Kenpo Stances vs. Traditional Japanese and Okinawan Karate Stances

You have probably heard it said time and time again, “Stances are the most important basic fundamental in the martial arts.” Yet ironically, many martial arts instructors who say those very words to their students are teaching impractical stances. This is quite common in many traditional Japanese and Okinawan styles where instructors tell their students to get as low and deep as they can during kata practice to build leg strength and to develop more power in their strikes. The problem with such teaching is that you lack mobility. When was the last time you saw a guy fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship using a very low/deep stance as taught by many traditional karate instructors? It just doesn’t happen, because they are not practical.

In Kenpo, on the other hand, the stances we use during our forms are the same ones we would employ during a sparring match. We don’t tell students to get as low as they can during kata practice, but then to “ignore that rule” when in an actual fight. Such teaching is too contradictory, and in fact, dangerous. Forms are, in effect, Kenpo’s method of shadowboxing so practical stances is paramount.