The square horse

The square horse is the most fundamental stance in nearly all
styles of martial arts, hard or soft. Learning it well will be
the biggest improvement you can make in your martial arts aerobics
training. It will enhance your balance. This stance will teach
you proper motions in the knees to prevent injury. It will develop
every muscle from your waist down if used with different combinations.
As with all martial arts aerobics the true benefit comes from
using these larger muscle groups of the legs. This works the heart
muscle because it needs to supply a lot of blood flow for these
larger muscles. While I'm sure most of you aren't looking for
huge leg muscles (and you wont get them from Karaticise), there
will be a increase in muscle mass. Increased muscle mass increases
the metabolism and therefor burns more calories throughout the
day. And, of course developed gluteus maximus is aesthetically
pleasing. Proper use of this stance will be highly beneficial
in developing the gluteus maximus and all other muscles from the
waist down.

Let me give you an idea of how important the development of this stance is.
In many ancient systems of martial arts, those who wished to enter into the
training of a certain master would stand outside of the door of the training
area in a square horse. They would stand there seemingly unnoticed oftentimes
for two or three years. At some point if they had stood diligently, the master
would come outside and invite them in to train with the group. This had a
dual purpose. It proved that the student was serious about learning. It developed
the square horse so that a student was ready to begin his training. While
I'm sure no one today has neither the time nor the desire to develop the square
horse to the extent that the ancients did, an understanding of it is essential
to your fitness training.

The first step in the square horse is to spread the feet at least shoulder
width apart. Wider is OK for lower stances. Make sure the feet are parallel
or even a bit "pigeon toed". If you allow the feet to point outward
this will put undo stress on the knee joints. If the feet point inward the
muscles will support the body mass rather than the knee joints. Learning this
one thing well will do much for preserving the knees and developing the muscles
around them. We have found that developing the muscles surrounding the knee
cap aids in taking pressure off of the knee joint and will help those with
existing conditions if done properly.

The second step is to push the knees out directly over the ankles. The legs
should be very bent. If you cannot get the knees over the ankles your stance
is probably to wide for your current level. This will change over time. This
is what gives it the name horse stance. It should appear as if you are riding
an imaginary horse.

As you do this you should have pressure against the outside of your feet.
It will seem a little awkward and uncomfortable at first but this will change
with time as it becomes natural to you. You will now want to concentrate on
pushing the feet down flat on the ground. They will have the tendency to roll
outward. Use the muscles in your ankles to resist this. You'll now feel as
if you are trying to rip the ground apart. There will be a strong outward
pressure on each foot. As you develop this stance the pressure will get stronger.

Now make sure that your spine is perfectly straight. It may feel as if it
is, but may not be. Do not rely on the feeling, check it in a mirror.. Do
not forget that your spine runs from your pelvis to your skull. This means
that your butt should be underneath you and not sticking out and your head
perfectly vertical.

Just looking at this stance, it may seem very easy. However it is not if
you want it perfect. Do not get discouraged, it is something that you will
continue to develop over time. The better you get at it the more benefits
you will receive.

Proper muscle use in this stance will be covered in our later sections. Especially
six inch drills (ramshead punches from a square horse) and cobra strikes from
a square horse.