The Five Basic Shaolin/Wushu Stances – In no particular order.

Whilst certainly appealing to Martial Artists, these stances can also be of interest to those interested in general fitness as they can be trained isometrically to improve strength and stretched to improve flexibility.

Here I’ll demonstrate the stances and how they can be used in both these aspects.

These all go by many titles but I’ll use the one’s that I’ve learnt during my time training them.

Horse Stance (Ma Bu 马步)

Possibly the most recognisable of the stances, so called for it’s appearance of riding a horse.

When holding this stance for any length of time, ensure that you keep a straight back and don’t lean forward at the hips, sit down as low as you can until your legs are at a 90 degree angle.

To stretch this stance, lean forwards and put your elbows on the inside of your thighs pushing outwards to open up the hip muscles.

Bow Stance (Gong Bu 弓步)

When holding the bow stance, a common mistake is to allow the back knee to bend. If you are unsure about whether you have enough strength in your knee, have a partner press down on the back of your knee joint and you should be able to resist the force.

To stretch this stance, sink your knee down to the floor and push your hips forward with your hands.

Cat Stance/Empty Stance (Xu Bu 虚步)

Cat stance is often referred to as ’empty stance’ because all your weight should be on your back leg with the front leg empty of any pressure in order to perform fast, lashing kicks taking your opponent unaware. This is frequently considered to be the most difficult stance to hold for long periods of time, and as a result the most rewarding in terms of leg strength.

The most common mistake with cat stance is leaning forward at the hips to allow the front leg to take some of the weight off the back leg. While your front foot should be touching the floor, with the heel up, if you were to lift it from the ground the stance should be unaffected.

Drop Stance (Pu Bu 仆步)

Our teacher often refers to this as ‘shovel stance’ but a more popular name is ‘drop stance’. In Shaolin forms this is typically applied as a strike from the front leg onto the ankle of the opponent.

This position is a fantastic hip stretch. When performing this movement, keeping your feet flat on the floor is very important. If the heel of your bent leg is raised when first trying this, put your back against a wall to support yourself and slowly progress yourself away from the wall.

A good exercise is to rocking from one side to the other without using your hands for support, keeping as low as possible in the stance.

Cross Stance (Xie Bu 蟹步)

In order to get into this stance, begin by standing with feet shoulder width apart and rotate 180 degrees, tucking one knee behind the other. Another good stance for stretching out the hips, this is used as a defense of the groin area whilst preparing to spring up into a kick.

To strengthen this stance, practice rotating your body 360 degrees and dropping into the same stance on the opposite side (with the other knee tucked behind).