Hi Everyone,

All of you who have been training for awhile are familiar with the three basic Shotokan stances (dachi): zenkutsu-dachi, kokutsu-dachi, and the kiba-dachi.  While practicing kihon, you go into these stances on most every class.  This strengthens your legs and flexibility, of course – but one uses these in the 26-30 katas that make up the pantheon of Shotokan katas.  Many of our students may not know that there are additional dachi that, while not covered in basic kihon, are a part of higher katas and jiyu-kumite (free sparring).  Today, I’d like to share a little bit about Gigo Funakoshi, his impact on modern Shotokan, and his signature stance, the fudo-dachi.  Gigo was the middle son of Gichin Funakoshi, the founder of Shotokan Karate-Do.  If I were to ask what stance is pictured below, I doubt that our color belts would be able to identify it since we never teach it in regular practice.  The fudo-dachi has been described as a combination between a zenkutsu-dachi and a kiba-dachi.  A very strong and centered posture, advanced students sometimes with briefly shift into this stance while blocking, then repulsing an incoming attack.

The fudo-dachi (rooted stance) is a very powerful and low stance that was particularly favored by Gigo (sometimes called Giko, also Yoshitaka).  Often, there is confusion between the names, but Gigo is the Okinawan pronunciation (many of the males in his lineage carried Gi in their first name) while Yoshitaka is the Japanese pronunciation to the same characters).  Similarly, males in my Shimabukuro lineage carried Shun in their first name, which was “Japanized” in the twentieth century to Haru.  Gigo was a sickly child who practiced karate with a passion and was instrumental in modifying many of the Okinawa stances and techniques from higher, more natural postures into the low, powerful dachi associated with modern Shotokan.  Below, you can see the founder’s kokutsu-dachi (old style) in Heian Nidan (photo is from the 1920s).  Compare this to the modern-looking fudo-dachi executed by his son Gigo, probably in the 1930s.

Gigo’s stances and movements were stylistically, very much like the modern version of Shotokan we practice today.  As mentioned, he overcame a sickly childhood through his study of karate.  He also practiced kendo and laido, and the techniques from these arts may have influenced his theories on generating power via the legs.  Although it’s a still photo, you can really sense the power and dynamic of Gigo’s movements, which seem to jump off the page…er, screen.  Despite battling tuberculosis in his later years, he continued to train hard and taught the art for as long as he could. His life was to end at the young age of 39.  The fudo-dachi was apparently Gigo’s favorite stance, though it is rarely practiced in Shotokan dojos these days.  For the upper belts, you’ll find examples of fudo-dachi in the katas of Sochin (hence, it’s also called the sochin stance) and Chinte.

There were surely other senior karateka who helped create the modern form of Shotokan, but Gigo was a major contributor in 1930’s Japan.  We owe much to this dedicated karateka.  Sadly, some ninety years later, both Gigo and his favorite stance are largely forgotten by modern practitioners.