Yes, definitely helps!

ah, memories.... :)

yeah 😅 the very first thing of my very first day of Shaolin training in China they had me do was spend an hour practicing hour stance. They told me I had to hold it for 1 full minute while keeping my thighs parallel to the ground. They put a round pebble on each leg and every time it fell I had to start over 💀 I had never worked out a day in my life prior so I felt like my thighs were dying, my knees were dying, I was dying 😵

There are always reasons for why certain groups perform things the way they do. But I agree that it should be about finding a position that works for you rather than forcing yourself into a position.

Awesome - serious qi gong is underrated as physical practice. I personally would love to explore it more deeply someday when i have the time (and maybe live near a great teacher).

@@gmbfit I'd like have a teacher here, too... I'm exploring this wonderful world by myself, reading, watching videos... Not the same but I feel an important improvement in my state of mind 😊😊😊

It sure is :)

Glad you like it!

And also: you have an answer for every possible limitation or problem anyone could come up with, which is rare. Mostly it seems like it is just assumed that anyone should be able to do the exercise if they just apply the prescribed method.

Good luck!

I'm sure somebody out there hates it... ;) hahaha

Such a great exercise. 👍

@@ryanhurst3068 I just did 3 sets of 1 minute each after my squats. Very tiring. Would you recommend doing them on their own away from other exercises or do you think its fine in addition to other leg workouts at the same time?

I think it's great as a finisher after your other leg exercises. Or even as a stand alone for longer duration of time.

@@ryanhurst3068 awesome, thanks for your input. Love your channel btw!

Man, so honored to hear this. Thank you!

Better late than never. And yep, this is a great one to just add in anywhere.

You’re late? How am I just seeing this now? It’s like KZfaq can’t figure me out.

Super cool! It's just a ton of fun to be involved with a school and practice and see your progress over time. Martial arts training has been one of the most rewarding parts of my life. And yeah, we could make a video showing all the different "right" ways we've been taught this over the years in different arts, but the fact is that if you're studying under an instructor, that instructor's idea what what's right is all that matters. As an exercise for fitness, what we show here is gonna be good for most folks :)

hahahaha, Ryan is well-known in his neighborhood :)

Sure! I do that as well from time to time, working to get a bit lower as I do it. Give it a try.

It's mostly cultural and reflects the environment in which the specific arts were traditionally practiced. The outputs don't drive the behaviors; it's almost always the other way around, when you look at things from an anthropological perspective.

It's not a joke. I (Andy answering today...) literally did this twice a day, every single day from ages 7-17. Not even remotely a joke :)

@@gmbfit Mad respect! I already glimpsed that you were being more sincere when you brought it up later in the video when you came to the question where and how to practice it to get better. I usually do some balancing and stretching exercises while brushing my teeth, so I can relate, haha.

@@LinkEX Perfect :) Balance is super important.

Always. Haha😁👍

I copied his jeans style. I give yoga classes in jeans now :)

gmb.io/jeans/ :) 👖

respect!

@@gmbfit I love that article, it’s all about application of the abilities one gets by exercising.

You should not need to warm up, but if you want to or have other exercises you enjoy in that capacity, it's completely fine.

@@gmbfit thank you :)

Do the horse stance. If you can't go deep, do it shallow.

Not sure why you'd wanna do that, but go for it

Go ask him on his channel - I'm sure he'd love to talk about it :) (link is in the description here)

:)

ha! yes, that's a true statement ;)

right on

He's a good buddy of mine. 🤘

Get into position. Stay there. When you can't hold the position correctly anymore, stand up. Repeat as often as you like.

Yep, different "rules" for this in different contexts. If you're just doing it for strength and flexibility, then you can play with foot position and practice what works best for you :)

It's also important to note that different people have different anatomy. Here is a great video about that, where you can test your natural stance: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q8iUfKqfvZislqc.html

Yep, haha, different from squats, altogether :)

It's better to learn to keep your back straight without the wall. If that means less knee bend in the short term, that's fine.

Play with it and see what you like. but if you're able to easily go below parallel, this isn't the right exercises for continued mobility gains. Still good for strength building.

in you're weak in that area, anything might

hahahaha

Does it?

I wouldn't suggest it. at best, it's a distraction. just do one thing at a time.

You can do it every day.

@@gmbfit thank you for the response. Good video.

Do what is good for you! :)

Yes

Ironically, pointing the toes more forward can help you push the knees out more easily. Good luck!

IInteresting. This reminds me of the plié s I used to do in ballet for warming up. It is important to rotate laterally at the hip and not to force it at the foot. It is bad for the knees. That's why we learned in ballet to shift weight unto heels and then turn the leg out. It is a trick to make sure you rotate the legs from the hips within the range you are at. Also we learned to align the knee between 1st and 2nd toe. It makes sense to me that going in and out of the horse stance a couple of times exercises the coordination, paying attention to the alignment of knee with 2nd toe plus the straight back. While sitting in it and holding the stance develops the strength. The coordination you can practice even with the feet pointing forward. During walking! Feet wide. Feet closer.

Don't go deeper than you can with the form described. And yeah, all those stretches are miserable precisely because you need more work with them ;)

@@gmbfit indeed:) my wording nonetheless, my question was really about what to prioritize. Thank you for the taking the time to answer.

@@jamaljoudeh1556 There's no blanket answer to how you should prioritize.

Sounds like a hybrid horse + hugging the tree kinda thing? Interesting :)

Much more upright and much less painful

Yes, I practise this. The instructions I've been following include visualisation of a whole series of (beach) balls supporting you - under your butt, under your armpits, between your legs, under your outstretched arms. Feels good. Strangely focusing, energising and grounding.

@@criticalbil1 yes I have a book called the way of energy which details all of that. I need to get back to practicing it.

I'm not teaching a martial art. I believe the video also says that, if you are, you should do the form your teacher recommends.

I was for 28 years. Moved to the US last year.

Mine used to hop up on my legs and stand on me for a few minutes back when I was a kid.

Mine would kick the legs to see how your kiba dachi was

Butt back with neutral spine is ideal. Butt back with excessive lordosis is where you'll get pain. Several decades of doing this, and the alignment you see here has served me well, though there's lots of nuanced variations that are equally worthwhile.

I don't usually. Maybe a bit if I'm getting tired. You can try it and see if it helps.

Absolutely. The best.

Proper workout attire. 😉😁

Flip Flops really add to the overall authenticity of the movements, since as we all know, monks wore sandals, so.... hahahahahaha

absolutely huuuuuuge

For the right price, I bet he'd give it a shot

OK

You're welcome. Please buy ConAir on Blu-Ray. It makes a great gift.

I'll take your word for it :)

hahahaha, YES

NOT EVEN ONCE... :

This is the stance you make when riding a horse. That is where name came from.

What makes you say that?

@@gmbfit I'm a bit concerned about the health of the hips when practicing like this regularly. But I'm not a physican so scew that. However if your goal is to strengthen your legs and will power or to find proper bone alignment, you should not rest on your hips. The moment when the whole body starts shaking is the moment you start practicing.

@@AkantorCZ The start of anything is the moment you start practicing since you should also be aware how you get into a position and out of position. Practice doesn't just start once you think you're in the right position. Like anything, you gotta slowly work into positions and progress over time. Go at your own pace and be smart.

@@gmbfit Can't disagree with that. Anyway I left my message here, do whatever you want with it.

that's terribly unrealistic for a first step to anything