Shiko Dachi
四股立ち
Literally: sumo shiko stance
Low, wide stance with the feet and knees turned outward, named after the sumo wrestler's squat.
Quick Facts
Katas containing this technique
About
Shiko dachi is a low, wide stance in which both the feet and the knees point outward at roughly a forty-five degree angle. The name refers to shiko, the squat and stance of sumo wrestlers. It differs from kiba dachi, the horse-riding stance, precisely in the turn of the feet: in kiba dachi they point forward or slightly inward. Shiko dachi also tends to be deeper. Styles that avoid the great tension of kiba dachi use it as its substitute; it is documented, for example, in the Shito-ryu style. In Goju-ryu it belongs among the stances of the kata Seiunchin, which, unlike most kata, contains no kick at all, just like Tensho and Sanchin. Seiunchin is attributed to Kanryo Higaonna (1853–1915), a master of naha-te, or to his student Chojun Miyagi, founder of Goju-ryu; the Meibukan school traces its roots to the Chinese xingyiquan. Shiko dachi is also the origin of the rooted stance fudo dachi: it only needs to be turned forty-five to ninety degrees to the side.