Kokutsu Dachi: Back Stance Guide & Common Mistakes
Kokutsu dachi (back stance) is Shotokan karate's defensive long stance, with 70% of your body weight on a deeply bent back leg and 30% on a straight front leg. It's widely considered the hardest of the basic Shotokan stances to master — the weight distribution feels unnatural at first, and it's easy to lean back instead of sitting into the back leg correctly.
Kokutsu dachi is one of 16 foundational stances in Shotokan karate — see our complete guide to all 16 Shotokan stances for how it fits alongside zenkutsu-dachi (front stance) and kiba-dachi (horse stance).
We are going to break this stance down, into small sections, with a video tutorial accompanying this article.
Get into the habit of breaking new karate moves down, they then become much easier to understand the small detail.
Kokutsu Dachi (back stance)
- Weight distribution for back stance is 70% of your weight on your back leg and 30% on the front leg (some dojo practice 80/20)
- Feet should be at a 90-degree angle to each other, heels in line
- Push the back hip forward at a 45-degree angle and pull the front hip back
- Roll the hips up, try not to let your hips stick out
- Keep your back straight
- Your back knee should be heavily bent, if you drop a line down, it should land just inside your back leg’s big toe.
Of all the basic shotokan karate stances, this is one of the hardest to master. Whether you are attending a karate dojo, or learning karate at home, I recommend you break all techniques down and repeat again and again. For stances it’s a good idea to hold the position for a minute or two and then change to a different stance and repeat.
Where Kokutsu Dachi Is Used in Kata
Kokutsu dachi appears throughout the Shotokan syllabus, most often paired with shuto uke (knife-hand block) the combination is one of the most recognisable postures in traditional karate. You'll find it in:
- In all 5 Heian Kata Series
- Bassai Dai, where it's used defensively before a rapid transition forward
- Kanku Dai and several black belt kata
Kokutsu dachi also transitions naturally into neko ashi dachi (cat stance) the weight is already back, so shifting into a cat stance for a fast counter-kick is a short, efficient movement worth drilling on its own.
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Kokutsu dachi, or back stance, is a defensive Shotokan karate stance with 70% of the bodyweight on a bent back leg and 30% on a straight front leg, feet at a 90-degree angle with heels in line.
The weight distribution feels unnatural for most beginners, who tend to lean their upper body backward instead of sinking into the back leg while keeping the spine straight. The back knee also needs to stay pushed outward, which takes time to build the flexibility and strength for.
They're mirror opposites. Zenkutsu dachi (front stance) puts 70% of the weight forward for attacking; kokutsu dachi puts 70% of the weight back, making it a defensive stance that keeps the front leg light and ready to counter-kick.
It appears throughout the Heian series and is especially prominent in Bassai Dai, usually paired with shuto uke (knife-hand block).
