[Martial Arts] One year of horse stance training, a complete transformation!

Autor: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu

Fecha: 2025-07-03 Jueves, 7:31 PM

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[Martial Arts] One Year of Horse Stance, a Complete Transformation!
Starting from June 2024, I practice systematically by the sea every day around 5 a.m., rain or shine. Even in the coldest weather, I stand in the horse stance by the sea for half an hour.
At that time, my body was extremely cold; when the temperature dropped slightly below sixteen degrees, my knees would feel tight, and my feet were icy. I had to wear two pairs of thermal pants plus jeans, along with a down jacket and knee pads, just to barely cope with the morning chill. Yet even so, my feet never warmed up during practice; my whole body was at most "slightly warm."
Now, in the same morning sea temperature of 6 to 8 degrees, I wear only a thin pair of sports shorts, a long-sleeve T-shirt, and a light windbreaker, and after standing for 13 minutes, I am sweating evenly all over. My blood and energy flow smoothly, and my feet, knees, and palms are warm throughout. Especially my knees, which used to be the coldest part of my body, can now generate heat, indicating that my internal energy can penetrate to the extremities.
Over the past year, I progressed from initially shaking after five minutes in the horse stance, with a sore waist and a stiff body, to being able to stand steadily for over twenty minutes, with stable hip strength, knees not extending beyond my toes, and a naturally stable structure. In the past, after finishing my stance, to prevent the "energy" from dissipating, I had to immediately practice Tai Chi to barely maintain a sense of energy. But gradually, the sensation of energy transformed from "exhausted and dissipated" to "growing with movement." From being able to perform only half a set with energy, I can now do three sets of Tai Chi and then a set of Tai Chi sword, maintaining the flow of warmth and energy throughout, truly entering the stage of "practicing martial arts with energy."
Looking back, most people learning martial arts only focus on forms and movements, finding stance practice tedious, and skipping it as if building a house without a foundation, believing that height alone signifies skill. But no one knows that what truly connects the meridians, opens the flow of energy and blood, and adjusts the rhythm of the internal organs is not flashy techniques, but profound stance practice. The horse stance is not "sitting on a toilet," but a reconstruction of an overall structure, reshaping my legs, hips, waist, spine, and even the pathways of nerves and energy.
Now, I stand by the sea at six in the morning, facing the wind without any warming tools, with the temperature only five or six degrees, feeling even colder, yet my feet are as steady as a rock, and my hands are warm and smooth like jade. I know this is not merely an "increase in resistance," but rather the structure of my internal body is gradually taking shape. It is not as simple as practicing the skin and flesh externally; it is the true internal operation that has begun.
Thus, this year of horse stance practice has not only brought forth energy and strength but has also made me thoroughly understand that the root of martial arts is never about the number of movements, but about how deeply the roots are planted.
One year of horse stance, a complete transformation!

Source: http://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696659