shortness is mobility. What the stance loses in stability it returns in the speed with which it can leave.
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. Fatigue in the supporting leg.
The fix. Test it: lift the front foot. If the body moves at all, the weight was on it.
Why it happens. Importing the length of a back stance.
The fix. Shorten until the front foot can be lifted and replaced without a shift.
Drills
- Standing in the stance and repeatedly lifting the front foot without moving the body.
- Front-leg mae-geri from neko-ashi-dachi, aiming for no preparatory movement whatsoever.
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 Yondan Peaceful mind, fourth level
- Bassai Sho To storm a fortress, minor
- Unsu Cloud hands
- Kamae Guard, posture of readiness
- Maai Engagement distance
- Sen-no-sen Initiative ahead of the initiative
- Zenkutsu-dachi Front stance
- Kokutsu-dachi Back stance
- Kiba-dachi Horse-riding stance
- Fudo-dachi Rooted stance, immovable 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.
- Neko-ashi-dachi 猫足立ち
- Cat-foot stance. A short stance with almost all the weight on the rear leg and the front heel raised, so the front foot can kick without any weight shift.
- Hanmi 半身
- Half-facing. The hips turned roughly forty-five degrees away from the opponent. It narrows the target presented and pre-loads the rotation a counter will use, which is why so many blocks finish in it.
Video
No recording in the register is tagged to Neko-ashi-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 →