What is a stance? That sounds like a silly question. It’s the way we stand, surely? Well… mostly, yes. The word “kamae” is usually translated as stance, but it’s actually more like structure, with connotations of preparation and readiness.
So a stance is what you do when you are prepared. Or possibly prepared is what you are when you are in stance. Prepared for what? Attack and defence, usually! But also meditation.
Here’s a selection of stances you might encounter during Shorinji Kempo classes. It’s not a complete list – for that you’ll need to come to a dojo!
Kesshu gamae
The classic “paying attention” stance. If you’re listening to instructions or waiting around to be told what to do, this is what you’re doing.
Chudan gamae
Prepared to fight! And obviously so. The fists are pointing at your opponent, your feet are spread and balanced.
Ichiji gamae
A more defensive feel. The open hand is ready to defend (you’ll notice that a lot of our blocks are done with open hands – there are technical reasons for this that aren’t completely relevant to this article).
Hasso gamae
This stance loosely resembles a placatory “calm down” stance – but it protects your head. Your stomach is left open, but this is not a mistake! If there is only one opening you know what they will do next, which makes preparation a lot easier.
Fukko gamae
You fell over. You’re in the middle of getting up. But you’re also prepared to defend yourself.
Seiza
Loosely “proper sitting”, we use this stance when we’re listening to short lectures. You might also see people meditate like this if they have problems with the next one.
Half Lotus
Meditation is not supposed to be easy. Keeping a good posture during it is effortful and that’s part of the point.
