How to Use Martial Arts to Build Strength

One of the most powerful exercises is one of the least practiced among Westerners. It is the easiest way to build powerful overall body strength and is referred to in Chinese kung fu as the horse stance. This static exercise requires strong mental and physical discipline but offers advantages not seen in any other exercise. The horse stance requires only moderate physical exertion as one builds toward longer periods of endurance. It is safe, quiet, practical and easily done at home. This exercise has been used for thousands of years to train new kung fu students.

Instructions

    • 1

      As the military sergeant views push-ups as the basic exercise for strengthening troops, the kung fu master considers the horse stance the most essential way to build strength. The only exercise equipment needed is one's own body. According to kung fu grandmaster and author Wong Kiew Kit, the stance is so vital to the correct practice of kung fu that it should be done each day for several months before progressing to more advanced techniques. The exercise is a well-established method for building leg strength, lowering the body's center of gravity and facilitating long walks with little fatigue, Kit writes.

    • 2

      Squat down, as if sitting on a horse or a low chair, with the knees spread at least a shoulder's length away from the body, with the toes pointed straight and forward.

    • 3

      It is important to keep the toes pointing forward. The back should be kept straight. It is almost impossible for a beginner to maintain an absolute parallel between his thighs and the floor, but that is the goal. The arms are pressed tightly and firmly against the body, with the fists pointed upwards. Equal weight is placed on both feet.

    • 4

      The beginner can expect to experience pain in the legs after a few sessions, but this pain subsides after several days. You usually maintain the stance for between one and two minutes. A reasonable goal, after one adjusts for fatigue and personal strength, is to achieve five minutes of holding the stance during each exercise session.

    • 5

      The primary effect of the horse stance is a profound strengthening of the waist, hips and legs. All power in kung fu is believed to proceed from powerful waist movement, Bruce Lee writes in his book "The Tao of Gung Fu." The waist is vital to the integration of upper and lower body movements and is the central force for movement in kung fu and its powerful self-defense techniques.