“Moto Dachi” is a stance for moving forward and backward swiftly. It is very popular in both kata and kumite. “Moto Dachi” has a relatively tall stance form; when we are standing with this stance, the distance between our feet is shorter and the centre of gravity of our body is higher than that with “Zenkutsu Dachi”; thus it is very easy to become unstable. Therefore we have to master the following key points so that we could apply “Moto Dachi” more swiftly and more firmly as well:

1. “Moto Dachi” is relatively short and narrow; we can check the distance between our feet using this simple method: Lower our body so much so that the knee of our rear leg should touch the back heel of our front foot.

2. Our knees should be slightly bent to enhance flexibility and body reaction.

3. Our front knee should be pushed slightly forward until it is almost directly above the front toe; it will make our stance very firm when punching forward.

4. Our rear foot should be pointing sideway 45 degrees or less from the front, so that we could apply pushing force from the ball of this foot more effectively; thus enable us to move forward with speed and power, and stop moving backward firmly.

5. The outer edge of our front foot should be parallel to the front, so that we could apply pushing force from the ball of this foot more effectively; thus enable us to move backward with speed and power, and stop moving forward firmly.

6. Keep our waist, back, chest and neck in an upright posture, and relax our shoulders.

7. When stepping forward or backward, the foot should be moving in a straight line.