Chūdan-no-kamae
Weapon stance in Japanese martial arts
中段の構え
- Type
- Stances
- Classified as
- kamae
- Part of
- five elements kamae
Chūdan-no-kamae (中段の構え:ちゅうだんのかまえ), sometimes shortened to Chūdan-gamae or simply Chūdan, is a basic weapon stance in many Japanese martial arts. The name translates literally to "middle-level stance," as the sword is held before the user at chest height. Chūdan-no-kamae is also called Seigan-no-kamae (正眼之構), or "right/correct eye posture," because the stance points the tip of the sword at the opponent's eyes. In most traditional schools of swordsmanship, and in the practice of kendo, chūdan-no-kamae is the most basic posture, as it provides a balance between attacking and defensive techniques.
The name word by word
Each part of the romanized name looked up in the JMdict Japanese dictionary.
| Word | Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chūdan | 中段 | ちゅうだん | middle guard position (of a sword in kendo, etc.) |
| no | |||
| kamae | 構え | かまえ | posture (e.g. in martial arts); pose |
Other stances
Japanese terms for stances
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 大上段 | daijoudan | holding a sword above one's head (kendo posture) |
| 二枚腰 | nimaigoshi | posture in which the legs are firmly planted (in sumo and judo) |
| 死に体 | shinitai | losing posture; falling position from which it is impossible to recover |
| 変わり身 | kawarimi | change of attitude (stance, position) |
| 騎馬立ち | kibadachi | horse stance |
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q16826805 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.