From Foundation to Freedom: Rethinking Stance in Martial Arts

Discovering the True Meaning of Stance

In the past, I had come to understand that the wholeness of a stance included the position of one’s hands. In fact, as I recently helped my instructor put together a manual on stances, each “proper” stance came with instructions on where to position the hands. It was in doing research for that manual that I made an interesting discovery.

Unpacking the Meaning of “Dachi”

The word “dachi” (as well as the subsequent kanji) does not mean stance. This is simply how we translate it when it appears as a suffix (i.e., “kiba dachi” = “horse stance”). The word “dachi” on its own more accurately translates to “structure” or “foundation,” and even when paired with the specific type of stance, the original intent usually conveyed the positioning of the body from the hips down.

I suppose this instinctively makes sense. After all, whether my hands are up by my face or down in kata position, a front stance is still called a front stance.

A Revelation from Kung Fu Practice

This concept was furthered by my study of bagua zhang and the introduction of the 8 animal postures. I have yet to do the research on this myself, but I can’t imagine that the word we translate as “posture” is the same we would use for “stance.” This thus implies that stance and posture are speaking of two separate things.

The final connection for me came while I was working out in a park with one of my kung fu brothers. While working applications for the animal postures, I was taken completely off guard when he swept my leg out from under me with the “flying dragon” posture. As the name would imply, this posture is generally one seen applied to attack an opponent’s upper body.

As I picked myself up off the ground, he shared his perspective. He had always seen the postures referring to the position of the body from the waist upward. Now I had it—all the parts I needed.

The Freedom of Uncoupling Stance and Posture

Indeed, a stance refers to the body’s position from the hips down, and the posture does speak only to one’s frame above the waist. This may seem a very trivial distinction, but it is, in fact, one of the most freeing realizations I have ever made in my martial career. The idea that any “posture” can be paired with any “stance” unbinds one’s martial art completely. When stance and posture are uncoupled, the martial artist can unlock a seemingly infinite combination of techniques and applications. This concept allows any practitioner, regardless of style or experience level, to throw off the shackles of limitation, let their imagination run wild, and truly make an art their own.