Kiba-dachi: (Kēy-bă Daw-chee) (Horse Riding Stance)

Foundation:

• Face forward.
• The back is straight.
• Keep the chin up, head straight, and eyes forward.
• Weight is evenly distributed on each leg 50/50.
• Feet are pointed straight ahead.
• Heels are pushed out slightly.

• Knees are kept deeply bent.

Note: This stance has a low center of gravity making it difficult for someone to throw you. It is strong side-to-side, but weak front-to-back. Being low opens your vulnerable centerline to attack.

Note: Look closely at the critical thirty-six striking points that are associated with the centerline of the body.

Note: The only way to minimize the exposure in this stance is to move sideways.

In Naihanchin kata we are taught to punch and block facing forward while in this stance. It may look very strong, but it impedes the quick movement necessary in combat. Every student that seriously looks at the effectiveness of his or her martial art has noted this problem. Many instructors believe that the sole purpose of this stance is to build lower body strength through disciplining the body to stay in this stance for long periods of time.  I was once told by a high ranking Shorin-ryu instructor that in the kata Naihanchin, the Horse-Stance, was not utilized to defend attackers from the front, but was developed to fight and move sideways. The attacker is located to your side and not in front of you. Turning sideways eliminates your vulnerable centerline targets, but it also limits your weapons. A majority of instructors had told me that this kata was for fighting with my back against the wall. Still…using this stance to fight someone attacking from the front leaves the karateka’s centerline open especially attacks directed to the groin and solar plexus. Turning sideways to the attacker and removing vulnerable centerline striking points makes this stance an effective offensive position, but there are negatives to this idea also. This position slows the movement down needed for the quick response necessary in single combat. It also exposes the knee to attack by an opponent’s side-kick. Lastly, there is the loss of the two rear weapons Turning sideways makes the delivery of an attack with these two weapons too time consuming.  This gives the defender extra time to block or counterattack. William R. Hayes Sensei [Shorin-ryu] in his paper for the Kenkyu-Kai Shimbun newsletter volume twelve shed some light on this subject. He too noted the weakness in this stance, and one day asked O-Sensei [Shimabukuro] to explain this incongruence in the stance. O-Sensei simply said,”Horse riding… like riding a horse.” Everyone is taught that this is a deep stance with the heels pushed out and the legs bowed, well… like you’re on horseback while the animal is walking, but that is only one position the rider finds themselves in when on horseback.  What Hayes Sensei began to understand was that when you’re initially in the saddle of a horse you sit low, but as the horse begins to run the stance becomes slightly higher with the knees pressing inward to hold on to the horse. This allows the upper body to relax and become more flexible at the hips. This taller more relaxed position allows for quicker movement, and the stance can be used from either the front or the side. The taller stance is not as aesthetically pleasing as the lower stance, but it is certainly more flexible in combat.

Weakness:

• The side of the knee is still exposed when moving forward or sideways.
• Weapons are reduced to one arm and one leg when moving sideways. To utilize the rear arm and leg in quick attack requires a pivot on the lead leg for a forward motion or a pivot on the lead leg for a reverse spinning technique.
• Pushing forward against the chest breaks the balance of this stance.
• Blocking to the front, leaves the centerline striking points open especially the groin and solar plexus area.

Strengths:

• Utilizing the less aesthetic higher stance one can move more fluidly to the side.
• The lower stance has a low center of gravity making it strong against throws.
• The low horse-riding stance allows more movement by the hips and upper body while maintaining a very strong base.

Motobu, Naihanchin Kata, and Horse Riding Stance: [Kiba-dachi]:

Choki Motobu taught the three Naihanchin katas as the core forms in his system. Within these forms he believed all karate knowledge was held. The major stance in Naihanchin kata is the horse-riding stance. As mentioned in his biography Motobu sensei was a student of Sokon Matsumura. Matsumura sensei is referred to, by many karateka, as the father of karate. Motobu sensei was no ordinary martial artist. He was a descendant of Okinawan nobility, yet he remained a simple man through out his life. Fighting was one of the things he most enjoyed, and this endeavor would lead him to the less savory parts of Okinawa to test his skill. Motobu was a bull of a man with a barrel chest and tree trunk like legs. On one of these excursions, into the wrong part of town, Motobu sensei was beaten by a formidable fighter. He begged the fighter to tell him the source of his incredible skill. The adversary explained to Motobu that he was a karate student and trained under Sokon Matsumura. Motobu relentlessly pleaded his case to Matsumura. He was determined to train in karate, but Matsumura knew of his reputation and worried that Motobu might use Matsumura’s karate in non-defensive manner. Eventually the persistent pugnacious Okinawan was allowed to train with the legendary Matsumura sensei. Matsumura began Motobu’s training by teaching him the Niahanchin katas. Motobu spent years training in only these forms. When Motobu began teaching, the only katas in his system were the Nihanchin series, so his students spent a lot of time in Kiba-dachi or horse stance. Motobu believed all self-defense one would ever need lived in those kata. Motobu can be seen in old pictures demonstrating self-defense techniques while in the horse-riding stance. Motobu sensei may have been right about Naihanchin. He believed it was the universal kata. Motobu sensei will never be fully forgotten as long as an Isshin-Ryu student practices Naihanchin kata. Naihanchin will continue to be a strange linear set of katas. Horse stance is still a viable technique and shouldn’t be abandoned by a new generation of martial artists. 

Practice this stance in place while watching your favorite television program. Start low until the legs quiver and then move the stance upward. Once the legs have regained their strength begin the process over. Place a bo behind our back, so you’re not tempted to bend forward. Lastly place a student on your back and repeat the process. It only takes a stone cutter time and a hammer to bring down a mountain. Patients will build your foundation, and horse stance can be a valuable tool in lower body develop.