Front stance
Leg position
Front stance, sometimes also called forward leaning stance or forward stance, is a basic stance used in various Asian martial arts. Although the specifics of the stance vary by style, overall it is visually similar to a moderate lunge, with the forward leg bent at the knee, and the rear leg straight, while the hips and shoulders remain squarely facing forward. The purpose of the stance is to teach musculo-skeletal alignment that adds as much mass of the earth to a strike as possible. The stance allows a great deal of power generation forward, but very little in any other direction.
Other Karate stances
- Hachiji dachi
- Horse stance
- Moto-dachi
- Musubi-dachi-heiko
- Neko ashi dachi
- Sanchin dachi
- Kōkutsu dachi
- Renoji Dachi
- Zenkutsu-dachi
- Fudo Dachi
- Uchi Hachiji Dachi
- Sagi Ashi Dachi
- Chokusen-seisan-dachi
- Han Zenkutsu-dachi
- Han-Kokutsu-dachi
- Kosa dachi
- Seisan-dachi
- Sōkutsu-dachi
- Musubi dachi
- Hangetsu dachi
- Heikō dachi
- Heisoku dachi
- Karate stances
- Iaigoshi Dachi
- Shiko dachi
- Naihanchi-dachi
- Katashi Dachi
- Yama Dachi
- Teiji Dachi
- Tsuru Ashi Dachi
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 Q2406153 (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.