The horse stance is ultimate pillar of the Northern Shaolin style. It stood the test of countless battles. This powerful posture roots the body firmly to the ground, gathering like a coiled spring. Master the horse, and you ride the legs of the invincible titan…
As a long-time Northern Shaolin practitioner and instructor, the horse stance holds a special place in my daily practice. Beyond a mere technique, it has become a ritual that boosts both physical abilities and mental faculties. I proudly wear the calluses it has etched into my soles like badges of honor.
Daily dedication to mabu (马步) has elevated my overall health, athletic capability, and mindfulness enormously. Based on my experience, I implore all — especially fitness-oriented martial artists — to make the stance a central pillar of your training.
What Is the Horse Stance?
The horse stance, known as mabu ("ma" means horse; "bu" means step) in Chinese, is an exceptionally wide and low posture. Both feet stand farther apart than shoulder width as the legs externally rotate ("screw outwards") from the hip sockets.
Squatting deeply, the feet remain planted with the knees tracking outwards over the toes. The torso stays upright, with relaxed shoulders and arms hanging at the sides.
Visually, it mimics a horseback rider‘s posture while seated atop the steed. This root-like stance creates an incredibly stable base for the upper body and generates power from the ground up.
The horse is ubiquitous across Chinese martial arts. The wide-ranging style of Northern Shaolin is especially renowned for extensive use of mabu to link upper body strikes rooted in the stance‘s stability.
Origins in Battle and Buddhism
Chronicles suggest mabu initially emerged in battle. To weather assaults from enemies when dismounted, ancient Chinese cavalry had to stay grounded without being toppled. Thus, the prototypical wide horse stance was born.
Later, it became integral for Shaolin warrior monks. Lower body immobility paired with upper body fluidity grounded aggressive techniques like punches, elbows, and finger jabs. Mabu gave them relentlessness.
Through a unique lens, it also held spiritual significance. By toughening the soft-tissue body singularly through the stance‘s conditioning and frequent breathwork, warrior-monks believed it could harden the spirit equally over months and years.
The horse was more than just mechanics…it was a moving meditation. For centuries among Shaolin disciples, daily dedication to mabu has been synonymous with cultivating unwavering, warrior spirit. Even without an opponent or battle at hand, their training fights inertia itself.
Benefits of Daily Mabu Practice
My beloved teacher, the venerable Heng Dao, demanded I hold mabu 1 hour daily for 3 months when I first met him. It became the bedrock supporting everything else I later learned as his disciple.
These days, I still train the stance 30+ minutes daily. Below I break down 7 reasons why, both as a Chinese martial artist and a regular human, it has transformed my life on and off the mat:
1. Stronger and More Durable Lower Body
Mabu is essentially an isometric exercise for the hips and legs. Rather than moving dynamically like a squat or kick, joints are stabilized statically against resistance.
My max static hold time now exceeds 40 minutes…and I have the muscle definition to prove it!
After just a month of daily mabu, I saw noticeable hypertrophy (growth) in my quads and glutes. Now they maintain tension ceaselessly without wearing down. Such intense fatigue-resistance took months to develop.
But this strength is highly specific (principle of training specificity). My peak force or weight lifted on barbell squats hasn‘t risen much. However, no partner can ever break my structure when I‘m rooted. For martial arts, this immovability is everything.
I credit mabu for making my 68 year old knees sturdy as an ox too. The joint stability it built protects them on long mountain hikes and during street altercations.
- After 8 weeks training an isometric version of the horse stance, subjects increased leg press strength by +16% on average (Source).
- Senior citizens (65+) who did tai chi and horse stance for 6 months gained +17% leg strength and cut falls by 55% (Source).
2. Expanded Functional Mobility
When I began training under Master Dao, my squat depth was pathetic. Hip immobility from years sitting at a desk prevented me from descending far before my back started caving forward. Embarrassing…
Yet cramming my hamstrings to my calves and forcing my hips down for long holds did wonders. The loaded stretch mabu provides (half mobility drill, half strength exercise) restored missing range of motion.
Now I squat ass-to-grass with ease. Achieving full hip flexion and external rotation regularly took patience — but it was worth it. My overall athleticism, how I move, benefited enormously.
Besides basic mobility perks, holding such a wide base of support trains incredible equilibrium. My torso hovers calmly over a tiny point like a mountain unphased by storms.
3. Fortified Joint Stability
Mabu places substantial outward pressure on the knees and hips. But what initially felt precarious made these joints far more bulletproof long-term.
The quadriceps and gluteal muscles were forced to bear an ever-growing burden during my endurance feats. They responded by wrapping each joint exceptionally tightly.
My old meniscus tear and hip impingement no longer hamper me. Both regions grew resilient tissues that now withstand collisions unimaginable years ago.
During sparring, I turn my hip over or absorb side kicks fearlessly. Strong active stability makes ACL/MCL sprains highly improbable too despite the valgus torque. My joints simply learned to glue together.
- Female athletes who added short isometric holds to their training like the horse stance saw a 64% lower ACL sprain rate (Source).
4. Forged Balance and Motor Control
When students attempt mabu initially, their limbs flail wildly as they fight to find balance. But soon, micro-corrections synchronize into a unified machine.
How? Mastering mabu develops "proprioception" – your body‘s sense of movement and position. Proprioceptive training sharpens coordination between joints by activating various motor units.
Finding perfect rootedness through endless adjustments engrains crisp signaling between ankles, knees, and hips. Finely tuned lower body awareness emerges.
Soon these motor patterns transfer outside mabu. My once sloppy roundhouse kicks and teep pushes now land with sniper-like precision after integrating the stance‘s "proprioceptive edge."
Besides technical prowess, mabu gives me balance finesse too. I can stand gracefully on one leg for minutes with relaxed poise…just as I can explode from my horse stance like lightning.
5. Resilience and Toughness Through Discomfort
"Millions of repetitions under assault of constant pain and resistance will embed the lessons necessary for advanced training."
My teacher‘s words constantly echoed as I forced myself into the horse stance daily. He was right of course…the dividends only came by embracing the suck.
AsQuad fatigue and hip flexor agony set in unfailingly around minutes 10-15, I wanted to buckle desperately. Yet defying every impulse and rational urge to stop trained mental vigor equal to the physical.
Mabu truly built my unrelenting spirit – my ability to take punishment but press forward fiercely. Such resolve served me well competing in national tournaments and beyond in business.
I credit mabu specifically for dismantling prior limitations I had constructed mentally about my capabilities. It taught me turning away prematurely was always a choice…yet somehow one I learned to abolish from consciousness.
6. Lower Blood Pressure and Physical Relaxation
I‘ll admit – as a former hothead, mabu‘s properties as moving meditation were lost on me initially. I saw little tangible benefit staying amped pre-sparring.
But after a blow to the head left my vision blurry, I finally listened to Master Dao‘s directives to calm my heart. Thus began separating physical practice from mental stillness in mabu.
With concerted breathwork, I tapped into parasympathetic relaxation between muscle contractions. Minute tensions dissolved from joints and fascia with each long exhale…leaving only smooth intention behind.
Mabu transitioned into almost a semi-conscious activity. I felt renewal akin to sleeping while standing.
Beyond lowered anxiety for me, mabu effectively regulates my blood pressure too. After a year practicing, doctors took me off BP meds entirely. I can thank enhanced arterial flexibility for this boon.
- 50 minutes practicing an isometric version of the horse stance daily effectively reduced blood pressure in subjects after 12 weeks (Source).
7. It‘s Free and Requires No Equipment
Lastly, mabu needs nothing except intent and some floor space. Without equipment, metrics, apps, etc. fancy tools can‘t become overbearing distractions.
I train on sidewalks, at the park, in hotel rooms, at rest stops when traveling – anywhere is my dojo.
Other athletes overlook how valuable unbound training availability is. But mabu lets me ritualize skill refinement daily, no matter the circumstances.
Conclusion
I firmly believe the horse stance remains the most valuable exercise traditional Northern Shaolin martial arts offers. It builds an unrelenting spirit and base.
Beyond fighting applications, it boosts functional fitness and mental faculties tremendously. I urge all – not just martial artists – to try integrating short bouts of mabu into daily life.
With patience and progressive overload, you‘ll tailor bulletproof knees and hips. Balance will become effortless. And say goodbye to poor mobility or weak hips.
Perhaps its greatest gift is realizing that with dedication, the body and mind know no limits. Mabu conditions us to move courageously ahead under ceaseless resistance.
Make the horse stance a non-negotiable keystone in your training temple. Let it stir your warrior spirit so nothing else in this life ever feels truly impossible.