Horse stance
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Horse Stance, also called "mǎbù" (馬步) in Chinese, "kibadachi" in Japanese, and "kuda kuda" in Indonesian, is an important posture in martial arts and takes its name from the position assumed when riding a horse. This stance can not only be integrated into fighting, but can also be used during exercises. Several gung fu (kung fu) training methods have students stand in mabu, while performing the required tasks or exercises. Mabu is used for endurance training as well as strengthening the back and leg muscles, tendon strength, and overall feeling and understanding of "feeling grounded".
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[edit] Northern Shaolin
In Northern Chinese martial arts (Shaolin), the distance between the feet is measured by placing a fist and the lower leg on the ground. A relatively narrow posture was assumed for the horse riding stance.
[edit] Southern Shaolin
In Southern Chinese martial arts (Shaolin), a wide horse riding stance is assumed as if riding a horse. The reason for this is that Southern Chinese martial arts were designed to be used whilst fighting on boats and barges. The wide posture was created for greater stability in such conditions.
[edit] Procedure
A standard procedure for horse stance is to start with both feet pressed together with the toes pointing in the forward direction. Here, the forward direction is defined as the direction a person faces when standing at attention. While balanced on the heels, both feet are turned out simultaneously so that the toes turn approximately 45 degrees away from forward direction. The body's weight is shifted onto the toes and each heel is pushed out 45 degrees. Weight is then returned to the heel and the toes are turned out another 45 degrees. A final twist is made by shifting the weight back on the toes and turning the heel until the feet are pointed approximately in the forward direction again. This makes four twists per foot. Once the feet are apart, the person squats as far as possible while keeping the back vertical to the ground. Depending on the location of the person's center of mass, this squat may not be very low.
In short, a person following the procedure will start with both feet together pointing in the same direction, go duck-footed, then pigeon-toed, then duck-footed again and finally will end up with toes pointing in the forward direction.
