My 1st degree grading had me hold the stance for what seemed like five hours, lol. Horse stance is the first stance I introduce to students. I really believe it builds a good foundation for martial artists.
yeah 😅 the very first thing of my very first day of Shaolin training in China they had me do was spend an hour practicing hour stance. They told me I had to hold it for 1 full minute while keeping my thighs parallel to the ground. They put a round pebble on each leg and every time it fell I had to start over 💀 I had never worked out a day in my life prior so I felt like my thighs were dying, my knees were dying, I was dying 😵
Nice! I'm doing 2-3 times/ week squats in a yogamat width wide stance for 15 reps and hold than the stance for a minute. For three sets. Really challenging but yes, results are great. ALL progresses are very welcome for me.
Great video Ryan. There are a lot of videos around on the horse stance absolutely riddled with misinformation. Googling around this afternoon, I knew as soon as I saw yours, it would be quality work. You might remember my friends and I. You came to Sydney in the 2000s back when you were doing Sonnon's stuff and taught us a club seminar. We were the ones with the home made steel clubs. All the best and thanks again. I still use what you taught that day when I swing clubs today.
Thank you! I tried this and my legs are burning! I have not the greatest knees or stance and although I have a good punch, I can be knocked down easily. Hopefully, in a years time I can be qualified to join the Airforce. Thank you for this.
3:55 While this shot was added for humor, this is genuinely a great idea: Doing the horse stance each evening while brushing your teeth is a great way to maintain your strength and flexibility as you age. (Just make sure you don't skimp on the time you'd usually take for the task, haha.)
@@gmbfit Mad respect! I already glimpsed that you were being more sincere when you brought it up later in the video when you came to the question where and how to practice it to get better. I usually do some balancing and stretching exercises while brushing my teeth, so I can relate, haha.
Good video. Good tutorial. Interesting how we never see this in Muay Thai training. I suspect it’s has something to do with th3 different dynamics of the round house kick in East Asian Martial arts and South East Asian.
It's mostly cultural and reflects the environment in which the specific arts were traditionally practiced. The outputs don't drive the behaviors; it's almost always the other way around, when you look at things from an anthropological perspective.
2:27 Her toes as well as the toes from the guy on the top window are considerably more open than yours 2:31 I find your variation incredibly hard, while the guy from the top window way is much easier. At least for me.
There is a simple yet challenging Chi Kung called Zhan Zhuang , pronounced Jam Jong, where you hold a stance similar pretending to hold an imaginary beach ball. It looks very much like a horse stance. The benefits are many.
Yes, I practise this. The instructions I've been following include visualisation of a whole series of (beach) balls supporting you - under your butt, under your armpits, between your legs, under your outstretched arms. Feels good. Strangely focusing, energising and grounding.
This video is cool, thx a lot for breaking things down. One question remains for me, shall/can ich sway from left to right in the horse stand? Would da do me any good in terms of increasing my mobility, or would I do more harm and should keep it straight?
Play with it and see what you like. but if you're able to easily go below parallel, this isn't the right exercises for continued mobility gains. Still good for strength building.
So hiw wide ahouls my legs be I went more than shoulder with like shoulder in a half I think I did it right then my fee became more parallel my legs hurt for a minute or two after that lactic acid I think least it went away thank God
I just did a 5 minute one I cheated a little I kept grabbing my knees when it started to hurt too much but I still stayed in the same position they said most people can't do 30 seconds I'm🐎🫏🐴 in great shape but don't do these ever that hurt 🫣🫣🫣🤮🤮🤢😌😵😵😵💫🤕😔
Is it better to keep the feet “straight like train tracks”? You say in this video it doesn’t matter, but all martial arts teach feet straight, and typical of martial arts, there is usually a reason…so..I am asking for some advice ..
Butt back with neutral spine is ideal. Butt back with excessive lordosis is where you'll get pain. Several decades of doing this, and the alignment you see here has served me well, though there's lots of nuanced variations that are equally worthwhile.
IInteresting. This reminds me of the plié s I used to do in ballet for warming up. It is important to rotate laterally at the hip and not to force it at the foot. It is bad for the knees. That's why we learned in ballet to shift weight unto heels and then turn the leg out. It is a trick to make sure you rotate the legs from the hips within the range you are at. Also we learned to align the knee between 1st and 2nd toe. It makes sense to me that going in and out of the horse stance a couple of times exercises the coordination, paying attention to the alignment of knee with 2nd toe plus the straight back. While sitting in it and holding the stance develops the strength. The coordination you can practice even with the feet pointing forward. During walking! Feet wide. Feet closer.
@@gmbfit I'm a bit concerned about the health of the hips when practicing like this regularly. But I'm not a physican so scew that. However if your goal is to strengthen your legs and will power or to find proper bone alignment, you should not rest on your hips. The moment when the whole body starts shaking is the moment you start practicing.
@@AkantorCZ The start of anything is the moment you start practicing since you should also be aware how you get into a position and out of position. Practice doesn't just start once you think you're in the right position. Like anything, you gotta slowly work into positions and progress over time. Go at your own pace and be smart.
Great explanation. I’ve noticed shiko dachi being the most sensible position for the horse stance as it strains the joints lesser. I wonder why so many karatekas and kungfu practitioners point it forward. Wish more people would know function over form.
There are always reasons for why certain groups perform things the way they do. But I agree that it should be about finding a position that works for you rather than forcing yourself into a position.
Thank you so much for this. Different styles have different ways. I was doing this with feet forward and it had been harmful to my knees. Just hearing and watching someone say 45 degrees makes a world of difference. And yes, many others will say feet forward work for them, I get that. The ultimate principle from this clip is do what works for you. 45 degrees with toes pointed out works for me. Thank you!
Watching this makes me want to get back into MA. I took Tae Kwon Do years ago (yeah, I know) and then got into MMA for a while. I really miss training. But guys, he literally said "Do what your instructor tells you to do." This is a video for beginners, he's not saying you're doing it wrong. As usual, I loved the video!
Super cool! It's just a ton of fun to be involved with a school and practice and see your progress over time. Martial arts training has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life. And yeah, we could make a video showing all the different "right" ways we've been taught this over the years in different arts, but the fact is that if you're studying under an instructor, that instructor's idea what what's right is all that matters. As an exercise for fitness, what we show here is gonna be good for most folks :)
@@ryanhurst3068 I just did 3 sets of 1 minute each after my squats. Very tiring. Would you recommend doing them on their own away from other exercises or do you think its fine in addition to other leg workouts at the same time?
Very good explanation of this exercise. I especially like the information that it might take time to even get into the proper position. I have dabbled with the horse stance but have never been able to do it properly. This video is encouragement that this is the kind of impossible that just takes a little longer ❤
And also: you have an answer for every possible limitation or problem anyone could come up with, which is rare. Mostly it seems like it is just assumed that anyone should be able to do the exercise if they just apply the prescribed method.
Congratulations Eduardo 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻 and thanks Ryan, amazing horse stance my dear🤩super clear explications as always 🙏 I'm in my qi gong journey and horse stance is in my daily routines 😊😊
Awesome - serious qi gong is underrated as physical practice. I personally would love to explore it more deeply someday when i have the time (and maybe live near a great teacher).
@@gmbfit I'd like have a teacher here, too... I'm exploring this wonderful world by myself, reading, watching videos... Not the same but I feel an important improvement in my state of mind 😊😊😊
1:25 horse stance work where you have to give 5 steps gap in between your leg. First you wanna keep your feet together like a V shape then take a step by keeping them straight. Let you give you an Example. V, | | , \ /, | | , \ /, | | , then get into the squat position. When doing horse stance your feet has to be straight rather than keeping it 45° at least when its come to kun fu. Edit: it's depend on how people train horse stance, some people will keep their feet 45° but it will also depend on how comfortable they're with horse stance. For me I do 5 steps away horse stance like I Mention earlier and I keep my feet straight.
Yep, different "rules" for this in different contexts. If you're just doing it for strength and flexibility, then you can play with foot position and practice what works best for you :)
It's also important to note that different people have different anatomy. Here is a great video about that, where you can test your natural stance: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ubdIGnX2Hfs.html
Incredible respect for Eduardo! He deserves a prize or at least take him out to eat for holding the stance for the entire video! WOW! I would have enjoyed seeing an interview with Eduardo on how he held the stance for so long and what benefits he has discovered from using the horse stance in his training. :)
