You Are Stepping Incorrectly!

Stepping in Front Stance

I recently received a long detailed email (with images) from someone who said I was stepping into my front stance incorrectly. That’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I’m always happy when someone praises me or berates me:).

Now, I didn’t want to say anything about his stance, but it was pretty awful. His knee was pushed out, his arm was too far out to the side away from his body, and his back foot was turned. I didn’t say anything to him, but now that I think about it, maybe I should go and hunt him down. Just kidding:)

There are many ways to get to the top of the mountain. Everyone has different training methods, and that’s okay. Let’s talk about the front stance, or Zenkutsu-dachi.

My stance isn’t too wide. I know some people have it a lot wider. I also can’t see my toes when I look down, so I know I’m not over-pushing my front knee forward, but it’s not too far back either.

The Straight Line Approach

We step in a straight line. As I go forward, I pull my knees in very slightly. There’s no pressure on the knees, it’s a very slight movement. Then, I drive off the back leg and step.

The guy who emailed me said he was taught to go “in and out” when stepping. That’s fine. I know a lot of dojos and styles practice this method, and they explain it by saying it develops the leg muscles. It all makes sense to me.

The reason we go straight is that the most direct line from A to B is the quickest way. We try to keep the body as straight as possible rather than moving across and then back across. So, when we step forward, we move in as straight a line as possible.

Driving with the Body

The guy’s long email also mentioned driving off the back leg, which I agree with. You can really contract that supporting leg and then drive. When I initiate the movement, I always start with a small movement forward with the knee. This small movement initiates the whole action. Once that’s started, I drive with the right and left sides of my body, keeping both sides equally engaged.

I drive with the body, the hip, and the back leg. At the same time, I pull with the front leg. From the halfway point of the step, we all do the same thing: we drive off that back leg. That dynamic push on the back leg is what powers the final part of the step.

This is how we step in Zenkutsu-dachi, more in a straight line than an “in and out” motion. But again, “in and out” is fine. Whatever you choose, be careful not to put too much pressure on your knees by caving them in. The knees should be pointing forward.

Many people can’t keep their back foot forward, and that’s okay, their ankles aren’t flexible enough. But most people can keep their feet straight at the halfway point of the step, so that’s a good starting point. When I drive, if my ankles aren’t flexible enough to stay forward, the foot just naturally turns out, and that’s fine.

The Stepping Punch

Another thing we do is the stepping punch or oi-zuki. From our stance, I drive with the front knee first, and then from the halfway point, I immediately start the arm movement as I’m driving off the back leg.

When I land, I get a vibration. I’m square, but I also have the feeling of pulling my chin in, pushing the crown of my head up, and my stomach down. The feeling is that I stretch. Rather than leaning forward, I pull the chin in, push the crown of the head up, and the stomach down to get that healthy vibration in the spine. My back is straight, my chin is in, and my stomach is pushing down to get that stretch. After all, I believe your karate should be healthy.