This lesson was renewed and seperated into 5
categories.
Please visit the links below for more instructions.
HORSE STANCE ( ma bu ) New
BOW STANCE ( gong bu ) New
CAT STANCE ( xu bu ) New
FLAT STANCE ( pu bu ) New
REST STANCE ( xie bu ) New
The 5 main stances are absolute basic knowledge and one of the first things every
beginner should master, before he goes any further. In this section only stances for modern
wushu are explained. The basic stances in traditional wushu can differ a bit from the models shown here.
Modern wushu means competetive wushu. =>Modern longfist, broadsword, staff, straightsword, spear.
BOW STANCE ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Position of feet and calves.
The front foot stands firm on the ground and points straight forward.
Right angle between calf and floor.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Knee of the front leg.
Angle between thigh and calf: 90 degrees.
Since there is also right angle between front calf and floor, the front thigh is parallel to the floor.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Position of hip.
Wrong positioning of the hip is one of the most common mistakes of a bow stance.
The hip has to be "closed" => "must not be diagonal to front and back leg"
If the hip is not in a right angle to the legs, the stance can be shortened to press the two sides of
the hip against each other.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Knee, back leg.
The knee of the back is straight.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Back foot.
The entire back foot stands firm on the ground is twisted about 45 degrees outwards.
See top view.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Lower back.
Lower back is empty.
Attention, side view: How back-leg-heel, back-leg-knee, hip, lower back,
upper back and head are lined up.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Bow stance top view.
Illustration of Hip, leg and feet position. (top view)
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Chest and shoulders.
Chest: upright.
Shoulders: independent of arm and leg position relaxed.
Shoulder axis horizontal.
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- Bow stance ( gong bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances bowstance
Head and view.
Headposition: Vertical
View: Horizontal (see section VIEW)
HORSE STANCE ( ma bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances horsestance
- Horse stance ( ma bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances horsestance
Position of feet and calves.
Align your feet paralll to each other. (see top view)
The angle between calfs an ground is nearly 90°.
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- Horse stance ( ma bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances horsestance
Size of stance.
The space between your feet has to be about 3 shoe sizes.
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- Horse stance ( ma bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances horsestance
Size of stance.
The space between your feet has to be about 3 shoe sizes.
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- Horse stance ( ma bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances horsestance
Upper body.
Keep your upper body straight and lean few degrees forward.
But not too much, so that your belly rests on your thighs.
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- Horse stance ( ma bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances horsestance
Head and view.
Head: vertical
View: horizontal - see section VIEW
EMPTY STANCE ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Standing leg. (right leg in the illustration)
The standing leg (right one in the illustration) is the leg which carries the entire body weigh.
Twist the standing foot about 45 outwards and keep the heel firm on the ground
Angle between calf and ground: 45 degrees. (This requires a good level of achilles flexibility)
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Empty leg. (left leg in the illustration)
The empty leg (front leg - left one in the illustration) is the leg which does not carry any weight.
No more than the inner-tip-edge of the shoe touches the ground.
The big toe is the closest to the floor. - never the heel.
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Standing leg - knee angle.
The knee of the standing leg is bent no less than 90 degrees.
To stay below this 90°, to maintain the 45° and to keep the heel down, requires good flexibility.
Thats one reason why beginners cannot perform some stances very good.
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Hip.
About 45 degrees.
Compare the leg-foot fosition to the hip in the top view.
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Empty leg - knee angle.
The knee of the empty leg is not straigthened (see illustration)
and tents a bit to the knee of the standing leg.
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Upper body.
The upper body is straight, sits relaxed on the hips and its slant position forms a balanced empty stance.
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Shoulders.
The shoulder position depends on the arm position.
In principle: The shoulders must not be cramped because of the leg position.
In the illustration: Left Hand, the two shoulder joints and the right hand are lined up and parallel
to the line (Hip - knee of the empty leg)
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- Empty stance ( xu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances emptystance
Head and view.
Head: vertical
View: horizontal (see section VIEW)
FLAT STANCE ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Position of feet and calves.
Align your feet paralll to each other. (see top view)
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Size of stance.
The space between your feet has to be about 3 shoe sizes.
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Position of hip.
The position of the hip results from the firm parallel position of the feet.
If you perform a good flat stance, the hip should be at a lower level than the knee of the back leg.
=> requires good flexiblity.
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Knee of the front leg.
The front leg has to be totally straight.
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Knee of the back leg.
The front back leg has to be bend so that the hip can reach a level as low as possible.
But this has to happen without leaving the parallel foot position or enlarging the stance too much.
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Upper body.
The perfect straight upper body has to move into a position, where the flat stance is as stable as possible.
Also an upright position is aspired.
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Shoulders.
The shoulder position depends on the arm position.
In principle: The shoulders must not be cramped because of the leg position.
In the illustration: Left Hand, the two shoulder joints and the right hand are lined up
and point about an inch over the front leg. (see illustration)
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- Flat stance ( pu bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances flatstance
Head and view.
Head: As vertical as possible.
View: horizontal (see section VIEW)
REST STANCE ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
- Rest stance ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
Foot position of the back leg.
The back leg is the leg which gets overlapped by the other one. (left one in the illustration)
The heel of the back leg does not touch the ground, only the toes. The back foot of the back leg
sits behind the foot of the front leg. (see illustration - top view)
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- Rest stance ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
Foot position of the front leg.
The foot of the frontleg sits firm on the floor.
(see illustration)
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- Rest stance ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
Knee of the front leg.
The knee of the front leg should align so that the stance gets as comfortable as possible.
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- Rest stance ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
Hip.
The hip stands in a right angle to the thigh of the front leg and is the base for a straight, upright,
relaxed upper body position.
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- Rest stance ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
Upper body and shouulders.
The upper body is as straight and upright as possible.
The shoulders are relaxed and parallel to the hip.
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- Rest stance ( xie bu ) ( qi ben gong ) wushu basics - basic stances reststance
Upper body and shouulders.
The upper body is as straight and upright as possible.
The shoulders are relaxed.
Related instructions:
Basic Wushu Stances
Videos: Basic Wushu Stances
