Horse Stance

The Horse Stance is the foundational stance in our Kung Fu training.  You should practice all of your strikes and blocks in the air from this stance, and you should employ the stance for basic bag work as well.

When training the horse stance, always drop to a level that is at least somewhat uncomfortable.  When training the stance alone for leg strength purposes, always go as low as possible without your form and posture breaking down, and hold for as long as possible.

When performed correctly, you will feel tension all the way from the feet on up into the glutes.

Starting out, hold the stance as low as you can, for as long as you can, rest one minute, then perform again.

You can then add more sets, and even add weight to the exercise as well.

Below the video, I describe how to get into this stance.

How to get into your horse stance

1. Feet together, arms in chamber position.
2. Rotate on the balls of your feet so that the ankles point to the rear at about 45 degrees.
3. Rotate on the heels, so that the feet point forward, and slightly outward.  At the same time, the arms cross in front of your body.
4. Rotate on the balls of the feet similar to before, and draw the arms back into chamber.
5. Rotate on the heels one more time, and cross the arms.
6. Rotate on the balls of feet, and draw the arms back into chamber.
7. Ideally, the toes point forward, and are parallel to one another.  If you have knee or ankle issues, it is ok for the feet to point slightly outward.  You will note my right foot does this, as I severely sprained it years ago.
8. Turn the knees outward so that you feel a stretch on the inside part of your thigh and groin.
9. Tuck the hips under your torso so you feel tension in the glutes, then sink down as low as you can.
10. Be sure to keep your posture straight… no bend in the waist.
11. You should feel significant tension on the outer part of your calves, your thighs, inside part of leg and glutes.

And, now you know how to do the horse stance.  Get to work!