How to Assume a Horse Stance in Karate

Video Transcript

"Hi my name is Michael Quebec and I'm here at Heritage Kickboxing Gym here in Union City, and today's subject is how to assume a horse stance in karate. And keep in mind that Okinawan and Japanese karate is a little different than Chinese kung fu, even though they're both related and, actually, kung fu is the ancestor of karate. In Chinese kung fu, you would be a little lower on the horse stance. Here, it's not quite as low, so basically I'm facing and my feet are pointed forward. They are wider than shoulder width and from here, got my hands right on my hips, I'm going to keep my lower back straight and I'm going to bend just this much. I'm not going to go as low as I would in Chinese kung fu for horse stance, even though the two stances are similar. So basically I'm holding a squat, a sort of a half squat, and that is the horse stance in Japanese and Okinawan karate."