Cat stance training

[Dana Sheets]

Stand in cat stance. Pick your favorite hand weight. Place it just above your knee and hold with the fingertips. Now raise the leg as many times as you can without busting your posture to do it.

Now take two weights and put them on your shoulders and do squats.

Then get back up and start again.

[MikeK]

For us the cat stance is only transitional, is it different in Uechi?

[Dana Sheets]

Nope - not that I know of - but the goal is to have stability and strength throughout transitions, yes?

So for level 2 do the same thing with your eyes shut.

[MikeK]

What level is it when you do it on a shaky log with your eyes closed?

[Dana Sheets]

1 stand there
2 stand there with eyes shut
3 stand on wobble board, bosu ball, or shaking log
4 stand on shaky log or bosu ball with your eyes shut
5 stand on slack rope strung between two trees
6 - now juggle

like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Wrq40YNiCA

[Dana Sheets]

Of late I've also taken to standing in a cat stance when I ride up and down on the elevator. My goal in that is to not visibly alter my stance in reaction to the ups and downs of the elevator - rather to keep my stance in the same place but absorb the forces using my structure.