King's Kung-Fu& Tai Chi

Heisoku dachi

Formal attention stance – a Karate stance

Type
Stances
Martial arts
Karate
Japanese
閉足立
Meaning
Formal attention stance
Classified as
karate stance
Listed in
Stances (Shotokan karate), High stances (karate stances), Gallery (karate stances)

Heisoku dachi (閉足立) is a karate stance where both feet are together. It is a high stance, meaning that the knees are bent very slightly. Heisoku dachi is usually a transitional stance, although it is also used as the ready stance in some kata.

Kanji in 閉足立

closed, shut
on: ヘイ
kun: と.じる、と.ざす、し.める、し.まる
11 strokes · JLPT 2
leg, foot, be sufficient
on: ソク
kun: あし、た.りる、た.る、た.す
7 strokes · JLPT 4
stand up, rise, set up
on: リツ、リュウ、リットル
kun: た.つ、-た.つ、た.ち-、た.てる
5 strokes · JLPT 4

Other Karate stances

Japanese terms for stances

TermReadingMeaning
大上段daijoudanholding a sword above one's head (kendo posture)
二枚腰nimaigoshiposture in which the legs are firmly planted (in sumo and judo)
死に体shinitailosing posture; falling position from which it is impossible to recover
変わり身kawarimichange of attitude (stance, position)
騎馬立ちkibadachihorse stance

External links

Facts from Wikidata Q136746722 (CC0); text quoted from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); kanji data KANJIDIC2 and KanjiVG. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.

Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0); KANJIDIC2 (CC BY-SA 4.0); KanjiVG (CC BY-SA 3.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.