Shoulders' Width

One of our high Black Belts was on extended hiatus due to his work hours.  I know his nature and was not concerned - he practices diligently on his own.  He also ponders different ideas, formulates alternate bunkai, and generally keeps his mind active.  One day he returned to class with a deep revelation: We know that many stances and yoi have the feet shoulders’ width apart.  He asked if shoulders’ width is measured from instep to instep, mid-foot to mid-foot, or blade to blade.  It’s only a 2” or 4” difference on each foot, an 8” total difference at maximum, but it adds up to a dramatic difference.  He felt that proper width is most effective when the outer blades of both feet are within the shoulders’ width.  A very valid analysis which we realized long ago.

New students’ front stances are often too narrow.  They’re used to walking; a stride that is much narrower than shoulders’ width.  I would lightly sweep the outer ankle on their lead leg (deashi barai), causing them to lose balance, immediately showing where their balance is weak.  So if shoulders’ width is good, then wider must be better, right?   Too wide is just as bad.  I’d then sweep the inner ankle of their lead leg and they’d pitch forward off balance.  The best front stance and fighting stance for maximum stability and flexibility has the front foot and knee in alignment, with the blade of the foot within shoulders’ width.  The rear leg is straight or bent, depending on the stance, with the blade of that foot within shoulders’ width as well.  Another way I’ll show students proper width is to have them move forward with an oi zuki (forward punch).  I’ll go behind them and lightly push between their shoulder blades.  The body pitches forward and they involuntarily move their foot inward to regain balance.  I explain this is their proper width.  The front knee/foot acts as a ‘stopper’ so the body doesn’t pitch forward with the force of the forward moving punch.  When you punch an object, there is an opposite recoil reaction on the body.  With improper stance width the punch is weak and the student is knocked off balance.  Anyone who has fired a gun understands the idea of recoil and proper stance. 

Okinawan kobujutsu (weapons) master Toshihiro Oshiro-shihan teaches forward stance with the front and rear leg in a straight line (no width).  He says the footwork and body should be aligned with the bo, sai, eaku, or whatever weapon for maximum effectiveness.  If the opponent moves, he changes direction by swiftly moving his feet in a ‘two-step’ manner to keep his body and weapon aligned with the opponent.  With our Shotokan shoulders’ width stance, our punch can vary left or right by as much as 30 degrees and still be within alignment of our stance.  A quick shift of either our front or rear leg (or both) can easily change our body’s direction. 

In Japanese kobudo, we generally hold a bo in thirds.  I even have a 6-foot practice bo taped off at the 2-foot and 4-foot marks.  Students are taught to keep their hands within the middle two feet, with their pinkie fingers touching the tape.  They can then easily rotate the bo around their bodies with minimal arm movements.  The wider their grip on the bo the more their arms, elbows, and shoulders move, the larger the bo arcs, and the harder it is to control.  If narrow grip is good, then much narrower must be even better.  Not so.  Narrower grip does allow you to rotate the bo faster, but with far less control.  We’ve seen Sport Karate tournaments where the competitor twirls the bo, tosses it in the air, and catches it like a baton.  In traditional competition we say you released your weapon leaving you disarmed, lost control, and were killed (OK- too harsh- disqualified).  As traditional martial artists we are concerned with the functionality of the weapon, not the acrobatics.  By the way, holding a 6-foot bo within the middle thirds is approximately shoulders’ width.  Coincidence?