SECRETS OF THE HORSE STANCE

HOW TO REACH 5 MINUTES IN 28 DAYS

PAVEL MACEK SIFU
PRACTICALHUNGKYUN.COM

Practical Hung Kyun

Horse Stance Manual

Stance Training: Strengthening of the Legs?

Most beginners have troubles to hold correct
Four Level Stance (Sei Ping Ma) even for 30
seconds or minute.
Is it so because their legs are weak? Might be
so. However, some beginners can hold 5
minutes in their Sei Ping Ma on the first
occasion they try it (for example some ladies)
and they are not necessarily stronger than
others.
Let me ask you a question: What is the main
aim of the stance training?
Strengthening the legs?
Test of will?
Punishment?

Old masters were wiser than that. Old saying goes: Before you start to train martial art, learn
first the stance training (Mei Lin Kyun, Sin Hok Jaat Ma).
Why is the Stance Training so important? Or is it important?
One more question do your knees or lower back hurt in your stance training? Work harder
is the common answer. Ok, but we at Practical Hung Kyun prefer to work smart.
Strength (endurance) is just one of the many aspect of stance training in Practical Hung Kyun, and
to be candid, not really the most important one. Same goes for strength training of the lower
extremities in general there are much better ways how to strengthen your legs.
The first aim of the Stance Training is correct posture, flexibility, mobility and functional alignment
of all joints (ankles, knees, hips, thoracic spine, scapulae, shoulders). If your body fights hard to
maintain correct posture, no wonder you cannot hold your stance for the desired time (Practical
Hung Kyun the requirement for the 1st Level is 5 minutes).
Calm mind and specific breathing patterns help to attain and maintain correct posture, correct
posture helps to calm the mind and Sink the Breath to the Cinnabar Field (Hei Cham Daan Tin).
Stance Training (Jaat Ma) is one of the most important Internal Arts (Noi Gung), i.e. can be
practiced on various levels by both beginners and advanced students.
Common problem in the Sei Ping Ma stance (and other stances as well) is knee pain. The question
is what is the cause? Joint-by-joint approach tell us to check lower (ankles) or/and higher (hips)
and work on their functional mobility and flexibility using various assistance exercises. Stance
Training is one of the check/re-check assessments of your functional mobility.

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Horse Stance Manual

Think for a while and check even lower what shoes are you training in? If you train in modern
(and expensive) sport shoes with thick sole, now wonder that your knees or lower back hurt. Throw
them away and buy a pair of of shoes with the sole as thin as possible. It will not feel comfortable
first few days or weeks, but in the long run it pays off. You will strengthen the arch of the foot and
the thin sole will help you with the alignment of the ankles, hips and spine, i.e. save your knees and
lumbar spine.
Why Four Level Horse? Toes forward or not? Thighs parallel? Correct position of the hands?
Breathing pattern? Dead Stance vs. Live Stance? One minute enough, or one hour not enough?
Useless, outdated exercise or a treasure?
Dont throw out the baby with the water. We will examine other misunderstanding, misconceptions,
myths, as well as some more advanced subtleties and specific training methodology of the stance
training in the next chapter.

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Horse Stance Manual

Horse Stance: Most Common Misconceptions

One of the most common yet persistent Hung Ga myths and misconceptions in Horse Stance
training is thighs parallel.
Self proclaimed masters torture their students in thighs parallel (or bellow parallel) Horse
Stance. If lower means harder, the lower the better? More strength and endurance! Pain is good!
Or?
Let me be clear bullshit, and quite literally.
Just to be clear we are talking about training low stance (Daai Jong Ma), not higher fighting
stance (Gou Jong Ma) from traditional Hung Ga Kyun perspective.
Grand Master Lam Jous son Simon Lam Chun Chung (my Si Baak) writes:
Unlike common misconceptions that the thighs and Kiu Sau (Bridge Hands) must be parallel to
the ground when practicing Hung Ga, in Lam Family Hung Ga the Sei Ping Ma is practiced with
the thigh being at an angle to the ground.
I remember my Si Gung laugh at contemporary wushu Ma Bu or Westerners coming to his Mou
Gwun and dragging their butt on the ground or sticking it to the rear. Si Gung would laugh: This is
not Four Level Stance (Sei Ping Ma) this Shit Taking Stance (O Si Ma)!
Dont tak me wrong my Si Gung definitely emphasised low training stances a lot but never
parallel or below parallel. Neither did Lam Sai Wing or any of the Hung Ga masters of old check
the photos below.

So why do some practitioners try to outsmart the old veterans and human body structure,
mechanics and plain physics?
Sei Ping Ma is an active stance we do not sit in the stance, but stand. The corkscrew
principle applied to feet and hips is one of the secret keys of rooting and generating the power
from the ground up. From the ground up, keep that in mind!
By the way, another common name for Sei Ping Ma is Horse Riding Posture (Kei Ma Sik). Are
your thighs parallel when riding a horse? Chinese names of the techniques DO matter.
There are many biomechanical reasons why not to do it femur and pelvis alignment, alignment of
the pelvic floor (Wui Yam) and diaphragm, spine alignment etc., important both from the
mechanical/external and energetical/internal training point of view.
Southern Shaolin Grand Master Wong Kiew Kit explains:

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Some practitioners aim to have their thighs parallel to the ground. Their horse-stance is boxshaped. We discourage this, as it locks energy at the thighs and knees. Our horse-stance is
pyramid-shaped, with the thighs gently sloping. This enables Qi [Cant. Hei, breath, internal
energy, note PM] to flow to the feet and root the practitioners to the ground, as well as enables
Qi to be gathered at the Daan Tin to develop internal force.
Sitting, sinking, or better to say collapsing lower in the wide stance means increasing the
posterior pelvis tilt, leaning forward, more stress on the knees patella tendon and lower back.
Four Levels? Gone.
Take a lesson from architecture and think of a pyramid or structure of an arch. How do the
engineers build bridges? Do you really want your stance to sag end eventually collapse?
Complementary set of exercises are of course squats. Sei Ping Ma is not a squat, squat is not Sei
Ping Ma. Do not confuse different exercises with different aims.
Contrary to other popular training myth that squats hurt your knees, and contrary to Sei Ping Ma,
we squat below parallel, ass to grass. Notice the different width of the Sei Ping Ma (wider) and
squat (narrow),a s well spine alignment (straight but not perpendicular).
We at Practical Hung Kyun squat regularly and low, using following variations:
Three Levels to the Ground (Saam Pun Lok Dei) regular squat, bodyweight as well as
weighted (with kettlebell or barbell).
Child Prays to Goddess of Mercy (Tung Ji Baai Gwun Yam) single legged squat, both
bodyweight and weighted.
Conclusion: Stand low, but not parallel or lower.
Can you sit below parallel? Yes, you can, but it does not mean you should. Waste of time, useless
and harmful exercise.
Do you want to strengthen the legs? Learn to squat properly, squat low, squat heavy, squat below
parallel. You can punish yourself and get hurt, or get better. Your call.

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Horse Stance Manual

PHK Horse Stance Training: General Overview

Classification: Fundamental, soft, external/internal
Aims and objectives:
To develop solid foundation, internal force and mental clarity - Essence Jing, Energy Hei and
Spirit San)
Lower the centre of gravity. Traditional wisdom says: Sink to the ground and root, stable and
steady as a Mount Taai (Lok Dei Sang Gan, Wan Yu Taai Saan).
Open up the joints of the lower extremities, as well as spine.
Strengthen the muscles, joints, and ligaments.
To develop patience, courage, concetration, and combat confidence.
Stance Training (Jaat Ma) is a fundamental Southern Siu Lam exercise and a most important
exercise of developing the internal force. In the beginning stages it serves as (relatively) leg
strengthening external exercise, but in the advanced stages it is one of the most powerful Internal
Exercises (Noi Gung).
The key to success is striving for perfect form - once you can assume it, the exercise becomes
surprisingly easy and pleasant.
Chinese martial arts saying goes: "Before you learn boxing, learn stance training; before you learn
conditioning, learn Dit Da (Mei Lin Kyun, Sin Hok Jaat Ma, Mei Lin Gung, Sin Hok Dit Da), or
shortly: If you want to learn to fight, first practice stance training (Yiu Hok Da Sin Jaat Ma.
It is also said: When you enter the gate (ie. start to learn), you have first practice stance training
for three years" (Yap Mun Sin Jaat Saam Lin Ma).
Hung Kyun traditionaly uses so called Four Levels Wide Stance (Sei Ping Daai Ma), also called
Four Levels Low Stance (Sei Ping Daai Ma) or Horse Riding Stance (Kei Ma Sik).
Traditional Chinese poem describes Sei Ping Ma like this:
Four Levels Wide Stance, ancestor of all techniques,
Punches and kicks change from this stance
Stand straight and open your stance to this position
Legs root to the ground, nothing can shake you or move
Why Four Levels? Fists are level (Kyun Ping), shoulders are level(Gin Ping), knees are level (Sat
Ping), feet are level (Geuk Ping).

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Four Levels Stance: Correct Form

Toes grab the floor - imagine you are standing barefoot in the mud. Feet are parallel, toes point
forward. The weight is distributed 50:50 - both toes to heel, and outer and inner part of the foot.
Don't allow the feet collapse inward.
Knees dont go past the big toe neither forward, nor to the side
Thighs are slightly higher than parallel - the whole stance forms slight pyramid not a square.
Spread the floor with your feet - corkscrew your feet form inside out, but don't allow the feet to
move. Separate the pockets, i.e. push your hips out to the side to the side to open up the hips
and pelvic floor.
Pelvis is level and neutral - if a pelvis was a bowl full of water, don't spill the water forward,
backward, or to the sides. It will correctly align your pelvic floor (Wui Yam acupoint), Cinnabar
Field (Daan Tin), diaphragm and top of the head.
Body is upright - imagine there is a 1000 pounds weight on the top of your head (Baak Wui
acupoint).
Fists at the waist (not thighs, not in front of your body, at least for time being. It is important!),
elbows point to the rear, not to the sides.
Head is level, eyes look straight forward, or on the horizont, ie. slightly down.
Mind is focused in lower Daan Tin, cca. about three finger widths below and two finger widths
behind the navel.
Relax, relax, relax.

Important Notes
Jaat Ma is an Internal Exercise (Noi Gung) correct form, calm mind, gentle breath and relaxed
position are keys to the success.
Count your breath in Daan Tin, dont force it, breath gently. Breath in gently with your nose,
pause, breathe out gently (through your nose or slightly open mouth), pause.
Practice your Stance Training once a day, every morning.If yo are ambitious, practice twice a
day, once in the morning, once in the evening.
Dont skip your morning training sessions continuity of training process is another of the key
principles.
Write down your practice session in your training journal.
Practice, dont work out strive for perfect form, dont train to failure.
3 secrets of Jaat Ma are: Relax, relax, relax.
Stance Training (Jaat Ma) is only one piece of the puzzle, the other two being Stance
Turning (Jyun Ma) and Footwork (Jau Ma).

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Horse Stance Manual

From 0 to 5 Minutes and Beyond: The Training Method

Stance Training (Jaat Ma) of Practical Hung Kyun uses methodology of Three Steps Forward,
One Step Back.
Lets say you begin you Stance Training on Sunday, Day 0 (Test Day). Get into Sei Ping Ma,
correct the position, calm your mind and start to counting the breathing. Breath in/breath out is 1.
Breath in, breath out is 2 and so on. Breath gently, do not hold the breath, do not force it. Dont get
up with the first sign of discomfort, but dont practice to failure either.
After you reach cca. 80% of your maximal effort (challenging, but not 100% so you collapse on the
floor), remember the exact number of breaths.
Relax your fists, open your palms in front of your body, jump up, breath in, breath out (Bring the
Energy Back to Daan Tin), put your hands next to your thighs and let them hang loose. Relax and
remain standing for couple of seconds, preferably couple of minutes. Dont skip this part, it is a vital
part of the exercise. As the saying goes, the one that understands life doesnt hurry.
Write down the number of breaths in your training journal.
Next day (Day 1) when practicing the Stance Training, hold the stance for the same number of
breaths minus 3.
Day 2 add 2 breaths.
Day 3 same number of breaths as Day 2 etc.
Lets say your startng point is 12 breaths. Your cycle looks like this:
Day 0 (Test Day) 15
Day 1 15-3, ie. 12
Day 2 same as yesterday, ie. 12
Day 3 12+2, ie. 14
Day 4 same as yesterday, ie. 14
Day 5 14+2, ie. 16
Day 6 same as yesterday, ie. 16
Day 7 16+2, ie. 18
In the beginning of next cycle, substract 3 breaths, and start over the whole cycle, which in our
example will look like this:
Day 8 18-3, ie. 15
Day 9 same as yesterday, ie. 15
Day 10 15+2, ie. 17
Day 11 same as yesterday, ie. 17
Day 12 17+2, ie. 19
Day 13 same as yesterday, ie. 19
Day14 19+2, ie. 21
Day 15, beginning of new cycle substract 3 and continue according the protocol.
Standard: Minimum - 5 minutes.

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Practical Hung Kyun

Horse Stance Manual

PHK 28-Day Stance Training Challenge

Download your training log HERE, print it out and start today!

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