立ち方 Basic Stances

I know it is not a very good idea when starting a blog to take a 3 day break especially after only 2 posts but I am happy to be back at it with another instalment to the Karate no Michi. Thank you for all of the support so far I am looking forward to building this blog to provide readers with information that will help deepen understanding of the 道 (Do) part of Karate Do. Therefore, all of the feedback and advice is very helpful!

It has come to my attention that including more photos and illustrations would be helpful in creating a mental image of the things that I discuss in my posts. My last post talked about an experience that I had when I was 16 that had a huge impact on my training and me as a person. I was not only being tested on my proficiency of the (空手道技) Karate Do Waza, Techniques but rather (性格) Seikaku my character and (取り組む姿勢) Torikumu Shisei, Training Intent. I introduced the concept of (諦めない) Akiramenai, Never Give up and to follow things through to completion. This is a very important concept in the martial arts and essential to the understanding of (武士道精神) Bushido Seishin, the Spirit of Bushido.

My spirit, focus, and determination were tested in a fairly common way; by being made to hold a very difficult stance for a long period of time without any rests. In such a case we must turn inward and battle past the excuses and reasons to give up, to not give in to the pain and stiffening joints but to push ourselves forward (even while standing in place) mentally and physically past our limits as we continue our journey down the way of Karate. The stance that I was in was (四股立ち) Shiko Dachi. In this post I am including an original illustration of the basic stances of 千唐流空手道 I adapted from the Technical Manual.

 

 

The physical stances are important as they determine our level of physical stability and the amount of speed and power that we are capable of generating but, I believe that most important stance in Karate Do is our mental stance, that is to say how willing we are to let go of everything we know so that we may fill ourselves with new knowledge. I will discuss this concept in more detail in my next post, 'Emptying Your Cup and Filling it with Greatness'